Author: Mary Robinette Kowal
Publisher: Tor Books
Published Date: July 3, 2018
Genre: Sci-fi, Historical Fiction
Rating: ★★★★☆
Awards:
REVIEW
I know Mary Robinette Kowal from the podcast Writing Excuses with Brandon Sanderson, and I've been wanting to read one of her books for a while now. Since I'm reading all the Hugo Award winners since 1990, this was the perfect opportunity to do so. The Calculating Stars is one of 18 ever to win the Hugo, the Nebula, and the Locus in the same year.
SYNOPSIS
"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."
MY THOUGHTS
I really enjoyed this book, especially the writing style. Many books with heavy emphasis on science I find difficult to understand, however, Kowal managed to explain concepts such as orbital velocity and various astronaut exams in an easy to digest manner. I have not read many historical fiction like this, with so many hard sci-fi elements. In my opinion, it may have worked against the actual plot. While the science was very well explained, it felt like the plot almost paused at times. For example, I wanted more exploration of how the meteorite impact actually affected day to day lives of people instead of only reading about it in little snippets before each chapter. Those were great to read, but we spent a lot of time explaining how the earth was affected but not a lot on how people themselves were.
I loved the anxiety representation. As someone who has anxiety, the panic attacks and overthinking felt completely realistic. It definitely made me glad that I live in a time where mental health is more easily discussed and less stigmatized. Another thing I appreciated was that Kowal included societal norms of the times. Even though she could have created a whole new historical setting with different expectations and culture, she chose not to. That means that the rampant sexism and racism was not shied away from. It really made the alternate history feel more realistic. It also made me react in a stronger way which might have been her intention.
While I do wish that the plot was more astronaut heavy, I think this book set the series as a whole up for a great arc. I hope the next books are set in space, or at least partially set in space. I loved the ending and felt like the story was just getting started when I was on the last page.
The other books nominated for the Hugo Award were Spinning Silver by Naomi Novik, Record of a Spaceborn Few by Becky Chamber, Trail of Lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse, Revenant Gun by Yoon Ha Lee, and Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente. I have only read Trail of Lightning and I enjoyed The Calculating Stars far more. I do have a few of the others on my TBR list, but I do feel like this was a good choice to win the award.
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