The Lady Astronaut by Mary Robinette Kowal, Book 4: The Martian Contingency

The fourth "Lady Astronaut" novel returns us to the series's original protagonist, Elma York. By now, Mary Robinette Kowal's alternative twentienth-century history has humanity with a small settlement on Mars; Elma and her husband are members of the Second Expedition recently arrived on Mars, with Elma stepping into the position of deputy base administrator. But is someone trying to sabotage the settlement? And what secret are the members of the First Expedition hiding?

The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal

Published: 2025
Acquired: April 2025
Read: June 2025

Unfortunately, this is my least favorite of the four Lady Astronaut books thus far. I thought the first one was great and the third one tense and gripping after a slow start. The second had its moments but often plodded—and this one pretty much plods all the way through. None of the conflicts here ever really rise to the level of intensity needed to drive a novel: the mystery of what happened on the First Expedition, the need to rearrange the settlement so the women are in space, the idea that there might be a saboteur somewhere, Elma taking command of a spaceship... they're all fruitful ground for a novel sure, but as written here, none of them really feel like they have stakes, and they don't climax; most of them just seem to fizzle out or never get used. There's nothing as intense as the first book's meteor strike, or the second book's space survival sequences, or the third's desperate attempt to save the lunar colony. There's no drive, no energy here. 

It's more like spending a cozy year hanging out with Elma in space. Which I guess might work for some but never really clicked for me. I don't know if there will be a fifth novel,* but I hope that if so, like the third, it moves away from Elma's story—I feel like her story might be done.

* Kowal did crowdfund a collection of Lady Astronaut short stories last year, which totally passed me by. It comes out this year, I think; hopefully there's a way to get hold of even if you didn't participate in the original Kickstarter, because I would pick it up if so.