My enjoyment of this book was a very complicated thing to put into words. The world building here is fascinating, with cause and effect explored on multiple levels throughout the novel. I think the character development is relatively well-paced and the writing style is wonderfully immersive. As a book, existing in and of itself, I loved this and could hardly put it down.

But I do have a few concerns on the politics of this novel. Nationalism, and the person vs the political state are key themes here. January, a former ballet dancer, has found himself in a factory on Mars as an Earthstrong worker. We join him as he is swept into a position as an accidental political player in a fake marriage plot with an ascending senator. He agrees to this despite thinking of Gale as an anti-Earth fascist opposed to immigration. Through this forced proximity, we learn a lot about Gale and about their reasonings for certain policies: the forced naturalisation of immigrants into Mars equipped bodies that permanently cripple them, for example. January, staunchly anti-naturalisation, is the instigator of some interestingly passionate clashes against Gale's mild-mannered explanations, but there's still something a little uncomfortable about how Pulley explores some of these topics.

This is completely different to anything I've read before! Queer, quirky space sci fi was such an unexpected ride 💖

January is a male refugee living on Mars, though having been born on Earth with it's stronger gravity he's part of the Earthstrong community who are shorter but much stronger than the Natural Mars born humans who can be over 7 feet tall but far less strong, Naturals are gender neutral and critical of many of the Earthstrong ways.

Natural politician Aubrey Gale approaches January to ask him to marry them, which seems at first to be a publicity stunt but slowly their relationship and trust develops as they learn how the other thinks and eventually they find they're united against an enemy who is determined to ruin everything that's been built on Mars.

The story explorers gender, race, xenophobia, nationalism and so much more - and yet with a real lightness and comedic element so it never feels heavy.

It's a pretty long novel of nearly 500 pages and a couple of times I intended to put it down and come back to it at some point, however each time it pulled me straight back in. This is a slow burn of a book, with a non steamy queer romance. The footnotes are an amazing touch, adding even more detail to the story. I can't properly describe this to do it justice, but give it a go as you might just love it too!

Can I just say that I loved a book and leave it at that? Because this is one of those books.
Ok, a short summary:
January Sterling is a climate refugee, escaping the floods and intense heat for the Mars colony of Tharsis. Life as an Earthstronger on Mars isn’t ideal. He and the other Earthstrongers are seen as a danger to the native Martians: they are much stronger because of the weaker gravity, even though they’re much smaller. January and his fellow Earthstrongers are discriminated against and given the worst manual labour jobs.

January meets a Martian politician who is staunchly anti-Earth stronger, an somehow ends up in a sham-marriage. Of course, it’s a slow-burn romance with lots of peril, lies and climate change politics.

My only complaint, is that in trying to make the characters asexual, they all read as being very male. Perhaps it was just the way I read it.

The Mars House has a lot to say about climate change and its refugees - and the predictable refugee-haters. Instead of boats, they arrive in space ships, and the inhabitants of Mars are as scared of, and enraged by, these people, as some elements in our own society today.

I really enjoyed this book, and I loved how different it was to Natasha Pulley’s previous books. Whatever will she write next? I’ll be waiting!

This book, unfortunately, left much to be desired, not just in terms of storytelling but also in its underlying themes. From the outset, the narrative is marred by xenophobic undertones, which are not only outdated but harmful in their portrayal of different cultures and people. Rather than fostering understanding or presenting a nuanced view of diverse communities, the book leans into stereotypes and biases that feel heavy-handed and offensive. The narrative repeatedly frames "the other" as a threat, reinforcing divisive ideas that have no place in modern literature.

Moreover, the book's overt Zionist leanings detract from what could have been a more balanced exploration of complex geopolitical issues. Instead of offering a fair or multi-faceted perspective, the story takes an uncritical stance, often glorifying one side while vilifying the other without any meaningful dialogue or empathy. The result is a lopsided narrative that feels more like propaganda than a thoughtful reflection on real-world conflicts. Readers seeking a nuanced discussion of the Israeli-Palestinian issue will be disappointed by the lack of depth and the overly simplistic portrayal of such a sensitive and multifaceted topic.

The characters, too, suffer from a lack of development. Rather than being portrayed as complex individuals with diverse motivations, they often come across as mouthpieces for the author’s political agenda. This reduces them to flat, one-dimensional figures, and as a result, it’s difficult to connect with or care about their fates. The emotional resonance that might have come from a more nuanced story is sorely lacking here.

