In the Moon's House

Lady Astronaut Universe #4.6

by Mary Robinette Kowal

A new Lady Astronaut story! Dawn struggles to fit in with the rest of her team--the backup crew for the next lunar mission--but she and her colleagues may have more in common than anyone realizes...

At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Genres: Science Fiction, Short Stories, Historical Fiction, Alternate History, LGBT, Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy

23 pages, Kindle Edition

First published July 17, 2024

About the author

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award winning alternate history novel The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series which continues in 2025 with The Martian Contingency. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series, Ghost Talkers, The Spare Man and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo awards, the Nebula and Locus awards. Her stories appear in Asimov’s, Uncanny, and several Year’s Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Denver with her husband Robert, their dog Guppy, and their “talking” cat Elsie.

Her novel Calculating Stars is one of only eighteen novels to win the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards in a single year.

Reviews

[Alina · Rating 3 out of 5]

In the Moon’s House by Mary Robinette Kowal - 3/5★

I guess this maybe gives some background story to some character in her series, Lady Astronaut Universe, well written, but as a standalone not so interesting, seems to be focusing too much on the woke part, and not enough on the sf/space part, which I would have liked better.

The short story is found in Some of the Best from Reactor: 2024 Edition and can also be read on REACTOR

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars. Nice little visit to this world but nothing memorable. Available here.

[Barry · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful story with a charming 2SLGBTQI+ aspect.

[Becky Rosas · Rating 4 out of 5]

good read

Enjoyed the vignette into the dynamics of this crew headed to the moon. As with all MRK’s short works, it leaves you wanting more!

[Becky Rosas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed the vignette into the dynamics of this crew headed to the moon. As with all MRK’s short works, it leaves you wanting more!

[Nicol · Rating 5 out of 5]

April 14, 1960-> Me gustan estas pequeñas historias de 10-20 contando escenas extras de nuestros personajes favoritos.

Nicole Wargin, Estavan Terrazas y Elma York, se preparan para dejar la Luna mientras ceden la misión de construir la base lunar al respectivo equipo, tras haberse completado Lunneta (la base que órbita la Luna). Wilburt Schönhaus, Graeham Stewman y Dawn Sábados, como equipos de respaldo para viajar a la Luna, son llamados para ser ese equipo.

Volvió a mirar a los hombres. Las siluetas y las risas se alinearon. Esto... esto era un bar gay. Su mente se dividió en dos reacciones simultáneas: el deseo de huir antes de que alguien la viera y el alivio de no tener que ocultar quién era. Desde que se unió al CAI, había enterrado esa parte de sí misma a cambio de acceso a las estrellas.

Pero esto no es sobre construcción, es sobre lazos como equipos y Dawn sintiendo que la dejan de lado. Porque.... A quien le caería mal alguien al que le gusta combinar pollo frito y cerveza?

Marte. Quizás algún día, este equipo podría ir allí junto. Quizás con Heidi. Y quizás ella podría tener la misma alegría de llegar a un nuevo planeta y ser completamente ella misma.

[Kam Yung Soh · Rating 3 out of 5]

A story set in the author's "Lady Astronaut" series, this one looks at a female astronaut in a backup crew for a moon mission, who finds herself being excluded from events from both her fellow male astronauts and from another female astronaut. One day, she decides to follow them and discover they were all secretly going to a particular pub, increasing her feelings of being excluded. Then events occur, and she decides to gatecrash the pub, only to discover that what goes on inside is not what it seems, and they all discover secrets about each other that will only bond the crew closer together.

[Katherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

It's been so long since the Lady Astronaut books have come out that I have a hard time remembering if this is about a particular character, or even where in the series this fits. Still, it's a short but sweet little story, mixing together multiple different issues but in a well done way. Looking forward to the next book.

[Jodi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nächstes Jahr kommt der nächste Band der Lady Astronaut-Serie! Ich freue mich jetzt schon und bis dahin gibt es zum Glück eine neue Kurzgeschichte.

Wie immer grandios geschrieben von Kowal, wenden wir uns hier einem stark tabuisierten Thema zu. Grossartig, dass Kowal sich daran macht, auch hier das Schweigen zu brechen. Stark, wie immer!

[Kieran McAndrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dawn Sabado feels like she's failing as the Backup Crew Leader because her colleagues avoid her in their downtime. When their mission is bumped, she discovers something surprising about her team.

Kowal's short story captures the spirit of the age and still manages to write strong characters in a short space.

[Shiva · Rating 4 out of 5]

You think it is the issue of being a woman in a science world. But then it wasn’t a “being a woman” issue but more of a “heterosexual” and law abiding issue really! … and of course there is always the issue of non-inclusive designs made by men without considering women’s bodies!

4 stars
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

[Tom A/O · Rating 5 out of 5]

…any Lady Astronaut story is always welcome!

As always strong female characters with anxieties and secrets! These stories are so well told and the characters fully formed and fun to read! More, please!

[The Litt Librarian · Rating 4 out of 5]

Way too short, but better than most of the ones I've read so far.

3.5

[Audrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love the Lady Astronaut universe, but I didn’t feel this added much to the main series. Might have made more sense if I’d read the first three books more recently.

[Sanoo · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel this was way too short and the characters too unknown to have the emotional impact it could have had. Maybe it would have worked better within a novel but not so much as a short story for me.

[Anitra E. H. L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finally a writer includes real life everyday worries in a sweet coming out story, also space. Lovely story.

[Jennifer Baratta · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well this was fun

Please read this book. It's really a fun read and just when you think you know where the characters are going and acting your wrong.

[Kyri Freeman · Rating 2 out of 5]

I generally really like her work. There just wasn't enough substance to this short story.

[luiloth · Rating 5 out of 5]

https://reactormag.com/in-the-moons-h...

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I mean…these shorts are always fun. Honestly, this one needed some more room to develop over time…for me.

[Kat · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice little story giving insight into another familiar character.

[Per · Rating 2 out of 5]

https://reactormag.com/in-the-moons-h...

[Patricia Sullivan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This short story was good, but not as good as the Lady Astronaut novels.

[Rachel · Rating 4 out of 5]

How nice to have a short story to read while waiting for the next Lady Astronaut book. It's short, but it's a good one. Gay astronauts in 1960, yay!