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fantasycat's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Sexism, Racism, Eating disorder, and Grief
Moderate: Excrement and Miscarriage
maryellen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Gaslighting, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Eating disorder, Chronic illness, Dysphoria, Grief, Medical content, Miscarriage, and Confinement
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Cursing
zachtrotz's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
agent_friday's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Racism
seullywillikers's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Space. Mystery.
Update: Okay, this was soooo good. The story occurs during the time the first Mars mission with Elma is underway, so it is kind of this middle space background of the larger story. It follows Nicole Wargin, friend of Elma's, lady astronaut, and politician's wife. Her story is incredible! And this book has everything, a thrilling mystery, sabotage, paranoia, unlikely heroes and villains, everything I wanted. Read it.
Update: Okay, this was soooo good. The story occurs during the time the first Mars mission with Elma is underway, so it is kind of this middle space background of the larger story. It follows Nicole Wargin, friend of Elma's, lady astronaut, and politician's wife. Her story is incredible! And this book has everything, a thrilling mystery, sabotage, paranoia, unlikely heroes and villains, everything I wanted. Read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
oceanwriter's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
As much as I love this series and its setting and characters, I just didn't click with this one as much as I did with books one and two. The change of POV surprised me because I stop reading the summaries at this point in any series. I was pumped to see what was next for Elma, but I suppose given the epilogue in The Fated Sky, this one's on me.
While Elma is on her way to Mars, her friend and fellow astronaut Nicole Wargin is back on the moon as the colony continues to be established. With her husband a politician on Earth, they make the difficult decision to live apart as they do the work they were meant to do. Despite their distance, they come to share a common enemy: The Earth First movement.
Characters aside (although there are some name drops and familiar faces scattered throughout the story), the book has an overall different tone from the first two. The actual space travel is less of a focus. Instead, it's more of a story about sabotage and a pandemic. Yet, the themes remain similar in other ways. Where Elma was known for her anxiety issues, Nicole, too, struggles with her own disorders, which in this case is an eating disorder. And much like Elma, she doesn't let this get in the way of her job and passion for space travel. I didn't connect with Nicole as much as I did with Elma, but I appreciate the strength of her character.
I'm not sure if more books are in the works for this series. If so, I'm curious if the next one will also follow Nicole or if we'll circle back to Elma. Maybe we'll get to know one of the other Lady Astronauts? Even though I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous two, I admire Mary Robinette Kowal's dedication to the research, especially when it comes to science and how it might have looked even in the alternate take on the 1960s.
While Elma is on her way to Mars, her friend and fellow astronaut Nicole Wargin is back on the moon as the colony continues to be established. With her husband a politician on Earth, they make the difficult decision to live apart as they do the work they were meant to do. Despite their distance, they come to share a common enemy: The Earth First movement.
Characters aside (although there are some name drops and familiar faces scattered throughout the story), the book has an overall different tone from the first two. The actual space travel is less of a focus. Instead, it's more of a story about sabotage and a pandemic. Yet, the themes remain similar in other ways. Where Elma was known for her anxiety issues, Nicole, too, struggles with her own disorders, which in this case is an eating disorder. And much like Elma, she doesn't let this get in the way of her job and passion for space travel. I didn't connect with Nicole as much as I did with Elma, but I appreciate the strength of her character.
I'm not sure if more books are in the works for this series. If so, I'm curious if the next one will also follow Nicole or if we'll circle back to Elma. Maybe we'll get to know one of the other Lady Astronauts? Even though I didn't enjoy this one as much as the previous two, I admire Mary Robinette Kowal's dedication to the research, especially when it comes to science and how it might have looked even in the alternate take on the 1960s.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Eating disorder
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Infertility, and Murder
Minor: Miscarriage
michellembruhn's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Somehow this became Black Widow in space (if Black Widow were in her 50s and didn't have as much physical prowess but DANG she kept her spy prowess) and I am here for it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Vomit and Eating disorder
krystin_s's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Eating disorder
iono's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Grief, Chronic illness, and Death
Moderate: Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Excrement