A Review: The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

Describing the Lady Astronaut series to people always feels like I’m stringing together unrelated genres in the most confusing way possible. An Alternate History Hard SciFi series is a bit of a mouthful. But Mary Robinette Kowal’s third entry to the series, The Relentless Moon, adds one more major genre to the mix: mystery.

What is the book about?

Taking place in parallel with The Fated Sky, this novel follows Nicole Wargin, the wife a rising politician and one of the original lady astronauts. Despite resistance from many forces to return to her work on the moon, Nicole is dedicated to walking the line between scientist and political figure. But that’s the least of her worries when things start going wrong on the moon base, pointing to a saboteur among them. And if they succeed, it might end the space program and doom all of the moon-fairing colonists to a slow, dark death.

Review

Kowal has crafted a captivating blend of mystery-driven hard science fiction and a deeply personal story. The technical details and carefully researched realities and solutions to a moon colony bring the story to life, while Nicole Wargin, the book’s central character, is complex and relatable. MRK doesn’t shy away from baring Nicole’s, flaws, physical limitations, and pain on the page in a beautifully realistic way.

Nicole is put through pain. I mean a lot of pain. My heart broke for her multiple times throughout the novel.

Particularly, Nicole’s struggle with anorexia is of note, offering a nuanced and sensitive exploration of a very complex issue. The descriptions of how Nicole’s relationship to food is so incredibly visceral, and it drew me close to the character in a way I didn’t expect.

I remember losing focus on the plot several times because of how much I loved the prose. The details Kowal chose to fixate on and how she described emotion in ways that resonated deeply with me was incredible.

Is The Relentless Moon Worth Reading?

The Relentless Moon is a masterwork of character-centric hard science fiction. And that’s saying a lot for a story that’s so very much about the mystery plot and Sci-Fi elements. It’s a powerful testament to the enduring strength of the human spirit, and I couldn’t recommend it more. While I think it’s possible to read this story in isolation, I believe it’s much better read and understood after reading the first two books in the series, so if you haven’t given those two novels a try yet, definitely do so.

And if you’re looking for an epic fantasy story that is both character and plot driven, you should check out The Continua Chronicles.

Your First Adventure is Free!