The Relentless Moon

You may have heard me talk about The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal (maybe just once or twice). I have said it is my favorite novel of the past decade. That book was the first installment in her “Lady Astronaut” series. It was followed up by The Fated Sky. I have now just finished the third book in the series The Relentless Moon. The Fated Sky was a welcome sequel that fulfilled its promise, and The Relentless Moon does not disappoint.

The first two novels follow the journey of Elma York as she fights her way through the prejudices of her times to be taken seriously as an astronaut. It was a journey that I was glad to follow. Even though she is completely different from me, Elma was a character that touched me. The books dealt with social issues of an alternate history (which has much the same social issues of our own history), but the books were never weighed down by lecturing. They were, in fact, fun. Remember fun?

I was a little concerned as I started reading the third book, as I realized that we are no longer following Elma York, but instead the main character is Nicole Wargin (also a “lady astronaut” who had been introduced to us in the first book). I wanted to continue to follow Elma. But Nicole soon won me over with her depth of character. She may have had help getting into the astronaut program from her husband who was a Senator, now a governor, and soon to be running for president.  And she may have her weaknesses (anorexia), but nonetheless, Nicole is a badass. She is definitely someone you want on your side if you find yourself isolated on the moon with an unknown number of terrorists among the population. She is smart and she’s got skills. Convincing the powers that be that they should actually use her skills is another story, while the people on the moon find themselves going from the frying pan to the fire, to a bigger fire, to a . . . well, you get the picture. The increasing peril that the characters are placed in never feels forced but proceeds logically.

I should mention that the reason we must follow a different lead character in this book is that the events of this book take place roughly at the same time as events of the second book. So, while Elma York is on her way to Mars with the first Martian expedition, Nicole is on her way to the moon to join the lunar colony to try to help sort out a conspiracy. There are certain events that take place in The Relentless Moon that don’t come as a surprise to us who have read the second book. But the plots are so different that nothing is “spoiled” by having read the second book

Mary Robinette Kowal is a master storyteller. I am not a fast reader and it only took me a few days to whip through this 500-plus page book. I didn’t want it to end. I see that there is a planned fourth book in the series (The Derivative Base) slated for release in 2022. I can’t wait. 

(My science fiction novel Star Liner, is now available in paperback or as an e-book through Amazon and other online sources).

Link to Star Liner