The Martian Contingency

Lady Astronaut, Book 4

By: Mary Robinette Kowal

Narrated by: Mary Robinette Kowal

Mary Robinette Kowal returns to Mars in this latest entry to the Hugo and Nebula Award-winning Lady Astronaut series.

Years after a meteorite strike obliterated Washington, DC—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 ...

• Lady Astronaut
• The Calculating Stars
• The Fated Sky
• The Relentless Moon
• The Martian Contingency

©2025 Mary Robinette Kowal (P)2024 Audible, Inc.

I loved the calendar motif

This is a great addition to the lady astronaut series. Throughout the book, she talks about trying to intertwine the calendars and celebrations of the different ethnic groups on Mars. I just loved how she worked social issues into the book. I hope someday the world can become become more unified as they did on Mars.

work the problem

I am so excited to have listened to this book. I am 48 and loved the hot flash in space. I respect how you worked family planning into these stories. such elegant layering.
keep up your great work! more insects.

A great addition to the series

I enjoyed catching up as the astronauts began to colonize Mars. Robinette does a great job of building back stories and showing the tension between long time
friends and adversaries.

The best book I’ve read in years. My new favorite!

Characters are complex and exceptionally well drawn; had me in tears time and again. Plot is griping and ambitious and so well researched that it achieves a complex verisimilitude that is rare stuff.

The escapism needed

MRK continues to thrive in creating alternate history. The Lady Astronaut series adds the perfect dose of humanity to science fiction, and the details of this installment feel particularly relevant at the start of 2025. Hatred and silence are themes throughout.

I personally love the evolution of the Drs. York; maturity in their love, communication strengths and glaring weaknesses, aging bodies, authenticity of self within the marriage, hard fought resolutions.