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The Mars House
- A BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick
- Narrated by: Daniel de Bourg
- Length: 18 hrs and 32 mins
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Summary
'Pure Pulley' STUART TURTON
'Joyful and profound' CATRIONA WARD
'Simply unputdownable' THOMAS D. LEE
'A work of staggering genius' IMRAN MAHMOOD
'Charming and funny and perfectly paced' TEMI OH
'A spiritual heir to Terry Pratchett' ROBIN STEVENS
'Book of the year for me' LAUREN JAMES
January Stirling was one of the principal dancers of London's Royal Ballet. Now he's a climate refugee bound for Tharsis, the notorious terraformed colony on Mars. It's a utopia for the naturalised population. For January, as a dangerous Earthstronger whose body is unadjusted to the weaker Martian gravity, it's a life sentence to hard labour and ferocious discrimination.
But he will live.
Aubrey Gale, energy trillionaire and hereditary senator, is running for election on a hardline platform to protect the native population from dangerous immigrants. The path to equality is simple, requiring all Earthstrongers who choose to come to Mars to undergo the disabling and sometimes fatal process of surgical naturalisation.
Which is no life at all.
When a disastrous media encounter plunges Aubrey and January's lives into chaos, the solution is a five-year made-for-reality-TV marriage that could secure January's future and ensure Aubrey's political success . . . but it soon becomes clear that thousands of lives hang in the balance, and nothing is as it seems.
Timely and utterly thrilling, The Mars House is an exceptional genre-blending story about privilege, strength, life, and love across class divisions - perfect for fans of Babel by R.F. Kuang, The Ferryman by Justin Cronin, and This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.
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What listeners say about The Mars House
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- Ms. S. H. Pether
- 15-04-24
I don't know how she does it
for anyone familiar with Natasha Pulley's work you will recognise the signature elements of an intricately constructed world, which is both familiar and magical. And the incredibly fragile, delicate dance of two people caught in impossible circumstances yet slowly reaching out to each other. (And for anyone not familiar with her work - go and find the other novels now!) Yes there's almost a formula now but there's so much skill, warmth and compassion in the writing. It's desperately romantic in a completely unique and non-schmaltzy way. And I just love it. I found myself caring about the characters in a way that I haven't for a long, long time. Really hoping for a sequel
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- Lauren
- 24-03-24
Another perfect Pulley piece
I love everything she's ever written and this is no exemption. Beautiful writing and brilliant story
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- Denny
- 06-04-24
Interesting themes, well read
I'll be looking for more books by the same author, but also for other books read by the same narrator.
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- letty
- 25-03-24
Completely excellent
Loved this book. Even though it's this author's longest it felt like it was over so quickly I wasn't ready to come back from Mars! If you’ve liked Pulley’s other work I'm sure you’ll love The Mars House.
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- Marianna Clara Luthersdottir
- 02-04-24
Love all her books
There is of course the love story but the setting is amazing- the author really builds whole worlds- and Mars does not disappoint.
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- Ùna
- 22-03-24
Similar characters, different place.
I enjoyed the sci-fi aspects of this novel. There were some great ideas but they seemed as if they had been hung on what seems to be becoming the classic Natasha Pulley narrative architecture in rather a rush. The exploration of gender, ecocritical themes, and the quandary of immi/emmi-gration were engaging and I am pleased that the book has been written. The character archetypes are nigh on the same as in previous novels by the author.
This reading also seemed to have been produced in haste. There were a number of audio glitches (repeated words, changes in volume) that broke immersion. I also found the reader’s pronunciation of 'Mx' (I'm assuming it was 'Mx' as I've not seen the book in print) as 'Mc' (as opposed to 'Mks') unnecessarily lazy - though, to be be fair, various pronunciations were discussed in the text.
I would recommend this book but I feel that it would have been better if more time had been taken over both the writing and reading.
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- Sinead Rankin
- 14-04-24
stunning
I was thoroughly gripped the whole story. I loved everything about it. Brilliant idea for a story
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- Carrie
- 22-04-24
intriguing, political, subtle romance and suspense
This story is many things and drew me into the worlds and characters created. it is a book that will stay with me.
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- emma bradford
- 11-04-24
Bit too political
Love Natasha Pulleys previous books, so assumed I'd love this one too. Was ok until it got a bit too political. i listen to audio books to escape real life, I don't need to hear about it mirrored in my books.
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