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4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
a good alternate history. not great, but good. very good at times.
I medium-enjoyed this book, but it seemed to take a loooong time to read, and eventually ennui won and I tapped out.
This book probably suffered from not being quite the book I wanted it to be. Elma, our main character, the Lady Astronaut, has a voice that sounds a lot like a Heinlein heroine. The book is set during the time period that Heinlein was doing a lot of writing, so I suppose it rings authentic. The main difference is that Elma also suffers from debilitating anxiety and stage fright, and maybe that's why she felt "wrong" to me- you'll never see a Heinlein heroine being anything but chirpy and determined, unless a kitten has died, in which case it's okay to cry. It was kind of a weird combination of stiff upper lip and secret freakouts, with Elma keeping all her problems to herself as long as she possibly could-until she suffered a mini-breakdown that her husband noticed. Elma constantly chastised herself for being weak, but didn't do anything to help herself- this didn't ring true with the practical person that she portrayed herself to be. I found this annoying, rather than sympathetic, possibly because my experience with stiff-upper lip people is that they tend to be very unforgiving of what they consider to be weakness in others too.
So the main conflict in this book wasn't really Elma's struggle with the patriarchy which wanted to keep women out of space, it was with her own inner demons. I wasn't expecting that sort of a book. I was expecting a book in which the struggles were with the aftermath of a meteorite that changed the face of the USA, with food shortages and a desperate populace, with wrestling technology that could be used to get into space, and with Elma going toe to toe with the men who didn't believe in her.
Elma has a perfect husband who runs interference for her, however, so there isn't much direct conflict with the space program heads. The first part of the book, that described the meteorite's impact and aftermath, was riveting. But then, although the author refers to the years' long winter afterwards, we never see the effects of it. We're told about rations, but no one ever seems hungry. The governing body of the USA continues seamlessly. All the characters we see still have everything they need, and they never mention those who were killed in the cataclysm.
While I was reading, I could keep going without a problem. When I put the book down, though, I was reluctant to pick it up. The pace seemed really slow, and not a lot happened outside of Elma's struggle with her own issues. I guess when it came down to it, I didn't want Elma's story, I wanted the space program's story. So, it was a different book than I wanted. YMMV.
This book probably suffered from not being quite the book I wanted it to be. Elma, our main character, the Lady Astronaut, has a voice that sounds a lot like a Heinlein heroine. The book is set during the time period that Heinlein was doing a lot of writing, so I suppose it rings authentic. The main difference is that Elma also suffers from debilitating anxiety and stage fright, and maybe that's why she felt "wrong" to me- you'll never see a Heinlein heroine being anything but chirpy and determined, unless a kitten has died, in which case it's okay to cry. It was kind of a weird combination of stiff upper lip and secret freakouts, with Elma keeping all her problems to herself as long as she possibly could-until she suffered a mini-breakdown that her husband noticed. Elma constantly chastised herself for being weak, but didn't do anything to help herself- this didn't ring true with the practical person that she portrayed herself to be. I found this annoying, rather than sympathetic, possibly because my experience with stiff-upper lip people is that they tend to be very unforgiving of what they consider to be weakness in others too.
So the main conflict in this book wasn't really Elma's struggle with the patriarchy which wanted to keep women out of space, it was with her own inner demons. I wasn't expecting that sort of a book. I was expecting a book in which the struggles were with the aftermath of a meteorite that changed the face of the USA, with food shortages and a desperate populace, with wrestling technology that could be used to get into space, and with Elma going toe to toe with the men who didn't believe in her.
Elma has a perfect husband who runs interference for her, however, so there isn't much direct conflict with the space program heads. The first part of the book, that described the meteorite's impact and aftermath, was riveting. But then, although the author refers to the years' long winter afterwards, we never see the effects of it. We're told about rations, but no one ever seems hungry. The governing body of the USA continues seamlessly. All the characters we see still have everything they need, and they never mention those who were killed in the cataclysm.
While I was reading, I could keep going without a problem. When I put the book down, though, I was reluctant to pick it up. The pace seemed really slow, and not a lot happened outside of Elma's struggle with her own issues. I guess when it came down to it, I didn't want Elma's story, I wanted the space program's story. So, it was a different book than I wanted. YMMV.
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
An alternate history of space travel. In the 1950's a meteorite crashed to Earth and wipes out much of the east coast (U.S). The crash results in a catastrophic climate change which will leave Earth uninhabitable. The only way for the human race to survive is to colonize space. Told from the perspective of Elma York, a physicist, mathematician, and WW2 pilot, who like many other woman dream of being an astronaut and will fight to make that dream a reality.