Ultimately, this book fails to engage with its themes in a meaningful or thoughtful way. Its reliance on xenophobic and Zionist tropes not only detracts from the story but also makes for an uncomfortable reading experience. Literature has the power to challenge perspectives and foster understanding, but this book misses that opportunity entirely. Instead, it perpetuates harmful ideas that feel out of place in contemporary discussions about global politics and human rights. It's a disappointing read that I cannot recommend.

I'm not quite sure how to articulate my thoughts on this one. I have enjoyed Pulley's previous work but I cannot put this one into words.

Really weird about gender and race. Mentions Bethlehem being in Israel - also Zionist?

Would not recommend.

I loved Pulley's previous work, and this is no different. Her take on sci-fi is always so interesting and surprising, and I'm glad to have finally caught up with this incredible book!

The Mars House is storytelling at its finest. From page one, when January’s wry voice swept me up into his story, I was utterly spellbound. This is one of those books where every word felt purposeful, and as one of the characters is a linguistics expert, it definitely fit. The story is told in a close third person, following January as he’s rescued from a drowning London and offered sanctuary in one of the few places taking refugees: the city of Tharsis on Mars. And so he leaves everything he knows behind to go and live on a cold, dry planet, where he has to wear a body cage so as not to cause accidental damage to those born on Mars with less bone density and strength. January doesn’t mind too much, though it’s a far cry from his days as a ballet dancer, and doesn’t try to get involved in politics despite one of the senators running for office wanting to force all ‘earth-strongers’ to naturalise, which has severe consequences in almost every case.

However, politics soon comes to him when said politician, Aubrey Gale, visits the factory January works at to interview the very people they are known to be controversial about. When January gets pushed in front of the cameras and verbally picked apart by Gale, he loses his job and possibly any future on Mars, until Gale proposes a five-year marriage contract to improve their ratings and apologise to January for his troubles. Now, the premise for this arranged marriage is a little flimsy when described in this way, but as I read it it just seemed to work. Aubrey’s home is also always being recorder as part of a way to make them more relatable to the public and drive interest by making their life a reality show, and so January must navigate this as well.

I think that most of the elements of this story were simply to pull these two widely different characters together and create a slow-burn relationship while tackling difficult ideas and seeing how people with opposing ideologies can learn to communicate and see each other’s sides. Mostly what I enjoyed about The Mars House was the writing style, the setting, and the focus on the power of words. I also loved the mammoths. Yes, there are mammoths on Mars, and they are delightful! I also enjoyed the twist, even though it was something I guessed very early on. The execution of the reveal was timed well, and so I didn’t mind waiting for it.

Since finishing The Mars House I have seen quite a few negative reviews, most revolving around the political, racial, and gender-related themes of the book. It soured things for me a little, because it feels as if so many of these reviewers didn’t actually take in the story. Now I can’t speak for whether or not there is racial insensitivity in the way this was written, though Pulley at no point is trying to portray China, but rather a melting pot of cultures on which Chinese history exerts a big influence, as they were the ones to colonise Mars. But as for the rest, such as immigrants from Earth having to wear caged suits to accommodate for Martian gravity, at no point is the author saying these are good things. They are simply part of the situation the characters find themselves in, and influence their choices and thinking. In fact, one of the main points this book brings up over and over is that there is rarely a simple solution to problems when many types of people are involved, but compassion and empathy go a long way to solving things in a way that works for everyone, even when the chasm at first seems too wide.

I have been a fan of Natasha Pulley‘s books for a while now, so I was expecting to like this one. However, I didn’t really know what it was going to be like because usually she writes novels set in the past, not in the future. And her historical fantasy novels have a specific vibe that you can’t really have with scifi.

Basically, this book felt very different to her usual style. Instead, it kind of reminded me of M.L. Wang‘s writing style. Especially, I kept thinking of Blood Over Bright Haven. It has a very similar style and pacing.

The Mars House is about January, who is a dancer in London, but once the city gets flooded due to climate change, he has to leave earth to be a refugee on Mars. However, on Mars, humans are seeing as dangerous since they are much stronger than the local population due to changes in gravity. Just one small shove from a human can kill the people from Mars. So basically, humans such as January live as outsiders, working in factory jobs. That is what January does until a series of events leads him to be in an arranged marriage with one of the Senators of Mars who is running to be Consul of the colony.

I absolutely loved this book!! The whole setting is very interesting, with the colony and Mars and everything surrounding that. Also, the political aspects concerning the Consul election are very fascinating. There were also a lot of moral questions that made you think.

