Overview

A compulsively readable queer sci-fi novel about a marriage of convenience between a Mars politician and an Earth refugee. Named as one of Amazon's Best Books of 2024 So Far As Recommended By: Amazon * LitHub * Gizmodo * New Scientist * LGBTQ Reads * Reactor Magazine * KOBO Canada * BookRiot In the wake of an environmental catastrophe, January, once a principal in London's Royal Ballet, has become a refugee in Tharsis, the terraformed colony on Mars. There, January's life is dictated by his status as an Earthstronger-a person whose body is not adjusted to lower gravity and so poses a danger to those born on, or naturalized to, Mars. January's job choices, housing, and even transportation are dictated by this second-class status, and now a xenophobic politician named Aubrey Gale is running on a platform that would make it all worse: Gale wants all Earthstrongers to naturalize, a process that is always disabling and sometimes deadly. When Gale chooses January for an on-the-spot press junket interview that goes horribly awry, January's life is thrown into chaos, but Gale's political fortunes are damaged, too. Gale proposes a solution to both their problems: a five year made-for-the-press marriage that would secure January's future without naturalization and ensure Gale's political success. But when January accepts the offer, he discovers that Gale is not at all like they appear in the press. They're kind, compassionate, and much more difficult to hate than January would prefer. As their romantic relationship develops, the political situation worsens, and January discovers Gale has an enemy, someone willing to destroy all of Tharsis to make them pay-and January may be the only person standing in the way. Un-put-downably immersive and utterly timely, Natasha Pulley's new novel is a gripping story about privilege, strength, and life across class divisions, perfect for readers of Sarah Gailey and Tamsyn Muir.

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9781639732333

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Reviews

"""Natasha Pulley heads to the gulags, then to an atomic village, in her latest to combine fast-paced action and imaginative settings with beautifully developed queer relationships."" --CrimeReads Queer Mysteries and Thrillers to Read All Year Long on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Natasha Pulley builds a surreal world that slowly reveals immense dangers. It's an absorbing Cold War thriller as well as a tribute to courage and determination."" --Christian Science Monitor on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Brilliantly conceived, vibrantly realized, and complexly suspenseful."" --Booklist, Starred Review on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Fans of such stories will be richly entertained by the lavish world-building and breakneck plotting of Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms...Beautiful, surreal imagery appears throughout the novel, too . . . Clear a weekend if you can, and let yourself be absorbed."" --The New York Times Book Review on THE KINGDOMS"