The science and math in this book feel so real and that is, in large part, because it is. Kowal consulted with many subject specialists to make her book as realistic as possible. She consulted with fighter pilots, 2 real life astronauts, a rocket scientist, a flight surgeon, and an astronomer (per the Acknowledgements section at the back of the book). Kowal also had a consultant make sure that she portrayed Elma’s Jewish heritage and Judaism accurately. That level of detail, effort, and care was well-rewarded and made a purely fictional science fiction story set in the 50's feel 100% believable. Originally this wasn’t at the top of my ‘too-read’ list, but seeing that a real astronaut, Cady Coleman, liked the book and said it reminded her of Hidden Figures, moved it up my list.
To anyone who reads this, take the time to also read the Acknowledgements and the Historical Note sections at the end. They are super interesting and contain choice nuggets of information like the fact that the news blurbs at the beginning of each chapter were taken from actual New York Times articles (with some modifications).
That being said, it is really hard to like a book so much when you dislike the main character for much of it. At times, Elma York is extremely annoying. It’s not her anxiety (which I relate to so much); it’s her ingrained sexism and unwillingness to fight harder for women’s representation in the space race. It’s a slow arduous process to get her there, and it doesn’t seem so much that she chose to do it as other forces outside herself (like her friends) force her to be braver than she wants to be. For the vast majority of the book, her whole attitude boils down to “I don’t want to cause problems” (page 191). I wanted her to be more forceful, more pushy, and just...more. You want her to fight for herself, and for all the women who couldn’t or didn’t have a voice, the means, or the opportunity to fight for themselves, and she consistently backed down. She was strong, but you wanted her to be stronger. But this also made her significantly more realistic (especially since a majority of the book takes place in the 1950s) than if she had been a lot more forthright. She tried to challenge the status quo, but was easily cowed and backed down when met with resistance. That said, she does display a significant amount of character growth that made her much more likeable towards the end. It is this frustrating aspect that pushed my rating from 5 stars down to 4 stars.
The science and math in this book feel so real and that is, in large part, because it is. Kowal consulted with many subject specialists to make her book as realistic as possible. She consulted with fighter pilots, 2 real life astronauts, a rocket scientist, a flight surgeon, and an astronomer (per the Acknowledgements section at the back of the book). Kowal also had a consultant make sure that she portrayed Elma’s Jewish heritage and Judaism accurately. That level of detail, effort, and care was well-rewarded and made a purely fictional science fiction story set in the 50's feel 100% believable. Originally this wasn’t at the top of my ‘too-read’ list, but seeing that a real astronaut, Cady Coleman, liked the book and said it reminded her of Hidden Figures, moved it up my list.
To anyone who reads this, take the time to also read the Acknowledgements and the Historical Note sections at the end. They are super interesting and contain choice nuggets of information like the fact that the news blurbs at the beginning of each chapter were taken from actual New York Times articles (with some modifications).
That being said, it is really hard to like a book so much when you dislike the main character for much of it. At times, Elma York is extremely annoying. It’s not her anxiety (which I relate to so much); it’s her ingrained sexism and unwillingness to fight harder for women’s representation in the space race. It’s a slow arduous process to get her there, and it doesn’t seem so much that she chose to do it as other forces outside herself (like her friends) force her to be braver than she wants to be. For the vast majority of the book, her whole attitude boils down to “I don’t want to cause problems” (page 191). I wanted her to be more forceful, more pushy, and just...more. You want her to fight for herself, and for all the women who couldn’t or didn’t have a voice, the means, or the opportunity to fight for themselves, and she consistently backed down. She was strong, but you wanted her to be stronger. But this also made her significantly more realistic (especially since a majority of the book takes place in the 1950s) than if she had been a lot more forthright. She tried to challenge the status quo, but was easily cowed and backed down when met with resistance. That said, she does display a significant amount of character growth that made her much more likeable towards the end. It is this frustrating aspect that pushed my rating from 5 stars down to 4 stars.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
informative
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:
No
Engaging and technically accurate. Exhaustively researched and richer for it. The language is accessible and the plot is intriguing. I would be very surprised if the writers of the show “for all mankind” didn’t do some heavy borrowing.
Entertaining, educational and fun! I am loving this rewrite of the world and am excited to see where it continues to go. Kowal grazes a great many thing and I'll be interested to see how much of it flushes itself out. She has me hooked and intrigued and glad I found this series for sure.
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The beginning and end worked for me. The middle was too slow.
adventurous
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix