About the Book
The Relentless Moon is the third book in Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut series, set in an alternate 1960s where a meteor strike has accelerated the space race into a matter of survival. The premise: Earth is slowly becoming uninhabitable, and the International Aerospace Coalition is racing to establish off-world colonies before the window closes.
This installment shifts the point-of-view character from series lead Elma York to Nicole Wargin, a fellow astronaut and politician's wife who is stationed at the lunar colony while Elma is en route to Mars. Nicole is managing the day-to-day work of lunar settlement when a sabotage campaign begins threatening the entire program from within. The story tracks her investigation alongside the political upheaval happening back on Earth, where riots and organized resistance are destabilizing the IAC's mission.
The book can technically be read on its own, but the characters and stakes carry significantly more weight if you've followed The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky first. Nicole is introduced in earlier books, and the reader's relationship with her, and with the broader cast, matters here. New listeners are unlikely to be lost, but they will be missing context that shapes several of the book's emotional beats.
Narration & Audio Performance
Mary Robinette Kowal narrates her own work here, and she's one of the more accomplished author-narrators working in science fiction. She's a professional voice actor with stage and audiobook credits independent of her fiction career, so this isn't a case of a novelist reading into a microphone. Her delivery is controlled, paced deliberately, and she handles the ensemble cast with clear voice differentiation, a real asset in a book with a large number of named characters across two settings.
Nicole Wargin's narration voice sits differently from how Kowal performed Elma York in the earlier books, more guarded, with a different cadence that fits Nicole's particular blend of social performance and internal tension. Whether you notice this as a meaningful character choice or simply as variation in delivery will depend on how closely you listened to the earlier installments.
Production quality is consistent with a major publisher release. There are no reported issues with audio artifacts or pacing problems in the recording. Listeners who found Kowal's narration effective in The Calculating Stars will have no complaints here. If you haven't sampled her before, the Audible preview gives a reasonable sense of her style.
The Audible Verdict
Kowal is a genuine voice actor, not just an author who agreed to read their book. The result is narration that adds real clarity to a large cast and two parallel storylines. Combined with a Hugo-nominated novel that holds up on its own terms, this is one of the stronger cases for spending a credit in the alternate history science fiction space. Listeners already invested in the series should treat this as a straightforward decision.
Listen on AudibleIs This Book a Good Fit for Audio?
The Lady Astronaut books are well-suited to audio. They're written in first person with a strong central narrative voice, linear structure, and character-driven plotting that rewards close listening. There are no charts, diagrams, or technical appendices that would be lost in audio. The social and political maneuvering that drives much of Nicole's arc benefits from a narrator who can convey subtext in delivery rather than just text on a page.
The one caveat is the cast size. The Moon colony and Earth-side political scenes involve a number of recurring characters, some of whom share similar roles or backgrounds. Keeping track of who's who during early chapters can require attention, particularly for listeners who aren't fresh off the previous books. This isn't a structural problem with the audio format specifically, it's just worth knowing if you're planning to listen during commutes or other interrupted sessions.
Popular Listener Questions
Is this book author-narrated?
Yes. Mary Robinette Kowal narrates The Relentless Moon herself. She's a professional voice actor as well as a novelist, so the narration is notably polished compared to most author-read audiobooks.
Do I need to have read the earlier Lady Astronaut books first?
The book follows a different POV character than the first two, so the plot is self-contained enough to follow. However, the emotional weight of the story assumes familiarity with the series. Starting here is possible but not ideal.
What is the Lady Astronaut series about?
It's an alternate history science fiction series set in the 1950s and 1960s where a meteor strike forces an accelerated, internationally coordinated space program. The series follows women astronauts navigating both the technical and social challenges of that world.
Was this book nominated for any awards?
Yes. The Relentless Moon was a finalist for the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novel and also contributed to the Lady Astronaut series receiving a Hugo nomination for Best Series that same year. It was also a 2021 Locus Award finalist.
Whose perspective does this book follow?
The story is told from the perspective of Nicole Wargin, a supporting character from earlier in the series. Elma York, the protagonist of The Calculating Stars and The Fated Sky, appears but is not the narrator here.
Similar Audiobooks
The first book in the Lady Astronaut series. If you haven't started there, that's the right place to begin, and the audiobook uses the same narration approach.
The second Lady Astronaut book, directly preceding The Relentless Moon. Picks up Elma York's story on the mission to Mars while Nicole's subplot begins to develop.
Hugo Award-winning science fiction with a strong first-person voice and political maneuvering at the center of the plot. Readers who respond to the social dynamics in Kowal's series often find this a natural next read.
The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet
Character-focused science fiction with a diverse crew and emphasis on relationships over hard science. Appeals to a similar audience and translates well to audio for similar reasons.
Hidden Figures
Non-fiction account of Black women mathematicians at NASA during the space race. Shares the Lady Astronaut series' interest in women in mid-century spaceflight and works well in audio form.
Audiobook Details
| Title | The Relentless Moon |
|---|---|
| Author | Mary Robinette Kowal |
| Narrator | Mary Robinette Kowal |
| Genre | Alternate History Science Fiction |
| Year | 2020 |
| Publisher | Tor Books |
| Abridged | Unabridged |
| Cast | Single narrator |
| Author-narrated | Yes |
Ready to listen?
The Relentless Moon is available on Audible. If you're new to the platform, it's a reasonable choice for a free trial credit, particularly if you plan to follow through with the rest of the series.
Open on Audible