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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.
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
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Sexual harassment
beccaand's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Death of parent, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Antisemitism, Suicide, and Sexual harassment
honkinggoose's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
fast-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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Death, and Racism
Minor: Antisemitism and Sexual harassment
anjasshelf's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, Classism, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment
goodthingsread's review against another edition
hopeful
informative
slow-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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Vomit, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual harassment and Antisemitism
cataclysmic event, mass death by environmental cause, climate changeeicart_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Grief, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Antisemitism
carolined314's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.75
Alternate history can do many things, and this is a light, hopeful story with a complex but positive hetero relationship that you rarely get to see with strong women, along with some discussion of anxiety, prescriptions, and racism. It was clearly written by and for white women in a way that I found somewhat boring, but the sarcastic tone and fierceness of some of the ladies kept me reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexism
Moderate: Death, Sexual harassment, Bullying, and Sexual content
Minor: Child death, Dementia, and Suicide attempt
motherbeetle's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
4.0
I loved this book so much! It was so well written & grabbed my attention from the very start. The only reason I haven’t given it 5 stars is because of the inclusion of several cringey sex scenes involving rocket metaphors. Other than that though, it was a thrilling read! Some parts were difficult due to subject matter, but it was handled very well in my opinion. Looking forward to reading the next book in the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Vomit, Pregnancy, Dementia, and Mental illness
Minor: Excrement
schnaucl's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
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? No
4.75
I really enjoyed this novel.
I liked the characters and the world, though I think perhaps it wasn't cynical enough. (I think a lot of books written pre Covid that deal with apocalyptic conditions probably weren't cynical enough). But I think it did a good job of showing how insulated people in bubbles (of whatever kind) can be. If you're surrounded by people who understand the danger it's a shock to find out that people outside your world don't see or understand the same danger. (And really, that should have been a wake up call that the message maybe isn't getting as through the way it needs to. Assuming it can get through. There's no doubt part of the problem with communicating the looming economic crisis is the time frame. But here the time frame is condensed and you're still getting people who say global warming can't be a thing because we had snow).
I also wonder if there would be more despair if people really thought about what it would mean if the planet only had fifty years before it become uninhabitable for humans. And that's not even accounting for the devastation of the meteor and the disruption in the lives of the survivors to say nothing of fatigue from the second world war and the abruptly ended Korean War.
I also think if nearly the entire US government got wiped out there would be a stronger sense of hopelessness and despair. And these days, violence in the streets. Here there's no move to consolidate political power on a national scale, no suggestion the military should take over the government, there are refugees but they're swiftly dealt with outside of the occasional mention. There's mention of a food riot but otherwise people just seem to accept that sacrifices need to be made. There's no real mention of how the refugees get back on their feet. The main characters lost everything including their financial assets when the meteor hit and aside from the first few days after the impact that's all glossed over with a time jump. Was there some kind of allotment made? Not to mention the huge part of the country that's just gone. What about the goods and services they produced? The more I think about it, the more weirdly hopeful it is. And maybe that's because the time jump skipped some of the early problems that would need to be solved and some of it will turn up as things on earth get increasingly dire.
So far there's been no suggestion at all that the people in charge would even think about using the opportunity to keep those they deem unworthy or undesirable from escaping an uninhabitable earth. Why is no one worried about this? Given that they didn't bother to evacuate Black people for weeks after the meteorite hit, why is no one concerned that they wouldn't get around to evacuating Black people from the planet until it's too late? There hasn't even really been a discussion about how many people might be evacuated. It's true the technology to do it doesn't exist yet, but it seems like that should be a discussion the space program is part of even if they aren't directly responsible for it.
Hershel talks about his daughter Rachel not remembering the stars, but there's no discussion of the fact that if the earth is uninhabitable within the next fifty years if Rachel has children they may not survive. What does that do to a kid growing up? Or her parents? It's hard to tell how much of this is supposed to be common knowledge and whether people have really thought about the ramifications.
