Mary Robinette Kowal

NOMINATED FOR THE HUGO & NEBULA AWARDS One woman. One mission. One chance to save the world. It’s 1952, and the world as we know it is gone. A meteorite has destroyed Washington DC, triggering extinction-level global warming. To save humanity, the world unites to form the International Aerospace Coalition. Its mission: to colonise first the Moon, then Mars. Elma York, World War Two pilot and mathematician, dreams of becoming an astronaut – but prejudice has kept her grounded. Now nothing – and no man – will stop her from reaching for the stars. “In The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal imagines an alternate history of spaceflight that reminds me of everything I loved about Hidden Figures.” ― Cady Coleman, Astronaut “This is what NASA never had, a heroine with attitude.”―The Wall Street Journal

The Calculating Stars

Abhimat Gautam

This was a fun read. I absolutely loved the story and the characters, but the writing style initially took me a while getting used to. Being a space program nerd, I was able to pick out several of the historical parallels the author worked in while reading through the story. But the space and history nerd in me also really appreciated the Historical Note at the end of the book. It was fascinating to learn that many of the racial and gender issues the novel explores were directly written to parallel or mimic the real history of the space race and moon missions.

Math! Space! A complex timeline that exposes deeply troubling parts of our own in interesting thought provoking ways!

Brian Alderman

Gillian Rose

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

It's a perfect space story with awesome female characters and brilliant intersectionality. I cannot wait to read the rest of this series.

Mary Robinette Kowal's science fiction debut, 2019 Winner of the Hugo and Nebula Award for best novel, The Calculating Stars, explores the premise behind her award-winning "Lady Astronaut of Mars." Winner 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novel Winner 2019 Locus Award for Best Novel Winner 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel Finalist 2019 Campbell Memorial Award Locus Trade Paperback Bestseller List Publishers Weekly Best Books of 2018—Science Fiction/Fantasy Winner 2019 RUSA Reading List for Science Fiction—American Library Association Locus 2018 Recommended Reading List Buzzfeed—17 Science-Fiction Novels By Women That Are Out Of This World Locus Bestseller List Chicago Review of Books—Top 10 Science Fiction Books of 2018 Goodreads—Most Popular Books Published in July 2018 (#66) The Verge—12 fantastic science fiction and fantasy novels for July 2018 Unbound Worlds—Best SciFi and Fantasy Books of July 2018 Den of Geek—Best Science Fiction Books of June 2018 Publishers Weekly—Best SFF Books of 2018 Omnivoracious—15 Highly Anticipated SFF Reads for Summer 2018 Past Magazine—Best Novels of 2018 Bookriot—Best Science Fiction Books of 2018 The Library Thing—Top Five Books of 2018 On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington D.C. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process. Elma York’s experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon, as a calculator. But with so many skilled and experienced women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn’t take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can’t go into space, too. Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

A Lady Astronaut Novel

Kayla Ndife

I read this book in one sitting and ugly cried through most of it. Mary is on my short list of favorite authors of all time, and this book is a stunning example of why.

Adam

Gave up at 55%. No urgency. Didn't have anything going on that made me want to keep reading.

Ryan LaFerney

The Calculating Stars (the first in the Lady Astronaut series) is an outstanding work of alternative history and deserves all the praise it has received. It won the 2019 Nebula Award for Best Novel , the 2019 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel, the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and the 2019 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. So, this book is kinda a big deal.

The Calculating Stars is an alternate history about the space race, in which a catastrophe (a meteorite crashing into the earth propelling rapid global warming) necessitates an earlier reach for the stars in the 1950s. We follow Elma York, WASP pilot and mathematician as she earns her place as part of the International Aerospace Coalition's team. But Elma isn't satisfied with just being a computer, she's a damn good pilot, and believes that herself and other women in the program are just as qualified to go to the moon as the men are. So Elma attempts to confront various gender barriers in order to become the first Lady Astronaut while a looming apocalypse ensues. 

Meticulously researched, The Calculating Stars feels very authentic. The Apollo-era technology is well-researched and well-presented and always feels organic—more organic often than the characters. But Elma is the real start of the story here and by the end of the novel, you'll come to appreciate the time you've spend with her. Elma's personal life provides a fascinating human center to the story. 

