Books by Mary Robinette Kowal
Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of The Spare Man, Ghost Talkers, The Glamourist Histories series, and the Lady Astronaut Universe. She is part of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses and a four-time Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction appears in Uncanny, Tor.com, and Asimov’s.
“Mary Robinette Kawal won this award back in 2019 with The Calculating Stars, in which a meteorite strike forces colonisation of the moon and Mars. Here, in The Spare Man, space is already inhabited; the futurist technology of the spaceship setting is richly imagined, but it is a backdrop to the plot, which is entirely unconcerned with space exploration or species survival. Instead, The Spare Man is a murder mystery. While some of the forward momentum derives from the need-to-know-who-dunnit, Kawal deftly holds readers’ interest through several mechanisms at once. The protagonist’s spouse is accused, building a powerful tension from the outset, and as the book unfolds the danger from both the true murderer and law enforcement mounts. This is intelligently crafted storytelling.” Read more...
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2023: The Hugo Awards
“It’s a really fascinating piece of almost-historical fiction about space colonization, which is weird to say because we haven’t actually colonized space historically. It’s an alternate history where in the 1950s, a meteorite crashes into Chesapeake Bay and takes out the Eastern Seaboard. The scientists figure out that based on the climate change caused by that, Earth has got about 50 years left before it’s uninhabitable. This is set in a world just like ours, where the space program was just starting to get off the ground, but now suddenly is motivated by the survival of the species instead of the Cold War. It’s a really well-researched book, looking at, ‘OK, what if the US space program had been really focused on saving humanity?’” Read more...
The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement
Erika Nesvold, Physicist
Interviews with Mary Robinette Kowal
The Best Sci-Fi Mysteries, recommended by Mary Robinette Kowal
When the rules for technology, geography and even personal identity can be changed, murder mysteries get complicated – and fascinating. Mary Robinette Kowal, award-winning novelist and author of the Hugo-nominated mystery The Spare Man, talks to us about her top five sci-fi mystery books – and takes us on a tour of the whodunnits, howdunnits, and whydunnits available to us in science fictional worlds.
Interviews where books by Mary Robinette Kowal were recommended
Science Fiction, recommended by Scientists on Five Books
“The best science fiction is heavy on science and light on fiction,” Professor Chris Mason told us in his interview on science fiction and space travel. A geneticist and computational biologist at Cornell, he is just one of several scientists who have recommended sci-fi books on our site. Here, we’ve collected all our sci-fi books recommended by scientists—good choices for readers who like their fiction scientific.
The Best Sci Fi Books on Space Settlement, recommended by Erika Nesvold
We look to the stars and imagine a new home for humanity, an escape from the troubles that plague us here on Earth, but as astrophysicist Erika Nesvold points out, many of our problems will join us on our voyage. Here, she selects five science fiction books that illuminate the challenges and possible conflicts we’ll face if we head for this new frontier.
The Best Science Fiction & Fantasy Books of 2023: The Hugo Awards, recommended by Sylvia Bishop
The Hugo Awards, first presented in 1953, were originally known as the ‘Science Fiction Achievement Awards.’ But, in practice, their shortlists encompass speculative fiction as a whole, including fantasy—and is considered one of that genre’s most prestigious prizes. Here, Sylvia Bishop offers an overview of this year’s nominees in the ‘Best Novel’ category, which represent the most popular sci-fi and fantasy books of 2023.