It’s just a very interesting story, set in a fascinating place with very likeable characters. I really hope we get more stories like this from Natasha Pulley!!

I would class Natasha Pulley as one of my favourite authors and this novel is the perfect example of why they are so good. A slightly different feel to usual as this one is set on Mars and I admit it took me about 40 odd pages to get into it as I weirdly struggle with “space” books – totally my problem and in no way reflective of the author’s skill! However, after my hesitant start it was utterly wonderful. Addressing some big topics such as privilege, politics, environmental disaster and refugees with love at the heart of it all. Fantastic stuff.
My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley. This review was written voluntarily and is entirely my own unbiased opinion.

The Mars House starts promisingly enough with central character, and ballet dancer, January Stirling trapped in a London that's been hit by major flooding. Yes, this is an Earth that's been ravaged by catastrophic climate change: some areas are flooding, others are ravaged by wildfires. Oh, and the US and Russia are at war.

Unfortunately after this strong start everything kind of fell apart for me. January finds himself evacuated to Mars, a planet riven by anti-immigrant, or Earthstronger, sentiment and the narrative becomes bogged down by Martian, and gender, politics and an arranged marriage between January and natural Martian trillionaire Aubrey Gale.

Things pick up late on with the introduction of an utterly adorable herd of Martian mammoths and a subplot involving Martian to mammoth communication and the various plot strands start to come together only to be let down by an open-ended conclusion.

Thanks to NetGalley, Gollancz and the author for an advance copy.

Following an environmental catastrophe, January, formerly a leading dancer in London's Royal Ballet, finds herself a refugee on Mars. Life on the red planet presents stark differences – Mandarin is the predominant language, gravity plays tricks on perception, and gender has long been a thing of the past.

When Aubrey Gale, a trillionaire turned politician, advocates for the naturalization of all humans to adapt to Martian life, January's world is upended. A fateful encounter thrusts January and Aubrey into the national spotlight, leading to a five-year publicized marriage crafted to secure January's future and ensure Gale's political aspirations.

As their relationship blossoms, mounting political tensions threaten Mars's stability. Now, January and Aubrey must navigate the complex landscape, facing a pivotal decision that holds the fate of the planet in the balance.

This is a first for me by the author and one I enjoyed and I would read more of their work. The book cover is eye-catching and appealing and would spark my interest if in a bookshop. Thank you to the author, publisher and Netgalley for this ARC.

January Stirling is a ballet dancer, one of the principal dancers of London’s Royal Ballet living in a future (three hundred years or so) semi-flooded London. Unemployed, he is encouraged to go to Tharsis on Mars for work. Although it is basically grunt-work, January reasons that it is better than no work at all.

This future Mars is being partly terraformed, and so we have ‘naturals’, those born on Mars who are tall but fragile, and ‘Earthstrong’, those like January who have been born on Earth but who are a danger to the naturals as they don’t know their own strength in Mars’s 1/3 gravity. A few have invertedly killed or injured the natural Martians, and so the Earthstrongers when amongst natural Martians are made to wear a frame that limits their strength.

One option for Earthstrongers is that they can be operated upon to reduce their strength. This ‘naturalisation’ is a painful process, and there is no chance of then returning to Earth. Nevertheless to avoid discrimination and to get a job, January is considering the process.

At this point, the characters are engaging, and initially the plot manages to look at current issues such as climate change, refugees and migrants. Pulley does well to show that her future Mars is socially and politically divided, and the consequences of such discrimination.

Before he takes the step to naturalisation, however, January is given an opportunity for a five-year marriage of convenience to Aubrey Gale, a right-wing nationalist (think Trump or Nigel Farage) determined to become the next Martian Consul in the upcoming elections. This is not a meeting of people with similar minds – January realises that should Gale become the next Martian Consul, he will then limit immigrants like Stirling to an already overcrowded, overloaded Mars, rather like the current situation between Europe/UK and the English Channel.

However, the speed at which January takes up the marriage proposal is joltingly fast. I found that the arrangement takes some believing – after all, it is akin to Trump taking on Biden as a marriage partner – and I suspect that your enjoyment of the book may be affected by this. Having said that, I am also aware that whilst it seems to be very unlikely, it must be said that in the past such relationships were often used to legitimise and maintain power. (See also Frank Herbert’s Dune).