If you love the history of the space race, alternative history, or just a great story of a women breaking gender barriers to reach the stars, pick up this book

Izza

Janice Hopper

A very readable alternate history of a space race that started early because of a catastrophic meteor strike off the eastern coast of the U.S.

I've bounced off this author in the past, and honestly wasn't expecting to care for this book that much. But I found it compulsively readable. (I read it in just over 2 days.)

I did appreciate how the novel actually acknowledges the misogyny and racism of the era. It's really a very hopeful book.

One personal aside:
I'm not really used to reading books written from a woman's point of view where the woman isn't trying to be like a man. I don't know if that makes sense. Elma, the protagonist, is a highly skilled mathematician and pilot. She's also a wife who's devoted to her husband, and who has lots of women friends. And she's "womanly." I decided while I was reading this that that was why I have issues with some novels, and maybe why I don't read romance. I've never been "womanly" and I don't quite understand it. I'm solidly female, but that's it. I don't really know what it's like to have a strong group of female friends. So I am always slightly bemused when I read books like this. It doesn't seem quite "realistic" to me, because it doesn't reflect MY "reality."

YMMV.

Sonja H

„The Calculating Stars“ hatte ich als Teil der Popsugar-Reading-Challenge zum Thema „A book about or by a woman in STEM“ gewählt und ich hätte nie erwartet, dass ich es so sehr mögen würde.

Wir begegnen in dieser Geschichte sehr kompetenten Mathematikerinnen, die nicht nur im Krieg einen wesentlichen Beitrag geleistete haben, sondern auch als Vorläufer unserer heutigen Computer in sehr kurzer Zeit sehr wichtige Berechnungen vornahmen und so auch für Raumfahrt eine bedeutsame Rolle spielten.

Eine von ihnen ist die Protagonistin Elma York, die nichts mehr liebt als das Fliegen und die nach einem Meteoreinschlag dabei helfen möchte, bemannte Raketen ins All zu schicken, um den Weg zu ebnen für die Besiedelung eines Planeten, da die Erde in wenigen Jahren unbewohnbar sein wird. Doch Elma träumt davon, mehr zu tun als Berechnungen anzustellen. Sie möchte eine Astronautin werden – im Jahr 1952 undenkbar. Alle wichtigen Jobs sind von Männern besetzt, man akzeptiert Frauen als „wertvolle Unterstützerinnen“, aber all ihr Wissen und Können wird heruntergespielt.

So verwundert es auch nicht, dass Elma zunächst als „Lady Astronaut“ in einer Kindersendung landet, doch als sie merkt, welche Vorbildrolle sie plötzlich für kleine Mädchen einnimmt, werden ihre Bestrebungen, eine „echte“ Astronautin zu werden, stärker. Und sie stößt auf Widerstand.

Was mir besonders gut gefallen hat, ist, dass Elma nicht nur äußerlich auf Hindernisse stößt, sondern auch mit Erziehungsbarrieren und psychischen Problemen zu kämpfen hat. Immer wieder hallen ihr die Worte ihrer Mutter „was sollen denn die Leute denken?“ durch den Kopf. In ihrem Fall lässt das nicht nur leichtes Unbehagen aus, sondern führt zu Panikattacken, sobald sie im Rampenlicht steht.

Das macht sie für mich zu einem ausgesprochen menschlichen und nachvollziehbaren Charakter, denn noch immer werden Mädchen darauf getrimmt, „lieb und brav“ zu sein, während man Jungs zum Anecken ermutigt. Doch Elma wird zur Heldin ihrer Geschichte, sie geht gegen ihre Ängste an und lässt sich auf ihrem Weg zu ihrem Traum davon nicht aufhalten.

Ein weiterer positiver Aspekt des Buchs sind für mich darüberhinaus die Beziehungen der Figuren untereinander. Zwar gibt es hin und wieder Unstimmigkeiten, aber alle begegnen sich mit Respekt, versuchen einander zu unterstützen und verwickeln sich nicht in Intrigen und Dramen. Ja, es gibt einen „Bösewicht“, doch auch seine Motive sind nachvollziehbar und auch er zeigt Schwächen, die ihn für mich sympathisch machten.
Ich fand es sehr entspannend eine Geschichte zu lesen, in der es wenige Konflikte gab – manche mögen es für unrealistisch bei einem Thema wie diesem handeln, für mich war es ein großer Pluspunkt des Romans.

