The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

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.

Reviewed by Mercy on

5 of 5 stars

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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.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 6 January, 2019: Finished reading
  • 6 January, 2019: Reviewed