Despite his reservations, Stirling takes on the marriage to much social media acclaim, and showered with wealth by Gale a blossoming romance begins. As the two characters settle into their new roles, a terrorist attack by rival factions leads to the creation of an extreme dust storm, which threatens the solar power energy of Tharsis, something which Gale’s family have made enormous wealth by being in charge of maintaining. This creates a settlement in crisis and an element of danger to the story, which leads to a power coup. There is also the impending arrival of a mass of new migrants about to arrive on Mars, which may further alter the political power-balance.

Such a brief synopsis suggests an adventure novel, an updating of the sort of stories Heinlein was writing, but for a contemporary audience. To some extent The Mars House does this, for at times it is a social commentary, a romance, a planetary romance, and at times even a comedy of errors, something which has elements of Bradbury, Heinlein and even Kim Stanley Robinson in its make-up, and akin to say Greg Bear’s Moving Mars.

However, despite such ambitious and laudable aims, the author’s plot many conveniences and contrivances tended to bring me back to reality with a jump, just as I was starting to enjoy it. I’ll give some examples at the end should you wish to read them – there are others.*

Most of all, much of the book seems to be thrown away in the last quarter of the book, where there is a clangingly awful plot twist and where many of the issues brought to light at the beginning of the book are ignored or thrown away in favour of a happy ending.

In summary, then, The Mars House seems to be a book with good intentions, some valid social points and some good ideas, but whose plot points need reining-in to maintain some degree of believability – and I say that knowing that I am reviewing a science fiction novel. The author seems to throw away many good ideas for the sake of convenience in the plot and a quickly concluded happy ending. The fact that I finished it is testament to the fact that Pulley writes well, despite all the times I found myself annoyed with the plot. Others, of course, may be less picky.



*To give some examples: SPOILERS! (You may want to skip this bit):

Genetically modified mammoths set loose on the planet have a language that can be understood through a piece of technological flim-flam, a head-gizmo. This becomes important to the plot when, just by coincidence, the only people who can communicate with the mammoths are our hero and his companion, because his companion just so happens to have written a Mammoth’s Language Encyclopaedia. The coincidence is crushingly convenient.
Would people in three-hundred years time still use the word ‘mansplaining’ in conversation, because they do here?
We even have, towards the end, one of my ‘favourite’ plot-hates, the ‘Child-in-Peril’, plucked out of a pile of refugees for seemingly little other purpose than to try and develop a sense of peril and greater jeopardy for our main characters. [END OF SPOILERS]

I loved the experience of reading The Mars House and I love Natasha Pulley as a writer: but it's important to say upfront that this book has some massive problems. Other reviewers have suggested that it is racist, transphobic, misogynistic and just plain disturbing in its treatment of immigration and 'far-right politics'. My take is a little bit different, although I do suggest reading Theta's review and Kathy's review - they both have very important and absolutely right things to say about the appropriation of Chinese culture and the use of Mandarin in this story.

Pulley usually writes speculative historical fiction: this is her first foray into SF, and I think that might be where a lot of these problems come from. There's a fundamental misunderstanding at the heart of The Mars House about how to use science fiction to talk about our own world. In The Mars House, a Mandarin Chinese-majority culture have colonised and terraformed Mars. Several generations down the line, the 'Natural' inhabitants of Mars have adapted to its lower gravity - they are physically weak, very tall, with exceptionally fragile bones. Problems arise when non-naturalised, or 'Earthstrong' immigrants, flee to Mars because Earth is slowly dying due to climate change. Earthstrong life expectancy is short on Mars unless they continuously wear heavy cages that mimic the effect of Earth gravity. However, Naturals also want them to wear these cages because it reduces the risk of them accidentally hurting or killing Natural people, a risk which, this book decides, is pretty massive, with accidental homicides happening frequently. Some Naturals are now pushing for Earthstrongers to undergo compulsory naturalisation, a brutal medical procedure that brings with it a very high risk of permanent disability; non-naturalised Earthstrongers already don't have access to the full civil rights enjoyed by Naturals and the naturalised.

By itself, I think this could have been a fascinating and fruitful premise. I disagree that the Naturals, in this scenario, are simply positioned as far-right xenophobes. There are genuine questions here about physical capabilities that we don't face in the movement of peoples around Earth. And while forced naturalisation and limited citizenship is clearly a horrific policy, the best choice for Earthstrongers on Mars is not that clear: short, healthier life or longer, chronic-health-issues life? Unfortunately, Pulley upends and confuses this by introducing another issue into the mix. Mars, unlike Earth, is genderless: everybody uses they/them pronouns. Naturals have also messed with some sexed biological traits to 'reduce extreme gender differences'. I don't get this, at all. I'm not sure it can even be called misogynistic or transphobic, because it's so confused. There's no explanation given as to why this society has developed in this way, or why there was a need to tinker with biology to make society non-binary. Non-binary gender doesn't mean no biological sex. But more importantly, this decision introduces horrible problems for Pulley.

