The Mars House

I thoroughly enjoyed this speculative/ science fiction set on the planet Mars in the 6th-generation colony of Tharsis.  Author Natasha Pulley does an outstanding job of creating a new world, a new world order, and new human beings. After decades of living on a planet with gravity only a third of planet earth's, the population has grown significantly taller. When most of the original colonies from various countries on earth are wiped out in an early catastrophe, the emerging survivors were the Chinese, and so Mandarin is the official language of the colony, although many do speak English. Power has become concentrated in the hands of the "great houses," in particular, the house of Gale and the house of Song. The Consul who runs the colony is from the latter and one of our main characters is Senator Gale. Climate refugees from all parts of earth are fleeing to Tharsis and this, not surprisingly, creates a distinct us vs. them mentality among the Tharsians. These incomers are called Earthstrong and are forced to wear a metal cage that limits their movements as, due to their greater strength from living in earth's gravity, they can easily break bones or kill the long-term colonists by accident. The refugees live in poor housing and have no rights as citizens and are eligible only for the hardest and most dangerous work. Should they decide to "naturalize," they gain all the rights of citizenship--if they survive. At the very least, the process is disabling, leaving many in wheelchairs or with brain damage. Senator Gale is campaigning for the Consul position on a "forced naturalization" platform, which would require all immigrants to undergo the process. 

Our protagonist, "January [Stirling], once a principal dancer for the London Royal Ballet, is now a factory worker and refugee in Tharsis...When a live interview between Gale and January proves disastrous for both, Gale presents January with a solution: accept an in-name-only marriage with them to bolster their election, and January can live his life as a full citizen without naturalization. January accepts and finds that the person he married is not the xenophobic horror he thought" (Library Journal). Their review goes on to conclude that the book is "Exquisitely layered and entertaining..."

Publishers Weekly says, "...Pulley introduces some truly complex ethical and political questions. Even better, she refuses to offer black-and-white answers, and never loses sight of her characters' empathy and humanity. The worldbuilding is carefully considered, linguistically nuanced, and technologically fascinating. The unlikely love story between January and Gale, who, like all Natural Martians, is genderless, is the cherry on top. Their romance is touching in its simplicity--stripped of all the politics and advanced technologies involved, they are two people who find themselves drawn closer together as they realize that, though their opinions may differ, their core belief in human decency is the same. With dark humor and a gift for making the complex accessible, Pulley gives readers much food for thought" 

Kirkus adds that author Pulley "... explore[s] topics of political interest today: climate change, immigration, gender, political corruption." and concludes that the book is "Full of charming details and gender-bending gallantry, this imaginative thriller is a pleasure to read."