The Strange

By: Nathan Ballingrud

Narrated by: Sophie Amoss

A Locus Award Finalist
“Stretches the boundaries of the genre.” —The New York Times

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 in this “page-turner” (Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times bestselling author of Black Sun) from Nathan Ballingrud.

Since Anabelle’s mother left for Earth to care for her own ailing mother, her days in New Galveston have been spent at school and her nights at her laconic father’s diner with Watson, the family Kitchen Engine and dishwasher, as her only companion. When the Silence came, and communication and shipments from Earth to its colonies on Mars stopped, life seemed stuck in foreboding stasis until the night Silas Mundt and his gang attacked.

At once evoking the dreams of an America explored in Ray Bradbury’s The Martian Chronicles and the harsher realities of frontier life in Charles Portis True Grit, Ballingrud’s “brilliant” (Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World) novel is haunting in its evocation of Annabelle’s quest for revenge amidst a spent and angry world accompanied by a domestic Engine, a drunken space pilot, and the toughest woman on Mars.

Nathan Ballingrud’s stories have been adapted into the film Wounds and the Hulu series Monsterland, The Strange is his first novel.

Critic reviews

"Sophie Amoss nails the soft Texas accent of the main character in Ballingrud's first novel, which takes place on Mars in 1931...Amoss shines in her ability to maneuver between characters, including a British robot."

“Ballingrud stretches the boundaries of the genre by employing these grand worlds.”

“The most enjoyable novel I’ve read in years, no contest. Before The Strange, I never realized I wanted to be marooned on the dustbowl of Mars, joining an epic quest through ghost towns haunted by the living. Ballingrud is already a master of literary horror, his short stories consistently brilliant. But in his page-turner of a debut novel, that talent radiates brighter than ever before.” ( ––Mat Johnson, author of Invisible Things and Pym)

“Ballingrud’s brilliant fiction brims with imagination, integrity (I do not use that term lightly), and an authentic world-weary dread that bores directly into your heart.” (—Paul Tremblay, New York Times bestselling author of The Cabin at the End of the World and The Pallbearers Club)

“Ballingrud is one of my favorite contemporary authors. His work is elegant and troublingly, wonderfully disturbing. ( —Victor LaValle, award-winning author of The Changeling and Lone Women)

“A definite page-turner. The writing is lovely and poetic and a perfect mix of well-written action and character.” (—Rebecca Roanhorse, New York Times bestselling author of Black Sun)

"The Strange conjures a Bradbury-esque sense of childhood longing and creates a scrappy heroine that brings to mind True Grit, and yet it is utterly original and surprising. His wonderfully lyric work always feels as if it's part of a dream you once had and never told to anyone—yet somehow Ballingrud knows." (—Dan Chaon, author of Sleepwalk)

The Strange is an adventure tale of the best kind: an unusual setting with vivid characters and an unpredictable ending. With every turn of the page, I wondered what would happen next.” (—Charlaine Harris, New York Times bestselling author of An Easy Death and the Sookie Stackhouse series.)

“A surprising, thrilling, emotionally powerful bildungsroman. The Strange is an instant classic.” (—Gwenda Bond, New York Times bestselling author of Stranger Things: Suspicious Minds)

"A propulsive story that reads like a love letter to the space western."

"Ballingrud makes this whole strange scenario work with surprising ease."

Unique and engaging

I’ve never read anything like this. A whole new world with gritty and flawed heroes, mysterious dangers, and enchanting descriptions. The narrator was fantastic and I found myself taking the long way home so I could hear what came next. Sally is my favorite person now. ❤️

Eerie environment and excellent characters

Suspenseful but very descriptive, it sets an unforgettable atmosphere in Mars. The characters are all unique and memorable.

Great story

i loved every minute of it. i would be interested to see more stories in this universe.

good writting not great story

The writing is good. But I don't really feel like it was worth the time. Story really didn't go anywhere. And I certainly don't feel like I was elevated or all that entertained in the end

Beautiful science fiction

Prosaic science fiction that takes the reader to the past, the future and to Mars. A wonderful ghost story set on Mars and told with a Southern feel. Loved the story and the narration was perfect. Highly recommend.

All killer, no filler.

Far and away the best book I've read in years, with a narrator performance to match.

Brilliant

This book will be stuck in my head for a long time. The wonderful prose and eerie, haunted setting evoke constant feelings of wonder, sorrow, and dread. Excellent narration that only adds to the story.

Hey, Siri weird story

It was a very strange story, but well worth the read. The narrator was perfect for this type of book. The timeframe was just so unusual. It was hard to keep up sometimes.

The Texas accent.

Story was hard to envision, how did they have these Texan accents? What exactly was this ship?

Original, Strange, Enjoyable

A really cool setting and atmosphere for this book. Sophie Amos has a great voice for this kind of novel.