I would assume there would be an increase in religion (not unlike Elma's own turn to observing the Sabbath. Surely there would be people all too eager to claim the US government was wiped out due to their sins (whatever those might be).
For a world with this much cataclysmic change that's already happened and that will happen in the future it's very calm and peaceful. Yeah, there was a bomb attempt, but only one and it came as a surprise.
I do like how race is handled. Elma genuinely means well and tries to help but I think her continual not noticing at first when Black people are left out or not considered is pretty realistic. I also like that some of the same civil rights struggles are clearly happening even though conditions are drastically different. Though here, too, it's more peaceful than the actual struggles (or at least, there's been no mention of state violence against civil rights protestors. But it's also earlier).
I also think it's interesting that in the alternate space histories I've read or watched recently there's a suggestion that we need something to push America to keep going in space. In For All Mankind it's the Russians reaching the moon first, here it's the threat of the end of humanity. In the absence of some external motivation the general public just kind of lost interest.
I liked the characters and the world, though I think perhaps it wasn't cynical enough. (I think a lot of books written pre Covid that deal with apocalyptic conditions probably weren't cynical enough). But I think it did a good job of showing how insulated people in bubbles (of whatever kind) can be. If you're surrounded by people who understand the danger it's a shock to find out that people outside your world don't see or understand the same danger. (And really, that should have been a wake up call that the message maybe isn't getting as through the way it needs to. Assuming it can get through. There's no doubt part of the problem with communicating the looming economic crisis is the time frame. But here the time frame is condensed and you're still getting people who say global warming can't be a thing because we had snow).
I also wonder if there would be more despair if people really thought about what it would mean if the planet only had fifty years before it become uninhabitable for humans. And that's not even accounting for the devastation of the meteor and the disruption in the lives of the survivors to say nothing of fatigue from the second world war and the abruptly ended Korean War.
So far there's been no suggestion at all that the people in charge would even think about using the opportunity to keep those they deem unworthy or undesirable from escaping an uninhabitable earth. Why is no one worried about this? Given that they didn't bother to evacuate Black people for weeks after the meteorite hit, why is no one concerned that they wouldn't get around to evacuating Black people from the planet until it's too late? There hasn't even really been a discussion about how many people might be evacuated. It's true the technology to do it doesn't exist yet, but it seems like that should be a discussion the space program is part of even if they aren't directly responsible for it.
Hershel talks about his daughter Rachel not remembering the stars, but there's no discussion of the fact that if the earth is uninhabitable within the next fifty years if Rachel has children they may not survive. What does that do to a kid growing up? Or her parents? It's hard to tell how much of this is supposed to be common knowledge and whether people have really thought about the ramifications.
I would assume there would be an increase in religion (not unlike Elma's own turn to observing the Sabbath. Surely there would be people all too eager to claim the US government was wiped out due to their sins (whatever those might be).
For a world with this much cataclysmic change that's already happened and that will happen in the future it's very calm and peaceful. Yeah, there was a bomb attempt, but only one and it came as a surprise.
I do like how race is handled. Elma genuinely means well and tries to help but I think her continual not noticing at first when Black people are left out or not considered is pretty realistic. I also like that some of the same civil rights struggles are clearly happening even though conditions are drastically different. Though here, too, it's more peaceful than the actual struggles (or at least, there's been no mention of state violence against civil rights protestors. But it's also earlier).
I also think it's interesting that in the alternate space histories I've read or watched recently there's a suggestion that we need something to push America to keep going in space. In For All Mankind it's the Russians reaching the moon first, here it's the threat of the end of humanity. In the absence of some external motivation the general public just kind of lost interest.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Misogyny, Racism, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol, Child death, Death, Genocide, Medical content, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Dementia, Sexual harassment, and Death of parent
szuum's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Vomit, Racism, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual harassment, Death, Suicide attempt, and Animal death