Reviews - The Calculating Stars

2.7k reviews for:

The Calculating Stars

Mary Robinette Kowal

4.01 AVERAGE

roe_bookworm's review against another edition

2.5

hopeful reflective tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

I didn’t like it. I don’t hate it, I swear, but… I’ve given 3 stars to better books, so I can’t say this deserves them. I’m sorry, but this let me down too much.

Content Warnings

doctoracula's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

whichthreewords's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: No

jasnah42's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring medium-paced

cantinabookclub's review against another edition

4.0

Kowal has worked hard to allow readers to approach this series in almost any order they wish – novelette first, then the two prequels, or to read the prequels first and finish with the novelette. I chose to do the latter.

Taking place in 1952, The Calculating Stars begins with Elma and her husband Nathaniel enjoying their vacation in the Poconos when a meteorite strikes Chesapeake Bay, destroying Washington D.C. and much of the Northeastern United States. In addition to being a physicist and mathematician, Elma was a WASP pilot during World War II, so she conveniently owns a plane which they use to get to safety. Upon settling at the nearest operational air force base located in Ohio, the Yorks combine their relevant expertise and experience (Nathaniel is an aerospace engineer) – with the help of Elma’s meteorologist brother Hershel – to research the damage and implications. They conclude that the meteorite strike will render the planet uninhabitable in about 50 years. The race to space just became much more desperate, and the Yorks have secured government jobs to join the effort.

Read my full review (which includes the The Lady Astronaut of Mars and The Fated Sky) at The Nerd Cantina:
https://thenerdcantina.com/the-lady-astronaut-series-by-mary-robinette-kowal-book-review/