Review: The Relentless Moon

The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The third book in the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Lady Astronaut series, The Relentless Moon explores some of the background events of The Fated Sky as seen largely from pilot and astronaut Nicole Wargin's perspective on the Moonbase Artemis. As readers of TFS may recall, there was trouble on Earth while Elma York and her fellow astronauts voyaged to Mars. Kansas City, the new US Capitol in the aftermath of the meteorite strike that obliterated the eastern seaboard, is the site of ongoing demonstrations. More disturbingly, increasingly dangerous acts of sabotage begin to occur both with equipment and space program personnel, on Earth, and on the Moon. Nicole, who is married to Senator Kenneth Wargin, has been a victim of one of these acts of sabotage and almost loses her ticket for another tour on the Moon. But with problems occurring on the base, Nicole's unique skill set makes her a valuable member of the crew. She will be joining her fellow Lady Astronauts, the delightful Myrtle Lindholm, and the clever Helen Carmouche, along with Myrtle's husband Eugene, commander of the mission. A series of escalating acts of sabotage in the Moonbase leave Nicole and her colleagues speeding to identify the culprits before devastating damage is done to the base and the residents living in it.

The tone of this novel is quite different from the first two novels, because of course, Nicole is a very different person than Elma York, the protagonist of the majority of the Lady Astronaut series. Some readers may miss Elma's voice. It took me a while to grow comfortable with Nicole. She isn't as engaging a character as Elma, but that's precisely why she is the right person for this backstory. Nicole isn't sweet, isn't unsure of herself, and she comes with her own set of struggles. She's also headed into middle age and is tired of being written off by the program because she's not some ingenue astronaut who just looks great in a photo op. (And yes, that appears to be a thing with the sexist International Aerospace Coalition.) By the end of the novel, you will be cheering Nicole on.

The audiobook, as with the previous installments, will be something to look forward to, since it is narrated by Mary Robinette Kowal, one of the best voice talents in the audiobook business.

I received an Advance Review Copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I was also a beta reader for the novel and it has been polished to burnished steel by the author.

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