Reviews with content warning for Panic attacks/disorders - The Calculating Stars

Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

35 reviews

bibliocat's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful inspiring 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

3.75

I was looking forward to some science-y goodness after reading a bunch of cozy mysteries. If you liked Hidden Figures, this is a fictionalized offshoot.
I'm not sure how I really felt about this one. We follow the adventures of Dr. Elma York, a WWII WASP pilot and mathematical savant in the immediate aftermath of a meteorite hitting the East coast USA, setting up our alternate history of how humanity gets to the moon.

Dr. York, or Mrs. Nathaniel York as others would name her, struggles to become accepted into the ranks of astronauts to forge the way to colonize the moon. Along the way, she deals with all the sexism inherent in that organization, and some anti-semitism as well. Imagine women training in underwater situations requiring them to wear makeup and bikinis instead of appropriate flight suits.

She is not perfect, however, and suffers from anxiety. Being the wife of the lead engineer of the newly formed International Aerospace Coalition (IAC), which replaces NACA, and gaining recognition as the "Lady Astronaut", she breaks down over public speaking, and we see the stigma of taking anti-anxiety meds at the time. I wonder how much of an issue that would be today?
It's also used as leverage against her by her arch enemy, Colonel Parker Stetson, hyper-confidant, hyper-masculine, women-should-never-be-in-the-military test pilot. She reported him for sexual harassment (not to her, but to other women), back when she was a WASP, and he's had it in for her ever since. I actually think the most interesting part of the book is where she learns about medical issues HE'S having and then blackmail can go both ways.

Also addressed in the book, although other characters other than Elma aren't' really focused on, is the inherent racism of the time. When the meteorite hits, the people flowing westward who are accepted as refugees are overwhelmingly white. Elma realizes this. She sees what is going on as well with the black women in her flight club who are also ignored for astronaut training despite being completely qualified.

One thing that was touched on, but probably not focused on quite enough was the environmental catastrophe to come. The bulk of humanity knows it's going to get left behind to die, and there's a few little protests/complaints from the population, but the total focus is still on the space program. Nothing is ever touched on with earth science to try to mitigate what's about to happen.

Another thing I thought was "unrealistic" was that Elma's husband was so 100% supportive of her career efforts. I expected some microaggressions from him as well.

I think the thing about the book that was obvious was the story wasn't going to be wrapped up by the end of book one. The plot about Elma's trials and tribulations of getting to be an astronaut was slow. This just wasn't a page-turner for me. I've read reviews that the second and third books in the series were better, so I'll be reading The Fated Sky right after this.

Content Warnings