The Calculating Stars

July 1, 2018
The first half of Kowal's two-book tale?The Fated Sky will follow?begins in 1952 when a meteorite strikes Earth, causing a global cataclysm. The eastern coast of the U.S. crumbles, and the rest of the world faces a climate shift. A former WASP pilot and a brilliant mathematician, Elma York works for the International Aerospace Coalition, along with her engineer husband, expediting efforts to colonize other planets. Recognizing that she and her female colleagues are just as qualified as the men, Elma fights for their right to become astronauts. She builds momentum for their cause by hosting a women-only air demonstration, speaking on a Bill Nye-type kids show, and passing tests with ridiculous rules her male counterparts would never be asked to endure. Although Kowal's latest is a definite deviation from her popular Glamour Histories series, she once again strikes a fine balance of integrating historical accuracy?including mid-twentieth-century sexism, racism, and technology?with speculative storytelling. Readers will root for Elma as she breaks barriers and calculates lifesaving equations, all while dealing with sometimes-crippling anxiety. Recommend to fans of realistic sf.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)

Starred review from May 21, 2018
Kowal’s outstanding prequel to her Hugo-winning novelette “The Lady Astronaut of Mars” shows the alternate history that created a mid-20th-century Mars colony. In 1952, mathematician and pilot Elma York is on vacation with her rocket scientist husband, Nathaniel, when a meteor strikes Chesapeake Bay, obliterating most of the East Coast. Elma quickly realizes that this is an extinction event, and that the only option for humanity’s survival is off-world colonization. In a compelling parallel to our own history, Elma, who is Jewish, fights to have women of all races and backgrounds included in the burgeoning space program, squaring off against patriarchal attitudes, her own anxiety, and an adversary from her past service as a war pilot. Kowal explores a wide range of issues—including religion, grief, survivor’s guilt, mental health, racism, misogyny, and globalism—without sermonising or subsuming the characters and plot. Elma’s struggles with her own prejudices and relationships, including her relationship with herself, provide a captivating human center to the apocalyptic background. Readers will thrill to the story of this “lady astronaut” and eagerly anticipate the promised sequels. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary.

June 15, 2018

Readers will be hooked by the what-ifs of this 1950s-set alternate history and enthralled by the voice of Lady Astronaut. A meteor strike has put Earth in grave danger, and humanity's only hope for survival is a fast-tracked space launch to colonize the moon and Mars. However, racism, sexism, and short-sightedness could ground us for good. VERDICT A perfect novel to continue the Hidden Figures love. Especially refreshing is the nuanced exploration of protagonist Elma York's growing understanding of inequality.

Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.