After the first mission intended to put people on Mars was a tragic failure, it has taken thirty years for people to be ready to try again. As a hotel housekeeper, Emily's only connection to the mission is the fact that two of the mission's astronauts will be coming to her hotel to participate in the final press conference before the launch. But Emily's mother, Moolie, has something that Emily needs to know. And that something may just set Emily's entire world on its head.

When I read science fiction, I admit that I do like the speculative elements of the story. But what is most important is the character development. Who are these people? Why should I care about them and what is happening to them? How are they going to overcome the obstacles that are thrown in their way? And Nina Allan definitely delivers in all of those areas. Although this is novelette length, readers get an opportunity to see in to Emily's world--and to be right there with her when everything changes in ways she never expected or imagined. ( )

Emily is chief housekeeper at a hotel at Heathrow Airport at which two astronauts about to embark on a trip to Mars will be staying and giving their press conference. She was affected by the disaster of the previous, failed attempt - her mother was a materials scientist who both worked on the mission and investigated the failure - along with pollution of a further failed launch.



Whilst dealing with the ramping up of the hotel in readiness of the upcoming visit, Emily is also looking after her mother, who is now housebound and suffering from a disease that may have been caused by exposure to the rocket catastrophe; she suffers from lung problems as well as dementia, which exacerbates what we learn is her rather impish, even capricious, sense of humour. During a moment of apparent lucidity Moolie, as Emily calls her mother, drops a hint about the identity of Emily's father, which she has never revealed.



All these threads, along with talk of the almost certain death of the astronauts - even if they do reach Mars, it is likely a one-way trip - gives the tale a melancholy tone, however it is beautifully written and rich. Nina Allen fits a massive amount into the 40 pages, so much character and history and background. Another writer new to me who I shall be watching. ( )

For a story set in the future with elements that make it sound like it's going to have some decent reveal with the second great Mars expedition, this story remains firmly in the realm of a character study, only.

There are parts of this that I do like, such as the writing and the character development, the stream of consciousness bits, the ruminations about her family and where she might come from, it is only this, however.

After so much build up, I kinda wanted something a little more juicy to sink my teeth into. Maybe I'm a spoiled reader and I don't have so much patience for super quiet stories that ramble on without giving me anything more than distant but very real-feeling hard realities contrasted against a hopeless-feeling optimism.

Did I like this so much? No. Not really. It was good for what it was, but I suppose I don't really like being shown normalcy so starkly against distant dreams. I like my dreams a little closer to the page, dragging me out of the regular and into the truly beautiful.

That being said, this story was nom'd for the '17 Hugos and it does have beauty to it. ( )

This science fiction novelette was a nominee for the Hugo Award in 2017, and I thought it was worth my time.

Earth is readying itself for a manned Mars mission. The previous attempt failed (the ship exploded during liftoff), and even this time the astronauts will be going on a suicide mission: their task is to prepare a base for future use, but there won’t be a return voyage. The neat thing is that this story isn’t really concerned with any of that: the foreground is taken up by the person running the hotel where the astronauts are going to stay. Preparing the hotel staff, handling the press, taking care of her increasingly senile mother.

I’d have wanted perhaps a little more meat, but this was not a bad read at all. ( )

This novelette did a nice job of worldbuilding and exploring the narrator's personal journey. The choice to put hotel staff, rather than astronauts or other famous people, at the center of the story was interesting. I would have liked to hear more about the past space missions mentioned, though. ( )