The Calculating Stars
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- Create Date：2021-08-27 09:55:52
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Mary Robinette Kowal
- ISBN：0765378388
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Summary
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。
Reviews
Andrea Ptak
，
Really 4。5 stars。 I'll write more once my work load and veggie garden calm down。 Really 4。5 stars。 I'll write more once my work load and veggie garden calm down。 。。。more
Gary
，
The plot itself is interesting and compelling enough， and overall the book is well written。 I had trouble getting past a few things unfortunately。 The characters are all a little too much caricatures who are living， laughing， loving， and learning in a way that I found ingenuine。 I don't buy the way many of the racial， gender， and religious difficulties are worked through with relative ease。 I appreciated the main character having crippling mental challenges and addressing the stigma associated w The plot itself is interesting and compelling enough， and overall the book is well written。 I had trouble getting past a few things unfortunately。 The characters are all a little too much caricatures who are living， laughing， loving， and learning in a way that I found ingenuine。 I don't buy the way many of the racial， gender， and religious difficulties are worked through with relative ease。 I appreciated the main character having crippling mental challenges and addressing the stigma associated with them， but at the same time she suffers from being a mary sue in every other way。 I also have trouble suspending disbelief with the way this fictional space program progresses。 The author addresses this somewhat in her closing notes， but this space program has fewer accidents in the 50s than the real one did in the 60s despite being on a much more rapid schedule where mishaps should be more common。 There's not enough groundwork to explain how all this is possible。 Ultimately it's a fun escapist read， but it doesn't go beyond that for me。Self note: winner of the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel 。。。more
Lev Reyzin
，
This book presents an alternate history taking place in the 1950's where Thomas Dewey is President and （therefore？） a meteorite strikes the earth， basically destroying the eastern US seaboard。 The resulting predicted global warming results in the Earth's governments somehow deciding to escape the Earth and colonize space （as if it's more hospitable than a warmer Earth） instead of working on cooling the planet down， and despite the added challenges they manage to easily beat the timetables of the This book presents an alternate history taking place in the 1950's where Thomas Dewey is President and （therefore？） a meteorite strikes the earth， basically destroying the eastern US seaboard。 The resulting predicted global warming results in the Earth's governments somehow deciding to escape the Earth and colonize space （as if it's more hospitable than a warmer Earth） instead of working on cooling the planet down， and despite the added challenges they manage to easily beat the timetables of the real world。 This is not the best setup， but okay。。。The main character， Elma York， is a brilliant （Jewish） woman who works as a "computer" while holding 2 Ph。D。s （nobody has or needs two。。。） and who flew fighter jets in World War 2。 Her work involves doing math， but the author doesn't seem to know much about what mathematicians and physicists do， so Elma ends up mostly doing calculations fast in her head。 So that part is not very realistic either。。。Elma also wants to be an astronaut who will take part in the space exploration。 She has to battle against men who don't want to see women in space and also against her own mental illness， which she tries to keep secret。 She also tries valiantly to fight against racism on the side。 The only issue that seems not to affect her too much is her being Jewish。 Her facing one of these problems would be a challenge enough， but all at once？ Also not very convincing。。。So why did I still like this book？ Because despite its many flaws， the hero of the book is compelling， her character evolves believably over time， and the story is pretty captivating。 At the very least， the author gets these most important facets right。 。。。more
Kevin
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4 stars， a really engaging read with a compelling alt-history settingI'd heard great things about this book for so long but I'd never gotten around to reading it due to random life things。 I wish I had gotten to it sooner because it is quite good and it would have been fun to discuss it with people when it was the hot new book。 The story centers around Elma， a math savant with piloting experience who dreams of becoming an astronaut。 Unfortunately it's the 1950s so she's up against a pretty sexis 4 stars， a really engaging read with a compelling alt-history settingI'd heard great things about this book for so long but I'd never gotten around to reading it due to random life things。 I wish I had gotten to it sooner because it is quite good and it would have been fun to discuss it with people when it was the hot new book。 