The Relentless Moon (Lady Astronaut Universe #3) by Mary Robinette Kowal

Continues the story which was started in two earlier parts. Earth was hit by a meteor in the early fifties. It is calculated to cause severe climate change in a few decades and space exploration, with the ultimate goal of establishing colonies on the Moon and Mars, is hurriedly started. This book happens at about the same time as the second part of the series, The Fated Sky (which strangely was not nominated for the Hugo - and is my favorite installment so far). While The Fated Sky tells what happens on the Mars expedition, The Relentless Moon tells what happens at the lunar colony at the same time. The main character is obviously different. Nicole Wargin has been one of the original astronauts. She had worked in intelligence during the second WW and is the wife of a US senator. There has been some terrorist activity that wants to prevent space exploration, as they want the money spent on Earth, and as everyone can’t escape the Earth, why should anyone? After some problems, the new flight to the Moon starts, but there are some accidents, both during the flight and on the base, and it becomes obvious there is a saboteur on board. Who is he/she and what is his/her goal? And is there more than one?

A pretty good book, but it is not as good as the second part. It took some time to get used to the new main character. At first, she felt less irritating with fewer neuroses than Emma York, the main character of the two other books, but it turned out that Nicole has her own set of problems. In spite of those, she is very capable and by the end of the book ends up with a fair share of responsibility.    

The book was better than the first part but not as good as the second part. In places, everything seemed to happen very slowly and the whodunit plot didn’t felt enough. The characters were well drawn and interesting and the writing was good and at the same time clear and enjoyable to read. As a whole, the series is so interesting that I will most likely pick up the next part even if it isn’t nominated.  

544 pp.