1931, New Galveston, Mars: Fourteen-year-old Anabelle Crisp sets off through the wastelands of the Strange to find Silas Mundt's gang who have stolen her mother's voice, destroyed her father, and left her solely with a need for vengeance.
Mr. Ballingrud makes this whole strange scenario work with surprising ease ... Characters sometimes act unbelievably, and there are jarring moments of darkness ... I would have preferred to explore more of this new/old Mars. I wanted to meet the ancient, John Carter-style aliens who may have lived there and the tribes that escaped Europeans by living in the Martian deserts.
The horror elements feel like the most original and interesting threads, but they seem somewhat desiccated by their subordination to the novel’s plot and Annabelle’s mindset ... An excellent and unexpected balance of inspirations and innovations. The specific homage to Bradbury’s atmosphere is remarkable enough, but this is more than a pastiche.
The Strange wouldn’t be half as good without Ballingrud’s extraordinary characterization ... Diversity is touched on only briefly. To its credit, it never feels crass and exploitative, yet never feels thorough ... The narrative might be uneven, but I enjoyed it immensely.