The story centers around Elma， a math savant with piloting experience who dreams of becoming an astronaut。 Unfortunately it's the 1950s so she's up against a pretty sexist society that is trying desperately to put women back out of the workforce now that WWII is well and truly over。 Her push to achieve her dream is fascinating on several levels because Kowal is very good at writing Elma as a believably flawed woman from the 50s which means that she still struggles with things like racism even though she is herself progressive and doesn't want to。 There are some possibly ahistorical touches like that Elma's husband doesn't appear to have any issues with sexism to overcome though I personally think it was nice to have an uncomplicatedly loving relationship in the story。On of my favorite things the book does is that while the sexism does rankle Elma and frustrates her often， her biggest obstacle is a fear of public speaking which is multiplied enormously by the burgeoning media landscape caused by the increasing popularity of television。 What I like best about this is how it grounds Elma and makes her so realistic by giving her a more mundane fear than what you would expect。 It places much of the conflict on the idea that a woman can't just be confident but has to be perfect as well to succeed and Elma is， by every imaginable factor， extremely competent but she doesn't know if she can maintain the perfect image while being competent。 It's a canny centering of the optics of sexism as a contributing factor for unequal treatment。 There's a study I heard of once that female chess players play on par with men when they don't know they're playing against men but perform worse than chance would suggest when they are told they're playing against men even if they are playing against someone who is not a man。 This has been termed "the stereotype threat" and it is in part that a fear that any failure will be used to dismiss your whole in group。 Whether or not Kowal knows the term specifically， she certainly understands the psychic strain of being expected to perform against someone who is presumed better by default and how that internal struggle can be just as tragic as the structural sexism that enforces it。My one concern about the book is that， while the book does a great job keeping the emotional turmoil of Elma's dreams front and center， the pacing was iffy and there were many， many dinner party scenes that I think could have been cut down on。 Other than that though， it's a really great read and I'm looking forward to the sequel。 。。。more
Ayre
，
This is an alternate history where， in 1952， a meteorite crashes into the Chesapeake Bay and completely destroys the eastern seaboard。 Thats not all， the meteorite also sets off an extinction event and humanity needs to find a way to flee to space。 The main character， Elma York， in a former WASP piolet and a computer （female engineer）。 She is trying to become one of the first female astronauts in the face of the extreme sexism and racism of the 1950s。I have been putting off reading this book for This is an alternate history where， in 1952， a meteorite crashes into the Chesapeake Bay and completely destroys the eastern seaboard。 Thats not all， the meteorite also sets off an extinction event and humanity needs to find a way to flee to space。 The main character， Elma York， in a former WASP piolet and a computer （female engineer）。 She is trying to become one of the first female astronauts in the face of the extreme sexism and racism of the 1950s。I have been putting off reading this book for a while because I knew it was about math。 I'm bad at math and I was pretty sure I was too stupid to understand this。 While there is a lot of math-y jargon it didn't matter if I didn't understand it。 This is more of a story of facing adversary and overcoming while still remaining true to yourself。 All the characters are fleshed out well and the pacing is so good that I didn't want to put the book down。 I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series。 。。。more
Art
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A fun read。
Kendra McIntyre
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And to round out the #greatspaceread the start of the Lady Astronaut series。 Really enjoyed the concept here， very unique just start to the space program。 The author's notes add a lot。 I love the amount of research historical fiction writers put in to make their books as realistic as possible。 I absolutely loved Elma and Nathaniel's relationship and the multi-dimension Kowal gave to all the women。 I would have liked to see the "lady astronaut" action happen a little sooner， but this is a series And to round out the #greatspaceread the start of the Lady Astronaut series。 Really enjoyed the concept here， very unique just start to the space program。 The author's notes add a lot。 I love the amount of research historical fiction writers put in to make their books as realistic as possible。 I absolutely loved Elma and Nathaniel's relationship and the multi-dimension Kowal gave to all the women。 I would have liked to see the "lady astronaut" action happen a little sooner， but this is a series so there's plenty more to come。 。。。more
Eylem Caner
，
