Early Review – The Martian Contingency (Lady Astronaut, Book 4) by Mary Robinette Kowal (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction/Alternate History
Length: 400 pages
Publisher:‎ Tor Books
Release Date: March 18, 2025
ASIN: B0D1P5GNXZ
Stand Alone or Series: 4th book in the Lady Astronaut series
Source: eGalley from NetGalley for Review
Rating: 4/5 stars

“Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, D.C.—triggering an extinction-level global warming event—Earth’s survivors have started an international effort to establish homes on space stations and the Moon.

The next step – Mars.

Elma York, the Lady Astronaut, lands on the Red Planet, optimistic about preparing for the first true wave of inhabitants. The mission objective is more than just building the infrastructure of a habitat – they are trying to preserve the many cultures and nuances of life on Earth without importing the hate.

But from the moment she arrives, something is off.

Disturbing signs hint at a hidden disaster during the First Mars Expedition that never made it into the official transcript. As Elma and her crew try to investigate, they face a wall of silence and obfuscation. Their attempts to build a thriving Martian community grind to a halt.

What you don’t know CAN harm you. And if the truth doesn’t come to light, the ripple effects could leave humanity stranded on a dying Earth…”

Series Info/Source: This is the 4th book in the Lady Astronaut series. I got a copy of this on ebook from NetGalley for review.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this fourth installment in the Lady Astronaut series; it was well worth the long wait. This was a bit more “day in the life of”, but on Mars. There are political issues going on in the background, but we are a bit distanced from them.

Elma is serving as second in command in the Mars habitat. The habitat is preparing for a large wave of inhabitants. Elma is finding strange discrepancies around the habitat and is trying to figure out what happened with the first mission, but the crew leftover from that mission are lying about what happened. As Elma is trying to unravel this mystery, one of their deliveries explodes leaving the team short on supplies. The crew must figure out if the explosion was an accident or sabotage.

What I enjoyed most in this story was watching how Elma has grown. She is now in her upper 40’s and is second in command of the Mars habitat. I love how Kowal dealt with things like Elma having a bit of imposter syndrome; she is still unsure about demanding people do things and really taking control. Elma doesn’t see herself as a mentor (but the young women following in her footsteps greatly do) and is plagued by her anxiety of speaking (although she knows how to work through it now).

As a lifelong scientist, I also really appreciated that Kowal delved into the topic of what happens as scientists progress in their careers. Inevitably, as you move along in your career (if you are decent at it) you get asked to take on more and more leadership roles. Of course, this takes you further away from the day to day science you love to do. I wish more companies understood that what makes someone a good scientist doesn’t necessarily make them a good leader. And even if they are a good leader, they are moving away from what they love. I really enjoyed how this issue was dealt with in this book. Okay, I am stepping down from my soap box now 🙂

I also very much enjoyed Kowal’s afterward. A lot of research and study goes into writing these books and I really appreciate that. I didn’t feel comfortable giving this a higher review because the story didn’t have a lot of urgency behind it and I had trouble engaging with characters aside from Elma. Parts of the story are a bit slow, and having Elma move from Mars to the orbiting ship made things feel pretty disjointed (almost like this was two stories).

I also really wish we got to explore Mars more and deal with silly people on Earth less. This book is much more about interpersonal relations and much less about space discovery.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this and am glad I read it. I really love seeing how Elma has grown as a character throughout the series and could relate to her struggles as a scientist and leader. I love the Mars setting and some of the mysteries they deal with there. I did have trouble engaging with some of the other characters (they hold Elma, and hence the reader, at a distance) and parts of the story felt slow. I do wish we had been able to spend more time exploring Mars and less time dealing with politics and interpersonal relations. I am curious if there will be additional books in this series; if there are, I will read them.