The Lady Astronaut of Mars by Mary Robinette Kowal

I'm not a short fiction fan, plain and simple. But given the opportunity to download this Hugo nominated novella by an author I like, I did just that, despite the lack of length.  MRK pulled it together with the style I've come to expect from her, but I have to say, my novel-loving soul wanted a longer story, even so. That might have allowed more of a connection to the Dorothy/Oz bit, which was a fun element, but didn't seem to really connect to the main story arc for me. However, I am a sucker for a love story, and that was the main delight in this tale of an aging astronaut, the first female astronaut to Mars, who is once again given the opportunity to head into space.  But her husband, the other half of her heart, is dying. What's a lady astronaut (of Mars) to do?

Thank you to Tor for offering <a href="http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/05/get-torcoms-original-fiction-hugo-finalists-for-free">Tor.com's Original Fiction Hugo Finalists for Free</a>.