Reviewers have critiqued the central plotline of this book: in short, it's another political-marriage SF romance along the lines of Everina Maxwell's Winter's Orbit or Aliette de Bodard's The Red Scholar's Wake. January, an Earthstrong immigrant and former ballet dancer who obviously values his physical strength and health, marries Senator Gale, who is running for Consul, and who wants to force all Earthstrong immigrants to naturalise. Ouch, obvious issues. If we read this book as a simple parallel to our world, this is akin, as others have said, to a refugee to Britain marrying Nigel Farage. If we accept it's more complicated then that because of the different circumstances on Mars, this starts to seem a bit better... but then the gender issues thud in. Pulley also wants to draw an analogy between men and women, on the one hand, and Earthstrongers and Naturals, on the other. There's some suggestion that men dominate women solely because of their physical strength (echoes of The Power): and so, Naturals are right to be afraid of Earthstrongers, who not only hurt them physically, but are bringing back older ideas of female subservience and male dominance that Mars has abandoned. This creates some really uncomfortable moments. When January tells Gale that it's not fair to judge him based on the actions of a few, that he personally would never hurt anyone, are we meant to read this as an immigrant opposing racist prejudice, or a man pleading #NotAllMen?

So yes... I don't think there's a reading of this book that solves these problems (though I do think the claim of misogyny/Pulley still only writing m/m couples is not fair - Gale is not a man - there are no men on Mars as well as no women). Which is a real shame, because I think Pulley's writing here is some of her most engaging, magical and immersive yet. I loved the mammoths. I loved the Mars energy politics, even if they are light on scientific realism. I loved Gale and January. And I'd love to see Pulley write more SF. I just hope it's not like this.

[Rating for enjoyment not quality]

The Mars House sounded right up my street and I was really excited to read it. I found it started off well and I really enjoyed the first 40% - I read it quite quickly, the background, the language and the culture Pulley built for mars really intrigued me. January and his ideals and relationship was refreshing to read, I loved his background of being a dancer and how he narrated the political landscape of Mars. When he gets involved with Gale I found my interest waning slightly, his situation and the multiple strands in House Gale were complex and due to this my engagement withered and my reading slowed.
The last 10% of the book definitely picked up and I was satisfied by the ending but the middle of the book was tedious and overly dense. This is why my rating is a firm 3 stars. I wasn't a fan of the footnotes and, the lack of pronouns, while refreshing to read, made the book quite confusing when reading certain scenes. It did feel like because I didn't engage too much with the mysteries of House Gale, that I probably missed some of the unravellings of the narrative and due to Pulley's intricate writing style, this just didn't work for me.
This was my first read by Pulley and definitely won't be the last, but perhaps I'll fare better outside of sci-fi with their writing style.

Even before reading the Weinersmith's "A City On Mars" I thought that Mars colonies probably weren't going to be a viable option. Doesn't mean I don't want to read about them, Mars gives you a science fiction setting where you can to some extent pick and choose which of the variable hardships to apply to the civilization, and then potentially handwave off the rest of them. Natasha Pulley's book engages with the science a lot more than what its initial immigration allegory suggests. Its the future, Earth us facing ecological collapse and Mars needs workers, so offers those in need and refugees free travel and lodgings that can then be worked off. The problem is the low gravity of Mars means that the generations of people brought up on Mars a smaller, weaker and have very flimsy bones compared to the hale and hearty giants of Earth. The solution is an exoskeleton-style cage that all Earthlings must wear if they are in a public place or might interact with the locals that provides resistance to their muscles, counteracting their natural speed and strength. That;s the situation.

Of course many a science fiction novel has squandered a good set-up, and here its immigration/refugee allegory cannot be clearer. Human's can assimilate eventually if they get surgery to physically weaken them, making it impossible to return to Earth. Our protagonist, January, was a lead dance at the London Royal Ballet, until that and the rest of London got flooded (there is a really good character and scene setting opening chapter that does this). As someone used to using his body, he finds Mars particularly hard, not to mention turning up in an election season where one side seems to want to ban Earth humans or to force them to get the operation. He gets into a misunderstanding during a political meet and greet, and suddenly becomes a cause celeb, eventually being hired cynically to provide better optics for the anti-Earth candidate. By this point the book was so immersive it took me a while to realise that it had gone from sci-fi to political thriller to whodunnit and romance - and crucially is successful at all of these.

