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Before we begin, I must admit that I have never been a big science fiction gal. The most science fiction thing I ever watched was Star Wars, and even though I took a science fiction class in college, I never sought out the genre when choosing my next read.
So, when my book club chose The Mars House by Natasha Pulley as our April read, I saw it as an opportunity to finally break out of my self-imposed reading box.
Although The Mars House is in the science fiction category, it feels much more realistic and grounded than other books I’ve read in the category. It follows the story of January Sterling, a principal dancer at London’s Royal Ballet, when he is forced to flee to Tharsis, a colony on Mars, because of London’s severe flooding due to climate change.
Although science fiction elements are present throughout all of The Mars House, I was surprised to find that it focuses more on politics than science. When January becomes a refugee on Tharsis, he is considered an “Earthstronger,” aka someone who either wasn’t born on Mars or didn’t go through the naturalization process to adjust to the lower gravity on Earth. Because Earth has about a 30% stronger gravity than Mars, Earthstrongers are relegated to only the most dangerous factory work. They are also required to wear a cage any time they are near the general population, designed to slow them down to protect those native born.
Although life would get easier if January decided to go through the naturalization process, as he would receive access to the best jobs, have a guaranteed income, and would have all his needs provided while going through the process – he chooses not to do it because of the extreme strain it puts on the body. Those who go through the process aren’t guaranteed to survive the process, and even in the best-case scenario, they will experience osteoporosis and a shorter life. Plus, you can never return back to Earth. As you can see, it’s a choice with huge consequences on both sides.
Enter politician Aubrey Gale, who runs on the platform of making all Earthstrongers naturalize. The cages that Earthstrongers wear are designed to slow them down enough so that they don’t walk/run into natural-born citizens due to the 30% reduction in gravity. Apparently, it’s a big enough issue that many natural-born citizens died accidentally (and perhaps a few on purpose). When January finds himself crossing paths with Gale, he loses the meager resources he already had. When he can no longer work or afford his tiny apartment in AmericaTown, he prepares to naturalize even though it will be detrimental to his health. That is when Aubrey suggests the lifeline that January needs – an arranged marriage to save their reputation during their campaign for Consul. Their marriage is the central relationship in the novel, but it never felt like it progressed beyond their agreement for the arranged marriage.
Although the book kept me decently engaged, the first two-thirds moved quite slowly, and then the last third completely picked up the pace. If I wasn’t reading this for my book club, I might have quit a third of the way in, but I’m glad I stuck it out to the end. I also thought that the inequality between the Earthstrongers and the natural-born Martians was going to play a much bigger role than it did. The novel also explored what society would be like if gender was eradicated (except for Earthstrongers), but didn’t quite do a full exploration of it. It’s just accepted that for the native Martians, gender no longer exists.
I did enjoy the “behind the scenes” look at politics and how much of it is fake for the sake of good optics. The novel shined in its political intrigue and challenged the reader to reexamine first impressions and preconceived notions.
Although science fiction elements are present, readers who enjoy political thrillers will like this more than pure sci-fi lovers.
All in all, I give The Mars House three and a half stars out of five.
This was written by our contributing writer, Carrie Bagley.
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