„The Calculating Stars“ ist eine sehr gut recherchierte Story, die ein wichtiges Thema beleuchtet, das immer noch nicht besonders fortschrittlich behandelt wird. Ein Blick auf Wikipedia zeigt, dass es zwischen 1963 und heute nur 78 Astronautinnen (bzw. Anwärterinnen oder Rentnerinnen) gab bzw. gibt. Von einem echten Durchbruch kann man da wohl kaum sprechen.

Ich kann dieses Buch wirklich jedem sehr ans Herz legen. Für mich war es ein echtes Highlight und ich werde schon bald die Fortsetzung „The Fated Sky“ lesen.

Celeste Richardson

The Calculating Stars was such a fun, compelling story. But though it was compelling from page 1, it didn’t start out fun. Having an apocalyptic event occur that wipes out your family and the city you call home, and having to come to terms with the fact that your entire planet will become uninhabitable within a matter of decades is understandably a difficult situation for our perspective character, Elma York. She is a mathematics savant and a killer pilot, and is married to a legit rocket scientist. The couple find themselves at the core of the International Aerospace Coalition, earth’s response to the disaster that struck in the book’s early pages. If the planet will soon be inhospitable, then the only option is to find a way to get mankind into space and colonize other heavenly bodies. Elma and her husband, Nathan, are working night and day to make that plan become reality. But Elma wants to do more than compute equations; she wants to become the first female astronaut.

I loved the setting of this book, and thought that Kowal did a brilliant job balancing fact and fiction. The feel of the US in the 1950s was spot on, including appearances or mentions of real people from the era. The Space Race, the Civil Rights Movement, and the Cold War were such huge parts of that time period, and all of those elements were present in and vital to this novel. I would strongly recommend reading (or watching) Hidden Figures before picking up The Calculating Stars. My decision to do so radically improved my experience with this book, because I was already very familiar with the female computers of NACA and NASA, and the fact that they weren’t given the same rights and recognitions as the men they worked with, as well as who role racism played in the space program.

This is only the second book I’ve read from Kowal, and it couldn’t have been more different from Regency period fantasy of manners that is Shades of Milk and Honey. Because of my experience with the aforementioned fantasy novel, I was expecting a level of cleanliness along the same lines. I was amused to find that wasn’t the case. Not that The Calculating Stars was dirty in any way. If movie ratings were applied to books, Shades of Milk and Honey would’ve been a mild PG, while The Calculating Stars would be PG-13 for occasional strong language and sexual innuendo. 

Speaking of sexual innuendo, there was a lot more sex in this book than I expected. It was never detailed, but it was frequent. And cheesy in the best way. Seriously, I rolled my eyes and legitimately laughed out loud on more than one occasion. I love the relationship between Elma and Nathan. I feel like strong, happy marriages are a rarity in fiction, which made the York’s marriage a breath of fresh air. The love and support they have for one another, as well as their healthy appreciation for each other’s physique, was a wonderful contrast to the romantic angst so prevalent in fiction.

Kowal has a deft and delicate hand with characterizations, and that was displayed wonderfully in The Calculating Stars. Both the main character and all of the supporting characters were fun and vibrant and driven to make the most of every opportunity they were given. I also wholeheartedly approve of the levels of sass and sarcasm packed into just over 400 pages. It’s fantastic that something on the lighter end of science fiction won a Hugo this year. I can’t wait to see where Elma York and the other Lady Astronauts go from here.

You can find this review and more at Novel Notions.

Cams Campbell

Not as good as the reviews and the Incomparable podcast led me to believe, but still enjoyable enough that I finished it.

Nick Bicko

In an alternative reality, in 1952 a huge meteorite hits Washington D.C., kills half the American East Coast, which triggers an extinction event making the earth inhabitable in the midterm and accelerates the space race to expand to moon and possibly even further.
In the middle of it: Elma York, living computer at IAC (virtually NASA)

When I saw Andy Weirs praise on the cover and read the first few chapters, I was delighted: A science-fiction novel with a big focus and the sci- and mathematical part.
Unfortunately, this euphoria quieted down a bit as I read further, because the described maths in this book rarely exceed the enumeration of the fibonacci sequence. The author acknowlegdes herself that she has little clue about maths, which is a pity - I'd have liked it more nerdy.
So instead, the focus is much more on gender equality, which obviously was already fought about in the 1950s and just thrives of prejudices and bruised egos.