This is good reading if you are excited about space。 It a frustrating read at times due to the misogeny and racism it portrays， and it shows you how people that do not face these hardships also do not see them。It is a devent alternate history read， but don’t read while watching for all mankind， they mix really well :）
Jameyanne Fuller
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This was absolutely amazing oh my god！
Matt Stevens
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Ebook。 I enjoyed significant portions of the book。 Sometimes， the narrator's constant fight through sexism get so frustrating it made me want to put the book down。 Its feels incredibly accurate。 This is not a scifi book， so we can't just pretend 1950s America wouldn't have been like this （not a scifi book because honestly， the science is 1950s America。 Nothing impossible happens - just a meteor）。 I think that says more about me then the author。 Sometimes， I just wasn't in the mood。 The sexism is Ebook。 I enjoyed significant portions of the book。 Sometimes， the narrator's constant fight through sexism get so frustrating it made me want to put the book down。 Its feels incredibly accurate。 This is not a scifi book， so we can't just pretend 1950s America wouldn't have been like this （not a scifi book because honestly， the science is 1950s America。 Nothing impossible happens - just a meteor）。 I think that says more about me then the author。 Sometimes， I just wasn't in the mood。 The sexism is the second antagonist （after science， and she writes amazing about science， like Andy Weir good about science） and sometimes when I read other books。 I get frustrated by the antagonist because its just impossible and frustrating。 I think of the Wheel of Time books like this because its just so overwhelming and frustrating that I don't want to read about losing to it anymore。 I don't want to feel that level of frustration。 Anyways， enjoyed it。 Would recommend to most everyone。 Will probably read the next one in a couple months。 。。。more
Bella
，
I loved the way she took commentary about today （racism， sexism， climate change denial） and stuck it in the past。 It reminded me of how Shakespeare set Romeo and Juliet in Verona （and Hamlet in Denmark etc。） so he could write about outrageous things he saw around him in England， but it was acceptable， and accessible， to the public （and the law） because it was set somewhere foreign。 I read the book in a few days， then immediately bought the sequel。
Carlos
，
3。5
Michel Meijer
，
Without reading any spoilers， I was hesitating to start on this novel。 Meteor strike in the 50s， accelerated space space in an alternative history all sounded nice， but the female struggle in a men’s world got me alert。 Sadly， my senses did not let me down。 This was way too much of a plain feminist story in the fifties to my taste。 Opposing and accompanying characters too stereotype and much of the happenings actually did not matter much for most of the story。 Yes， the meteor strike sparked some Without reading any spoilers， I was hesitating to start on this novel。 Meteor strike in the 50s， accelerated space space in an alternative history all sounded nice， but the female struggle in a men’s world got me alert。 Sadly， my senses did not let me down。 This was way too much of a plain feminist story in the fifties to my taste。 Opposing and accompanying characters too stereotype and much of the happenings actually did not matter much for most of the story。 Yes， the meteor strike sparked some of the space race to happen differently， but it actually did not matter as the countries dismay was not treated at all。 Climate change？ No side stories to color it in， except the headlines at each Chapter。 Global space organization？ Nah， USA， nothing in the story showed that or made it necessary。 The tale of a brilliant female mathematician in a space organization could also happen in our time line （heck， as far as I understood， these non-fictional books actually exist）。 On top of the too present feminist story， layers of black vs white and Jew themes （versus after-war Nazis such as von Braun） were added， together with some mc anxiety problems。 And of course she got to fly in the end， because Mary Sues do get what they want and control the adversaries and surroundings。 I had the feeling I was reading too much of a historic NASA story with a Mary Sue feminist twist。 And that is not how I like my sci-fi。 Two stars。 。。。more
Garrett Headley
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A good story， but simplistic writing。 I think it would make a really good movie - almost written like a movie script。
Amelia Carr
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An amazing book！ I was so pleased to find that there is more to this when I had finished！ Can’t wait to get started on the next one！
Steventhesteve
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An excellent novel， and excellent start to a trilogy I look forward to reading the rest of！
Tim
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A good story， but let down by THE most annoying main character I think I've ever read， and her Peter Perfect perfect husband。On the positive side， I can now recite Fibonacci sequence and prime numbers。。。 A good story， but let down by THE most annoying main character I think I've ever read， and her Peter Perfect perfect husband。On the positive side， I can now recite Fibonacci sequence and prime numbers。。。 。。。more
