One of the podcasts I listen to in my spare time (or rather, while I’m mowing the lawn or doing laundry or in the car, because really: who has spare time?) is Writing Excuses, which includes Mary Robinette Kowal. She is the author of the Glamourist Histories, which I hear is something like Pride and Prejudice meets Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell). I say ‘hear,’ because I’ve never actually read one of them. There’s really no accounting for taste, but I’ve just not been able to work up the interest in Regency England romance sufficient to crack Shades of Milk and Honey.
But I love the podcast, and I’ve always been impressed with Kowal’s contributions to it. When I heard she had been nominated for the Hugo, and for science fiction to boot, I found it a good excuse to finally read something by her.
And I was impressed. The Lady Astronaut of Mars
It’s a tear-jerker of a story, light on the science and heavy on the fiction. Kowal hits all the right keys to build sympathy for characters that are real, even though they are A) astronauts and B) on Mars. If there’s two things I’m not (and, chances are, neither are you), it’s a Martian astronaut. But it doesn’t matter, because Kowal connects us to her characters with the twin sympathies for dying and of longing for more. Instead of carrying her story with the details and excitement of space exploration, which is certainly there, she focuses on the relationship between the characters, listening to the desires and hopes in their head, and guiding their actions accordingly. It makes for a sad, but hopeful, story, and one worth the read.
Whether Kowal gets the Hugo for the story or not, I wish her the best. It’s a worthy addition to the selections, and I hope she gets full consideration.
Related articles
- The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal (Hugo nom) (littleredreviewer.wordpress.com)
- Hugo Reviews 2014 – Part 2: Novelettes (thealexandrian.net)
- Shades of Milk and Honey, by Mary Robinette Kowal (bfgb.wordpress.com)
- The Giant Awards Eligibility Post (writingexcuses.com)
The Lady Astronaut of Mars
Science Fiction
Tor Books
May 27, 2014
Kindle
31
A Finalist for the 2014 Hugo Award for Best Novelette. Thirty years ago, Elma York led the expedition that paved the way to life on Mars. For years she's been longing to go back up there, to once more explore the stars. But there are few opportunities for an aging astronaut, even the famous Lady Astronaut of Mars. When her chance finally comes, it may be too late. Elma must decide whether to stay with her sickening husband in what will surely be the final years of his life, or to have her final adventure and plunge deeper into the well of space.
About Daniel
[…] I, Robot. Looking at other Hugo winners, he would have enjoyed Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Lady Astronaut of Mars, a tale about the first lady astronaut to go to Mars considering how to return to the stars, but […]