The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut, #1)

by Mary Robinette Kowal

A meteor decimates the U.S. government and paves the way for a climate cataclysm that will eventually render the earth inhospitable to humanity. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated timeline in the earth’s efforts to colonize space, as well as an unprecedented opportunity for a much larger share of humanity to take part.

One of these new entrants in the space race is Elma York, whose experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition’s attempts to put man on the moon. 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 - aside from some pesky barriers like thousands of years of history and a host of expectations about the proper place of the fairer sex. And yet, Elma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions may not stand a chance.

• ISBN10: 0765378388
• ISBN13: 9780765378385
• Publish Date: 1 June 2018
• Publish Status: Active
• Out of Print: 5 April 2024
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Tor Books
• Format: Paperback
• Pages: 384
• Language: English

Reviews

[Terri M. LeBlanc]

I'm not sure why I put off reading this series for SO long! (I had book 2 since 2018 before I acquired book 1 this year.)

Anyway, for any reader who loves space and astronauts and wishes that women had been more involved, you must pick up this book. As a fan of any WWII history involving women spies, pilots and resistance workers, this book was right up my alley. I devoured it in days and sped right on to book 2. (I had to move on to The Spare Man because I didn't have The Relentless Moon and had to wait for it come in from the library.)

When I first read the synopsis of this book I was incredibly intrigued. An alternate retelling of the 1950's-60's where the world experiences an extinction level event and has to prepare to colonise the moon, with women trying to fight their way to be equals? Yes, I was very intrigued.

I have to say, as I read this book I definitely felt like I was transported back in time without feeling like the book was outdated - as in, actually written in that time. It was beautifully written.

Unforutnately for me though, I just couldn't seem to get into the story. I felt a huge disconnect to the characters and I felt like we never really got to know any of them, it was more like we watched what was happening but I never felt anything for any of them. Because of that, I didn't even like any of them - including Elma, the main character of the story, even Nathanial, her husband, who supported her through everything and was very 'progressive' for a man of that time. I mean, I think I would have been pretty angry if her own husband had had the same views as other men, so I'm really glad his character wasn't written that way.

I felt a sense of doom the whole time I was reading the book. Maybe it was because woman were belittled at every turn, as I imagine it was back in those times, and it was frustrating. However, I also felt like everyone was out for themselves, including Elma. I just didn't have an interest in seeing how the story played out.

Why did I continue reading then? I'm not sure. I think because I loved the idea so much, and I loved reading about becoming an astronaut but I did feel like I had to push myself to finish reading this book.

Something else I did love though - the math! Omg, I looooved how smart and intelligent Elma was. I loved how fast she was at calculating the math. These parts really excited me. Every scene where she was calculating how things worked, the numbers went over my head, but I still loved reading it. It was exciting.

I wish I liked this book more as a whole, but I just wasn't captivated enough to want to continue reading this series.

[lisacee]

I devoured this book. Why did it take me so long to read it?

[dutchfoodie]

Fun -alt-history about spaceflight and the role of women and people of color.

[Mercy]

The Calculating Stars follows Dr. Elma York, a brilliant mathematician whose life turns upside down when a meteorite hits DC, killing hundreds of thousands and affecting the weather on Earth. Rather than a post-apocalyptic novel, this is more focused on the social problems provoked by the disaster and also addresses sexism, racism and mental health in the 50s as it takes place just before humanity went to space which became a necessity after the meteorite hit.

This was such a powerful read and I encourage you all to read it. If you have seen Hidden Figures and liked it, you'll like this too. It'll also make you angry for the injustices and sexism but it also made me happy because not everyone (the men) were assholes xD and specially because Elma is a brilliant character. I loved her so much and don't let me start about her relationship with her husband, Nathaniel. Those two are the most beautiful couple I've read about. I cried so many times with their interactions. I also loved Elma's friendship with other women and how they weren't competing but supporting each other. This is the kind of female friendship I want to read about.

If I have to say something negative, it's that Kowal's writing failed to make me feel at the edge in certain points of the story, when characters faced a problem and just when the situation reached a moment at which I started to get worried, the problem was solved. This isn't something that hindered my enjoyment though and it just happened a couple of times. The rest of the story? It was beautiful done, I'm not a science person but I could tell the effort the author put in the novel with all things related to rockets, equations and stuff. It's definitely hard sci-fi but it didn't went over my head despite me not understanding a bit of orbital dynamics.

If you want to read about smart women who fight for their rights and don't take a no for an answer, you need to read The Calculating Stars.

[empressbrooke]

Without a doubt, the best book I've read all year.

Added 1/11/19: Four months later, and I still can't think of the last lines of this book without tearing up. So joyously triumphant.