Drake Tungsten
，
I was listening to a 2019 episode of the "Sword and Laser Book Club" podcast， when I heard them mention this book。The premise of the book， a meteorite striking Earth in the 1950s and causing issues that necessitate moving humanity off-world， was so intriguing that I felt compelled to read it。The author did a good job of making technical issues digestible to non-experts like myself。 She also did a good job of portraying the gender and racial politics that people of the era would've faced。 Having I was listening to a 2019 episode of the "Sword and Laser Book Club" podcast， when I heard them mention this book。The premise of the book， a meteorite striking Earth in the 1950s and causing issues that necessitate moving humanity off-world， was so intriguing that I felt compelled to read it。The author did a good job of making technical issues digestible to non-experts like myself。 She also did a good job of portraying the gender and racial politics that people of the era would've faced。 Having listened to an interview with the author on "Sword and Laser"， many of the discussions and scenarios the characters undergo are well-researched and based on fact。The style of writing and the language used by the author is very engaging。 I was so engrossed in the story that I finished the book， which is over 400 pages， in only three days。 And I cannot wait to read the other books in the series。I highly recommend this book to others。 Even if you're not a science fiction fan， I think you will enjoy it。 。。。more
Corrie
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DNF @ 20%The wokeness was too much for me。 Go watch For All Mankind instead。
Joy Allen
，
This book was fantastic。 There were a thousand ways it could have gone wrong for me， between the alternate history， possible imminent destruction of earth， social issues， and then the flying and science （partly fictional）。 But I’m just dumb enough to not be able to spot any errors and I really just loved this book。 It’s been on my list to read for a long time and I thought she totally nailed it。 Can’t wait to keep going in the series！
Javier Aguilera
，
En esta historia alternativa， un meteorito cae a la Tierra en la década de los 50's。 La humanidad se enfrenta a una carrera contra el tiempo para buscar un nuevo planeta dónde establecerse antes de que el calentamiento global provocado por el meteoro， termine con cualquier forma de vida。 La evolución de la historia， a partir de este inicio， se centra más en temas sociales y económicos， tales como el racismo， la desigualdad de los sexos， la indiscriminación， etc。 Mi percepción general de este li En esta historia alternativa， un meteorito cae a la Tierra en la década de los 50's。 La humanidad se enfrenta a una carrera contra el tiempo para buscar un nuevo planeta dónde establecerse antes de que el calentamiento global provocado por el meteoro， termine con cualquier forma de vida。 La evolución de la historia， a partir de este inicio， se centra más en temas sociales y económicos， tales como el racismo， la desigualdad de los sexos， la indiscriminación， etc。 Mi percepción general de este libro es que no tiene mucho que ver con la ciencia ficción en sí， sino con aspectos mas del tipo cultural que existían en aquellos tiempos （y que se siguen dando en la actualidad）。 No sé si no hubo mucha competencia en ese año pero no me cuadra que haya ganado los dos premios más importantes de la SF （ Hugo y Nébula）。 Quizá por que es una novela muy USA que a fin de cuentas es lo que mayormente se enaltece con esos premios。 。。。more
Chazley
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I love stories about science， alternate histories， apocalyptic stories， and， most of all， stories about brilliant women。 The Calculating Stars is all four and more。 I particularly appreciate how Elma faces up to her own prejudices -- she's a brave person who becomes even braver， and I adore her completely。 I love stories about science， alternate histories， apocalyptic stories， and， most of all， stories about brilliant women。 The Calculating Stars is all four and more。 I particularly appreciate how Elma faces up to her own prejudices -- she's a brave person who becomes even braver， and I adore her completely。 。。。more
Wanda