A start to the "Lady Astronaut" series worth reading, which couldn't quite match the huge expectations the first few chapters built up.



Casey W. 

While I loved the premise of the novel, it felt like a lot of build up and no action. I did enjoy the era the novel was set in. Space travel was still a fantasy in the 1950's and that made the situation seem more dire. The sexism and racism, while accurate, infuriated me each time. One of my favorite parts of the novel was when Mr. Wizard insisted that Elma be referred to as Dr. York instead of Mrs. York. Elma is brilliant and determined. I love how smart she is, but she was excessively modest to the point of annoyance at times. I wonder how she would have fared in a more modern world. Would she still suffer from the same anxiety? Her husband was just annoyingly perfect. Does this man do no wrong?! Where are his flaws? Overall, I enjoyed the book and I look forward to reading the sequel.

Jennifer

A thirlling and scientifically stimulating feminist novel about a woman thriving against the odds of the society's expectations. Deep with both historical and scientific knowledge in the alternate universe, the novel feels very realistic so I enjoyed immersing into the worldbuilding. Additionally, the female characters speak have a diverse representation so the underlying tone feels very reminiscent to the current political climate. In this aspect, it's also an uplifting read for girls who have big dreams in mind! The only downside is that given the amount of historical and scientific details, the novel takes some time to take off, but by the 2nd half of the book, this has been made up and it just clicked together. Overall, this is an empowering Sci-Fi novel with a strong and nuanced feminist protagonist!

(4.5 stars out of 5)

This was a gripping first part of a series that never bored me in the slightest. It starts with a bang and quickly makes you root for the protagonist and her relatives and friends. The prose was elegant and fitting throughout, but nothing spectacularly beautiful. I can easily understand why this as won so many awards, though - it always felt polished, had good pacing and told an engaging story.

It didn't match my personal taste in some aspects, though: it was too sentimental and occasionally even a bit maudlin' (at least the audio version I listened to was) - I prefer less overt emotional expressiveness. Secondly, I was a little bit grossed out by all the sex scenes, which didn't really feel necessary (and the banter during them wasn't quite funny enough to convince me they really had to be included). They were not explicit or anything, but e.g. having only one of those scenes would have served the same purpose of showing what their (happy) marriage was like and would have felt less repetitive. I also would have liked more geeky detail about the missions and science and how exactly they're going to terraform two planets for human habitation within a few decades. But I recognize that all of these points are just personal preference.

The intense focus on a single character was refreshing in this age of multiple, constantly shifting POVs, and facilitates the reader's deep identification with the protagonist and her journey. But this choice also limited the story's scope, and we only hear about the slow-but-sure global apocalypse in terms of what she can personally observe or what she hears on the radio. While I was very curious about learning more about the overall situation and how they're going to solve it, actually describing it all and introducing the necessary characters to observe it would have seriously bloated the book's length and I can see why the author chose to keep it more focused.

Overall an enjoyable, narrowly focused, well-written SF novel that felt very authentic and convincing, while being a bit too sentimental for my taste. But I still look forward to reading the rest of the series and would definitely recommend this book to SF fans.

Pam Sartain

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal starts in 1952, when a huge meteorite crashes into the US, and many cities are lost, including Washington D.C.

Elma is the one who works out the implications of the environmental impact of the meteorite, and her husband Nathanial and she campaign for the US to start exploring space as a viable option for humanity in the coming years. 

Elma is a pilot and is a mathematician, and so she becomes a calculator (think of the film Hidden Figures).  But Elma's ambitions don't end there - she wants to be an astronaut!

I really enjoyed this book, and loved the way it was written.  The misogyny and racism of the time is very clear, and not glossed over.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal was published on 3rd July 2018, and is available from Amazon, Waterstones, and Bookshop.org.

You can follow Mary Robinette Kowal on Twitter, Instagram and her blog.

Judy Hudgins

Starting in 1952, Washington DC is destroyed by a massive meteorite. And the race to space is on. Loved this read. Hidden Figures with a twist.

Niaomi

Ben Nathan

Da-yum. This was super duper good. Great everything. I feel like I could go deeper, but really, I just want you all to read it.

Jo H

Anna Pinto

The best sci-fi is about humans. This book is both very human and very competent at its science. Great read.