"""Delightful . . . The Mars House moves as nimbly as its ballet-dancer hero . . . pivoting toward something that's both nuanced and fresh. The result is both an epic love story and a deft political thriller."" --The Washington Post ""British bestselling author Natasha Pulley is best known for historical fiction, but in The Mars House, she imagines a world in the future . . . If you love Isaac Asimov and Margaret Atwood for their speculative look at what the future may hold, you won't be able to put down The Mars House."" --The Globe and Mail ""Already one of my favorite books of the year . . . There's palace intrigue, a slow-burn enemies-to-lovers plot, sassy footnotes, and also there are mammoths! It's a total delight from start to finish."" --Lit Hub's Most Anticipated Books of 2024 ""[A] futuristic blend of science fiction and romance that uses its alien setting to explore . . . climate change, immigration, gender ideology, and political corruption . . . an utterly unique and gently beautiful love story rooted in a complicated exploration of our need for connection and a place to call home . . . the sort of book that will stick with you long after you reach its final page."" --Paste Magazine ""Pulley astonishes in this thorny and addictive sci-fi romance."" --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review ""Full of charming details and gender-bending gallantry, this imaginative thriller is a pleasure to read."" --Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review ""Readers will appreciate all the delightful details of worldbuilding, character arcs, and slow romantic tension. Exquisitely layered and entertaining, Pulley's latest novel is a queer tale of planetary refugees, politics, and populist views (and mammoths)."" --Library Journal ""This book has everything. Intergalactic climate refugees! Slow-burn queer romance! Gender-fluid aliens! Political intrigue with a whiff of murder! Natasha Pulley's newest seems to defy categorization, but I'd venture to guess it'll appeal to fans of Ursula K. Le Guin, N.K. Jemisin, and Mary Doria Russell. Plus, Pulley wrote one of my favorite books of 2015, The Watchmaker of Filigree Street-a twisty-turny steampunky historical fiction tale-that I still think about often. This one promises to be just as thrilling."" --theSkimm ""The Mars House is narratively compelling . . . and stylistically welcoming, with a wit that tends towards whimsy."" --Locus Magazine ""Pulley has wrapped an enemies-to-lovers, fake-marriage romance in a fascinating sf-world package . . . Magnetic . . . Charming . . . Readers will have incredible fun reading about this slow-burn romance, the itch of two creepy background mysteries, and a delightful scene involving judgmental mammoths."" --Booklist ""The novel-set on Mars in a vaguely distant apocalyptic future-will likely be the most immersive, surprising, charming book I'll read all year."" --Chicago Review of Books ""Absolutely riveting."" --AudioFile Magazine ""[V]isionary . . . Subverting a tale about creeping interplanetary fascism with the power of profound, even reckless compassion, The Mars House is a dazzling novel about humanity's future."" --Foreword Reviews ""An incredibly ambitious novel . . . The Mars House is a complex and captivating story."" --Reactor Magazine ""Few writers combine such warmth and heart with such consummate skill at Natasha Pulley. She sends the reader our into the skies, and deep into themselves, places we never knew we could travel. Reading her is both a joyful and profound experience-and The Mars House is her most daring, ambitious and exciting book yet."" --Catriona Ward ""[A] captivating and thought-provoking science fiction novel that explores complex themes of identity, belonging, and the human condition in a richly imagined future world . . . Pulley's prose is elegant and engaging, balancing moments of humor and heartbreak with equal skill . . . [A] remarkable achievement."" --Hidden Sci-Fi ""Natasha Pulley heads to the gulags, then to an atomic village, in her latest to combine fast-paced action and imaginative settings with beautifully developed queer relationships."" --CrimeReads Queer Mysteries and Thrillers to Read All Year Long on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Natasha Pulley builds a surreal world that slowly reveals immense dangers. It's an absorbing Cold War thriller as well as a tribute to courage and determination."" --Christian Science Monitor on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Brilliantly conceived, vibrantly realized, and complexly suspenseful."" --Booklist, Starred Review on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Fans of such stories will be richly entertained by the lavish world-building and breakneck plotting of Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms...Beautiful, surreal imagery appears throughout the novel, too . . . Clear a weekend if you can, and let yourself be absorbed."" --The New York Times Book Review on THE KINGDOMS"

"""Pulley astonishes in this thorny and addictive sci-fi romance."" --Publishers Weekly, Starred Review ""Natasha Pulley heads to the gulags, then to an atomic village, in her latest to combine fast-paced action and imaginative settings with beautifully developed queer relationships."" --CrimeReads Queer Mysteries and Thrillers to Read All Year Long on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Natasha Pulley builds a surreal world that slowly reveals immense dangers. It's an absorbing Cold War thriller as well as a tribute to courage and determination."" --Christian Science Monitor on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Brilliantly conceived, vibrantly realized, and complexly suspenseful."" --Booklist, Starred Review on THE HALF LIFE OF VALERY K ""Fans of such stories will be richly entertained by the lavish world-building and breakneck plotting of Natasha Pulley's The Kingdoms...Beautiful, surreal imagery appears throughout the novel, too . . . Clear a weekend if you can, and let yourself be absorbed."" --The New York Times Book Review on THE KINGDOMS"

Author Information

Natasha Pulley is the internationally bestselling author of The Watchmaker of Filigree Street, The Bedlam Stacks, The Lost Future of Pepperharrow, The Kingdoms, and The Half Life of Valery K. She has won a Betty Trask Award, been shortlisted for the Authors' Club Best First Novel Award, the Royal Society of Literature's Encore Award, and the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing Prize, and longlisted for the Walter Scott Prize. She lives in Bristol, England.

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