The Mars Contingency, by Mary Robinette Kowal

It is 1970, 18 years after the meteor hit the earth and triggered ecological disaster, in this third tale of Lady Astronaut Elma York. She and her husband Nathaniel are among those trying to establish an alternate habitat on Mars to provide a refuge from the dying home planet. There they battle sabotage from the Earth-first terrorism movement and a lack of support from their political masters. Elma is also finding herself on the outer among colleagues who were in the advance expedition to Mars and she starts investigating what happened on that mission and why it is being covered up. There is a lot going on here, but the intriguing plot lines are hampered by the lead character’s annoying persona. Elma’s religion has always been a significant element of the Lady Astronaut story, but in this one it is unnecessarily obtrusive. There are some ludicrous story elements – it’s a strain to believe scientists use the rhythm method of contraception and that, in a 48-year-old woman, a missed period triggers a pregnancy scare rather than suspecting peri-menopause. The politics are always interesting, especially those of race, gender and environment and Kowal does a good job of balancing alt-history with likely projections.