Bryan Alexander

The Calculating Stars is a gripping, fascinating, and inspiring work of alternate history. Kowal posits that a massive asteroid strikes the Atlantic Ocean near Washington, DC in 1952. As a result of this disaster the United States and the rest of the world launch a space program as a much more rapid clip than historically occurred.

The novel describes its Chicxulub-level event superbly, starting right off on the first page. The immediate disaster plot is well done, and Kowal keeps the repercussions echoing throughout the book, from grand scale geopolitics to small details of drink and interior design. 

But the core of the novel is another alternate historical development. A group of women, led by the narrator, a computer (human calculator), fight to include women in the new space program. Elma York is an experienced pilot, having flown in WWII, as well as a genius mathematician. Her struggle to win a place for women among the stars is the novel's real engine. Elma is a well realized character, wracked by self-doubt, exhausted from overwork, socially awkward, yet successful in winning support for her cause.

The Calculating Stars is also concerned with racism. Kowal does a good job of recreating 1950s-era American prejudice against blacks and Jews. Elma's struggles to defend and define herself do not always go well, and the book does not describe a progressive utopia.

For being a novel filled with disaster, aerospace adventures, and social tension, The Calculating Stars also manages to work in some clever references. Elma's husband, a rocket scientist and celebrity in his own right, is named Nathaniel York. Science fiction readers might hear a callback to the first human in Bradbury's Martian Chronicles, who is also in love with a dreamer. Bradbury's book appeared in 1950, two years before Kowal's action begins, making it contemporary; in fact, one villainous character is seen reading it (120). I also like the several senses of the title:
-the stars that calculate, as in destiny above
-the heroic calculators who become media stars 

The space aspects are really well done. Kowal takes us through the gamut, from stresses impacting astronauts' families to details of orbital mechanics and the political challenges of winning support for off-Earth projects. The sections on testing and jockeying for astronaut position are quite good.

It's a fascinating alternate history as well. The planetary disaster that begins the action is not the first deviation from our timeline, as one who perishes from the Meteor is president Dewey. I enjoyed seeing characters and media from the 1950s appear, from newspaper clippings that open each chapter to our heroine's key appearance on Mr. Wizard.

However, I was surprised at a change that is never explained, and whose impact would have been immense. The Soviet Union does not seem to exist. Early on some characters seek military engagement with "Russia" in the wake of the asteroid fall. At first I thought this meant the USSR in the typical American synecdoche, but apparently not. After several chapters we do not hear of Russia, the Soviet Union, or Eastern Europe, despite the creation of an international space effort - neither as competitors, in Cold War style, nor as partners in the wake of humanity-threatening tragedy. Instead, we get one (1) incredible offhand remark - "The Soviet Union is gone, but Russia is as big as ever" (124) - that is never explained nor developed. Did the asteroid strike's effects spark a revolution against Stalin, or did his death (1953) result in the regime's collapse? What happened to that space effort, the one that actually led the world for a decade? This is a weird lacuna in the novel. I hope following volumes address it.

Otherwise, I strongly recommend Calculating Stars. It has the inspirational force of Hidden Figures and the imaginative appeal of fine alternate history.

Darice de Cuba

What a brilliant book! First the concept of a meteor hitting Earth in 1952 which sparks a climate cataclysm which will do for humans what the last meteorite did for dinosaurs. Which pushes humanity to race against time to colonize space. Dr. Elma York, pilot, physicist, mathematician, and wife of engineer Dr. Nathaniel York, is set on becoming an astronaut. Elma is a true badass woman of her time. Nathaniel is the best kind of husband supporting Elma all the way. Elme has to fight patriarchy and break barriers to get the government and the space program to allow women to become astronauts. Many of her characters are somewhat based on real-life people.

It's a different take on science fiction. Where most take place in a distant future this one takes place in the past with technology we are familiar with. The book is well researched, the author has truly done her job. 

I almost cried at the end, a good kind of cry. I'm now kicking myself for not buying the second book with this one and I'll have to wait till next day to go out and buy the second one to find out what happens next. 

It's also worth mentioning that not only did woman back then do all the space math by hand. Once computers took over it was mostly women who programmed those computers.

Michael Hessling

Nice alternative history. Writing style is a bit choppy, but the science is right up my alley.

The Calculating Stars

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