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Alternative history science fiction set in the '50s after a catastrophic meteor strike。 As far as sci-fi goes it’s pretty tame; the focus is clearly on the social， political， and environmental changes such an event would bring about。 And the mid-20th century time period is well done; the biases， prejudices， and glass ceiling of the era are there for our intrepid lady astronaut to bump up against。I do have one warning about a possible spoiler - the detail of Thomas Dewey being the US president in Alternative history science fiction set in the '50s after a catastrophic meteor strike。 As far as sci-fi goes it’s pretty tame; the focus is clearly on the social， political， and environmental changes such an event would bring about。 And the mid-20th century time period is well done; the biases， prejudices， and glass ceiling of the era are there for our intrepid lady astronaut to bump up against。I do have one warning about a possible spoiler - the detail of Thomas Dewey being the US president in 1952 piqued my interest enough to go back and read the series' prequel We Interrupt This Broadcast to find out what happened to Truman。 That short story didn’t answer my question but it did put a whole new spin on the cataclysm itself， one I’d just as soon not know about。 Of course YMMV， and since it doesn’t make any real difference once things get underway I’d say reading it is purely optional。Because this turned out to be the introduction of a multi-part series it didn’t wow me as much as I thought it would。 Much of it is spent laying the groundwork and fleshing out the characters but the action picks up enough there at the end that I’ve already bought one of the sequels。 3 ½ stars 。。。more
Bela
，
I really enjoyed this， and it was really easy to get into and read。audiobook readers should note that Also the author does the audiobook REALLY REALLY well which is unusual - sometimes I put audiobooks further down the list if the author reads them， as voice actors are almost always preferable。
Sofia
，
2。5 ⭐️Mi viene da piangere。 😭
Barnesm
，
I can not recommend this book strongly enough。 Anyone who has enjoyed science fiction written for those who loved science growing up， that found excitement and hope in stories of scientists and engineers working problems and coming up with solutions。 The best part is instead of being the stories of white men， in this alternative history， its women we also get to see enjoy working problems and solving challenges。The story begins with a meteroite striking the earth wiping DC of the map and releasi I can not recommend this book strongly enough。 Anyone who has enjoyed science fiction written for those who loved science growing up， that found excitement and hope in stories of scientists and engineers working problems and coming up with solutions。 The best part is instead of being the stories of white men， in this alternative history， its women we also get to see enjoy working problems and solving challenges。The story begins with a meteroite striking the earth wiping DC of the map and releasing so much water into the atmosphere that in decades a run away greenhouse effect will make the earth uninhabitable。 The solution get to space。Our protagonist Dr Elma Wexler York is a physicist/mathematician who flew in world war two as Women Airforce Service Pilots （WASP）。 A real group of women who tested aircraft， ferried aircraft， and trained other pilots。 As the international cooperation begins to reach for space the journey also reveals the systemic sexism and racism of the time。 Elma’s struggle throughout the novel to gain respect and， ultimately， a place in the astronaut program is a powerful illustration of the reality lived by so many women。 The African-American characters who play large roles in the story are representative of the highly educated and accomplished men and women who were forced to take subordinate roles simply because of the color of their skin。 I also got to see Elma's realisation that her own internalised judgment of the role of black people was less than stellar。 Also how she could try and do better。 One of Elma’s major roles in the novel is as a catalyst for inspiring other women to reach for the stars—to become “Lady Astronauts” themselves。 I hope The Calculating Stars will have a similar impact on the young women who read it。 It’s an inspirational example of how chasing one’s dreams， even in the midst of world-threatening disaster， can motivate and inspire others to do the same。I am eager to read the next book in the series。 。。。more
Angela
，
So good I wish I had the self-control to spread out the read。 It captures the experience of working in a male-dominated engineering role within an alternate history space race adventure。 The characters were wonderfully developed， and I appreciated the varied social commentary。
Megan
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4。5 stars rounded up to 5
Courtney O'Leary
，
Holy crap。 I love this book so much。 I couldn’t read it fast enough。 The very premise of it taking place in the past but rewriting our future was very interesting。 Got a love a strong and smart female protagonist。 Solid ending。 Everything about it was satisfying。 The apocalyptic nature of it all was really interesting。 Such a strong book。
Montana
，
Really great beginning and set up， then the bottom drops out in terms of pacing。 It finally gathers some steam after a bit， but mostly it felt wildly low stakes in the middle section。 And I think at some points it makes a pretty bland 2 dimensional villain out of a sexist engineer。 I am not sure if I will read the next one， the scientific details are really great， but concerned about keeping engaged in the next turn of plot
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Calculating Stars
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Calculating Stars&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Calculating Stars&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0