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The Lady Astronaut Of Mars (2013)

by Mary Robinette Kowal(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 5

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

http://www.maryrobinettekowal.com/

review 1: At 19 pages, I would call this a short story and not a novella, but for those 19 pages, it was packed with a story line that had me hooked. The 'lady astronaut of Mars' is 63 and a colonist on Mars. She yearns to be piloting again in space but recognizes her age restricts her plus her husband's health has failed. He balances at the point of becoming a total invalid although he needs assistance daily in even basic functions. Then she gets the opportunity to return to space--the story isn't about happily blasting off and traveling in space, but the choices she must make. The high risk mission suddenly makes it desirable to have an older space pilot but the length of the trip means that her husband will be deceased by the time she returns. When it's a woman choosing car... moreeer versus family, suddenly the dynamics are a great deal different than traditional stories where men are almost expected to sacrifice their families/personal lives over their careers. There's a lot here about growing old and end of life issues that I simply haven't seen before in a science fiction setting. Younger readers may not 'get it' but if they come back later in life, they will. This is a great story.
review 2: A lovely story. Set in a alternate version of the 80s, on Mars, it was not quite what I expected. The bulk of the story takes place 30 years after the titular character was on the first mission to Mars. She is mostly retired but still dreams of the stars. Her husband is terminally ill and a large part of the story deals with their life choices from her point of view. Most notably, their decision not to have children because of her career. It's nice to see a story dealing with these issues; women "sacrificing" family life for their careers is not often a focus and rarely a positive one, especially when compared with male characters making the same choices. A really great story. less

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