"The Mars House" by Natasha Pulley

I have read and reviewed on this blog all of Natasha Pulley's novels. I consider her to be one of my favorite writers and I've read everything she's written so far (apart from a short story or two in some anthologies). This is her sixth novel and her first foray into Sci-Fi. 4 out of her 5 previous novels were historical fiction with some fantastical/Sci-FI elements, and one was pure historical fiction (this last one based in Russia and the only one of the books I did not like). 

We read The Mars House in my Sci-Fi/Fantasy book club and everyone really liked it. In her usual fashion, she created likable three-dimensional main characters, a complex and intricate world, and a plot that kept you guessing. She is also a masterful write of romantic tension and her novels (so far) always end in the happily ever after. I do really appreciate that - I read for fun and relaxation and it is good to know that your characters will come out on top no matter what befalls them in the middle of the book.

In The Mars House we follow January, a Royal Ballet dancer who has to flee the earth for the colony on Mars when London - as well as many other places on earth - sinks into the sea. Pulley does an amazing job describing the effects of lower gravity on Mars, the various inventions that make life possible there, etc. I do not know how scientifically plausible her explanations are but they definitely seemed believable and made sense. 

In terms of the plot, there is a political intrigue at the core of the book: two opposing political camps on Mars debate the issue of whether this now seven generations old colony (and greatly modified/adapted to the new environment human beings) deserves to be independent or stay as a colony to Earth and thus potentially face extinction. Newcomers from Earth literally pose a threat to the "Naturals" of Mars because people from Earth are much stronger and can accidentally kill a Natural. Our main character January inadvertently finds himself in the middle of media attention and ends up married to one of the Senators leading the political debate. 

Another interesting aspect in this novel is that gender has been abolished on Mars. The biological "sex" is something very private and is only between the person and their doctor. No one identifies as male or female or anything else. They are referred to as "they" and only the new arrivals from earth exhibit gender traits and identify by gender.

I did greatly enjoy this novel and I am looking forward to Pulley's next book!