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A review by arkobla
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
5.0
This is a drama that might have been. It takes place in the 50's, against the backdrop of a war recently ended (WW2) and racism in America is still prevalent. Woman are not yet equals to men and prejudices against minorities (like Jews) still cause problems.
But this isn't a book about any of those things. Its merely the stage.
In the first chapter, Elma and her husband are enjoying a quite evening in the pocono's when the unthinkable happens. A meteor strikes Washington DC, triggering an extinction level event. The loss of life and destruction of an entire region of the country will be overcome, but will the impact to the climate spin out of control making life on Earth no longer an option?
The new government listens and decides they must push for a colony in space, off Earth, in order to ensure humanities survival. They are lucky, in a way, in that this apocalypse is slow moving and manageable, for now. And so, the push for space begins in earnest, years before we actually got there.
Elma's husband is naturally asked to help. He is a rocket Engineer. Elma works with him as a computer - a human calculator. Much like in the real story of Hidden Figures, woman who are adept at higher end Mathematics are a key element to Space Flight, as computers as we know them today are just coming to be invented and are largely unreliable.
Elma is an outstanding computer, but she wants more. She was a WASP pilot in WW2 (Women Airforce Service Pilot) and very good at flying. She pushes for inclusion in the new Astronaut corp and must deal with roadblocks stemming from her sex at every step. (and a few internal ones too).
Overall, I really enjoyed the novel. Its not the type of novel that has a great deal of 'action' but the author does an outstanding job of letting us watch and root for Elma (and the other woman wanting to be Astronauts) throughout the book.
Be forewarned, however, the novel ends just when key events start. View this as a long prelude to most of the space stuff. That doesn't change that it's excellent in its own right.
PS - I really liked the relationship Elma has with her husband.
But this isn't a book about any of those things. Its merely the stage.
In the first chapter, Elma and her husband are enjoying a quite evening in the pocono's when the unthinkable happens. A meteor strikes Washington DC, triggering an extinction level event. The loss of life and destruction of an entire region of the country will be overcome, but will the impact to the climate spin out of control making life on Earth no longer an option?
The new government listens and decides they must push for a colony in space, off Earth, in order to ensure humanities survival. They are lucky, in a way, in that this apocalypse is slow moving and manageable, for now. And so, the push for space begins in earnest, years before we actually got there.
Elma's husband is naturally asked to help. He is a rocket Engineer. Elma works with him as a computer - a human calculator. Much like in the real story of Hidden Figures, woman who are adept at higher end Mathematics are a key element to Space Flight, as computers as we know them today are just coming to be invented and are largely unreliable.
Elma is an outstanding computer, but she wants more. She was a WASP pilot in WW2 (Women Airforce Service Pilot) and very good at flying. She pushes for inclusion in the new Astronaut corp and must deal with roadblocks stemming from her sex at every step. (and a few internal ones too).
Overall, I really enjoyed the novel. Its not the type of novel that has a great deal of 'action' but the author does an outstanding job of letting us watch and root for Elma (and the other woman wanting to be Astronauts) throughout the book.
Be forewarned, however, the novel ends just when key events start. View this as a long prelude to most of the space stuff. That doesn't change that it's excellent in its own right.
PS - I really liked the relationship Elma has with her husband.