Pulley is largely known for historical fiction, though there has always been a dab of science or even science-fiction in her work (alternate universes, Russian nuclear testing), and she certainly takes to this story well. The politics of immigration are thoroughly embedded within a system where it is impossible it integrate without making serious decisions about your own physical wellbeing, but there is also a political system that feels naturally drawn out of the kind of oligarchies that exist and a spin-off of Chinese authoritarianism (did I mention Mars predominantly speaks its own version of Chinese, and is so beyond gender that the idea of a principal male int he ballet is offensive to them). Once you add the central locked room mystery to it as well, its a very impressive and enjoyable book with plenty of heft to its space romance.

How to do a book of this scope and imagination justice in just a few lines? A book of Pulley's signature charm, wit and originality that defies genre and convention, this is something entirely new that would sit perfectly at home between Becky Chambers and Ann Leckie.
January, principal dancer of the London Royal Ballet, is preparing for a performance of Swan Lake when London finally succumbs to the floodwater that has threatened to drown it for as long as he can remember. With nowhere else to go, January finds himself among the refugees on their way to Mars. There have been populations on Mars for generations now, and January and the other 'earthstrongers' are three times as strong as the 'naturalised' population, who have adjusted to Mars' gravity and air pressure. January has always been strong, but he's never been dangerous - only now he has to wear a cage that suppresses his strength.
Earthstronger accidents are the primary cause of death for the naturalised population. Senator Gale is running for election on the proposition of a 'simple path' to equality; force every immigrant from Earth to undergo the disabling and sometimes fatal process of forced naturalisation. For January, that would be no life at all. When Gale visits the factory January now works at to talk to Earthstrongers, a misjudged joke turned disastrous media encounter threatens Gale's election prospects - and January's life.
A gorgeous addition to what we've begun to refer to as the Pulley Extended Universe, this is a beautifully realised exploration of the direction that culture, language, technology, politics, social media and art may overlap in a future that feels rich with detail and character. It's a story to be swept up in with all the drama and nuance we've come to expect from Pulley's writing, with characteristic depth and a deliciously philosophical edge.

I found this book utterly fascinating.
A story set on Mars with a binary diverse civilisation, arranged marriages, and different cultures and languages.
All surrounded by climate disaster and a high class divide and a smattering of racism chucked in. Along with two main characters, one an ex ballet dancer and a trillionaire senator, this was one read I found absolutely mesmerising.
I’ve read all of Natasha Pulley’s books and found this one to be intoxicating profound, and wonderfully written, I’m not sure she’s written anything better.

I knew this would be good as I have admired Natasha Pulleys work for some time. This novel pulled me in from the first wonderfully descriptive page and kept me rapt until the last word. A book I would recommend to all.

Okay, gear up for a long review, because I have a lot to say.

I adored this book, but it is one that I think is going to be very controversial. The problem is it’s handled with a subtlety that is easily lost. It encourages critical thinking when the instinct of many people on the left (myself included) is to read the start of the book and stop listening.

First up, the romance. I want to say that despite what it says on the blurb, I wouldn’t call Gale Xenophobic. Their policies are, certainly. But they are coming from a place of trying to do what’s right when they’re wildly out of touch with the people their policies affect. This is a book about communication. It’s a book about understanding one another and it’s a book about changing to do what’s right.

I also think that this situation that Pulley is describing is one that’s incredibly complex, with multiple sides. It’s not as simple as “earth is dying and mars must take in the refugees” because there are multiple other issues at stake here. It hints at colonialism and cultural erasure in a way that most of the cases of this issue we have on earth, just don’t have.

I loved the way she tackled gender in this book. She created, what is essentially an alien species (technically human but so far removed from our concepts of gender and identity that they’re completely different) and she decided that they had culturally and biologically erased gender from their society. Their entire culture is one that expresses themselves in other ways than male or female. I loved this normalisation of a race without a gender.

There was also very much a celebration of language in this book. I enjoyed seeing how much the author obviously enjoyed language and word origins. It really came across to me and it delighted me as much as I’m sure it did her.

All in all, this is a very subtle book. It doesn’t tell you what to think or feel, it tries to encourage you to think critically about it. I strongly believe that it was written with the best of intentions, though if I’m wrong then I’ll change my opinion. I can see how this book can be taken wrongly, but I can also see the beauty and the subtlety in what the author was intending to do.

For me, this book was beautiful.