Reviews

The Relentless Moon by Mary Robinette Kowal

burningupasun's review against another edition

4.0

Trigger warnings: anorexia, lots of mentions of disordered eating, lots of jokes (from men) about physical abuse of wives, also the usual sexism, racism, etc.

This book was really good, it just also STRESSED ME OUT, haha. Don't get me wrong, this whole series is AMAZING. I love the alternate world the author has created, where there's an obvious break from our world due to the meteor, but where things are still realistic considering the time period. However this book in particular, is just a LOT of things going wrong again and again right up until the end... if you're an anxious reader it will probably stress you out. I had to put it down a lot, haha. But I did keep going and I'm glad I did, because it really was good and I enjoyed the end.

Although I did, in retrospect, have a slight qualm about the ending:

Spoiler

In the moment when I was reading it, I was like YES, of COURSE she becomes president, heck yeah! But then in retrospect, I kept thinking... after all the sexism the women in these books face, would she really have been able to get elected President THAT easily? I think I could believe it (I think she could do it based on her status as one of the first Six in space and on her husband's death), but I wish we'd gotten to see some of that. Instead it was like SURPRISE, she spent the whole book being told she was getting old and wasn't allowed to do must of what she wanted because she was a woman, and now she's president! I mean, we still can't even get a woman president in 2021! But I'm not REALLY mad about it, because I love that Nicole gets to be Madame President. I kinda saw it coming anyway when Kenneth died. (Which, by the way, was REALLY SAD.)

rivercat0338's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

talia012's review against another edition

5.0

I was convinced this was going to be a four star book until the final 200 pages, which I devoured in one stressful can't-look-away sitting. It felt like a Sanderson avalanche in the moment and I felt very validated when Kowal gave him a nod in the acknowledgements. The beginning of this book dragged a bit, but once the investigation got going so did the narrative. Once it kicked into gear it did not let up, and the dynamics of a survival situation on the moon, team chemistry, and endlessly suspicious investigations worked really well together. Finally, the epilogue made me unreasonably happy and now I want so much more from this world (on the earth and in space).

krhanson68's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

izzy_obert's review against another edition

medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

annknee's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

5.0

jaminup's review against another edition

4.0

MRK's third novel in the Lady Astronaut series is an interesting change of pace from the first two. Taking place simultaneously as the second book but from a radically different perspective, The Relentless Moon is more of a whodunit crisis novel and in my opinion, delves much deeper into dealing with personal demons and emotions. I think Relentless Moon is a step up from The Fated Sky, but still slightly behind The Calculating Stars. Nicole Wargin is a more relatable character to me than Elma York, but the sense of discovery and wonder we get with Dr. York in her adventures is much more engaging.

birte's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful informative mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

aurora69006's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25