You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.01 AVERAGE
4.01 AVERAGE
'The Calculating Stars' is a masterpiece.
This alternate history begins in 1955, when a potentially extinction-level meteorite hits Washington, D.C. Our heroine is a human computer, a dual Ph.D. math savant; you may be familiar with the concept through the book and movie "Hidden Figures." She and her husband, a rocket engineer who also has a Ph.D., survive and make their way to Kansas City. There, the government is reconstituting. The numbers show that mankind needs to get off Earth before the long-term effects of the meteorite strike render it uninhabitable, and the race is on.
Oh, did I mention that our heroine was a Women's Air Service Pilot during WWII? You can't colonize space without women, and she's determined to be among them.
Ok. That's, like, the first fifty pages. As with any novel, our heroine will encounter challenges of all sorts, develop personally, and the like. Y'know: novel stuff. 'The Calculating Stars' is good because author Mary Robinette Kowal is good at creating an engaging narrative with interesting characters. It's a masterpiece because she has something to say about mental health, and sexism and racism, about workplace politics, about, well, about being alive in a world fraught with dangers, moral and physical.
In fact, this book is so good that I even recommend it to people who don't normally read science fiction. Bonus: if you listen to it, you'll find that the author reads her own novel like a pro. Her diction is clear enough to allow the reader to listen at 2.3x speed and she captures the voicing of the various characters unobtrusively.
No kidding: 'The Calculating Stars' is fantastic. Put it on your list today!
This alternate history begins in 1955, when a potentially extinction-level meteorite hits Washington, D.C. Our heroine is a human computer, a dual Ph.D. math savant; you may be familiar with the concept through the book and movie "Hidden Figures." She and her husband, a rocket engineer who also has a Ph.D., survive and make their way to Kansas City. There, the government is reconstituting. The numbers show that mankind needs to get off Earth before the long-term effects of the meteorite strike render it uninhabitable, and the race is on.
Oh, did I mention that our heroine was a Women's Air Service Pilot during WWII? You can't colonize space without women, and she's determined to be among them.
Ok. That's, like, the first fifty pages. As with any novel, our heroine will encounter challenges of all sorts, develop personally, and the like. Y'know: novel stuff. 'The Calculating Stars' is good because author Mary Robinette Kowal is good at creating an engaging narrative with interesting characters. It's a masterpiece because she has something to say about mental health, and sexism and racism, about workplace politics, about, well, about being alive in a world fraught with dangers, moral and physical.
In fact, this book is so good that I even recommend it to people who don't normally read science fiction. Bonus: if you listen to it, you'll find that the author reads her own novel like a pro. Her diction is clear enough to allow the reader to listen at 2.3x speed and she captures the voicing of the various characters unobtrusively.
No kidding: 'The Calculating Stars' is fantastic. Put it on your list today!
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism
Minor: Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Alcohol
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After a semi engaging first 100 pages, this book took a downturn for the downright crappy. The characters and plot were so one dimensional. Also as a related side note: every single sex scene used the word “nibble” and also made rocket launching innuendos.
I'd probably give this book a 2.5. The starting got me hooked and I was curious to see how it all plays out and I guess I was hoping that the author creates a story more from a geo political level and we do see a bit of that in those intro snippets but it ultimately takes a different turn. The story concentrates more on a micro level and especially around racism, sexism, other cultures, religion etc. I do feel though that if the author wanted to talk more on this topics as a story then it felt more concentrated towards the issue of misogyny / sexism / anxiety issues. Idk if the author meant for her to come off as an ally in the story by being aware but she is definitely not one. And the stereotyping ofcourse ensues which is added even more thanks to her audiobook narration. As for the story itself, I didn't feel like there was any tension or something to look forward to. I had already guessed that Elma would have gone and she did. I enjoyed the science part of it but maybe after reading the last two scifi novels I expected more from a book that won so many awards.
challenging
emotional
informative
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
4.5*
Late to the party. What can I say of this novel, the first of a series... Like many, I had read Kowal’s short story [b:The Lady Astronaut of Mars|22154436|The Lady Astronaut of Mars|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410230330l/22154436._SX50_.jpg|24168626] a few years back and loved it for its powerful voice. The Calculating Stars goes at the point of Elma’s life, as indeed that of everyone on Earth, when all is drastically changed by the fall of a huge meteorite, causing not only the destruction and death of many but starting a chain reaction that will render our planet inhabitable.
There are many novels out there that have this theme at the centre of their plot, but Kowal does something different and fascinating by setting this just after WWII, and thus showcasing the myriads of ways societies were sexist, racist, and all kinds of other '-ist’. How many times did I have my blood boil at the injustices and abuses thrown at these women? So many! And yet, I couldn’t stop reading and vying for them, maybe because I have experienced some of these things, albeit on a much smaller scale (and I’m not that old LOL!).
I had no idea that women were used in real life as ‘computers’ to calculate all the equations and other maths needed to run the space programme. Again, they were ‘erased' from History, as many other women were in the past, and I love that Kowal has instead, by means of a fictional book, put the light back on them. Jumping right into book 2 :O)
P.S.:If you want to find out more about the real women computers, Kowal recommends [b:Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars|40363555|Rise of the Rocket Girls The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars|Nathalia Holt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527969304l/40363555._SY75_.jpg|45959896], [b:The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|29496512|The Glass Universe How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|Dava Sobel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465672020l/29496512._SY75_.jpg|49782569] and [b:Hidden Figures|25953369|Hidden Figures|Margot Lee Shetterly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481844518l/25953369._SY75_.jpg|45855800]. I shall be reading these too.
Late to the party. What can I say of this novel, the first of a series... Like many, I had read Kowal’s short story [b:The Lady Astronaut of Mars|22154436|The Lady Astronaut of Mars|Mary Robinette Kowal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1410230330l/22154436._SX50_.jpg|24168626] a few years back and loved it for its powerful voice. The Calculating Stars goes at the point of Elma’s life, as indeed that of everyone on Earth, when all is drastically changed by the fall of a huge meteorite, causing not only the destruction and death of many but starting a chain reaction that will render our planet inhabitable.
There are many novels out there that have this theme at the centre of their plot, but Kowal does something different and fascinating by setting this just after WWII, and thus showcasing the myriads of ways societies were sexist, racist, and all kinds of other '-ist’. How many times did I have my blood boil at the injustices and abuses thrown at these women? So many! And yet, I couldn’t stop reading and vying for them, maybe because I have experienced some of these things, albeit on a much smaller scale (and I’m not that old LOL!).
I had no idea that women were used in real life as ‘computers’ to calculate all the equations and other maths needed to run the space programme. Again, they were ‘erased' from History, as many other women were in the past, and I love that Kowal has instead, by means of a fictional book, put the light back on them. Jumping right into book 2 :O)
P.S.:If you want to find out more about the real women computers, Kowal recommends [b:Rise of the Rocket Girls: The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars|40363555|Rise of the Rocket Girls The Women Who Propelled Us, from Missiles to the Moon to Mars|Nathalia Holt|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1527969304l/40363555._SY75_.jpg|45959896], [b:The Glass Universe: How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|29496512|The Glass Universe How the Ladies of the Harvard Observatory Took the Measure of the Stars|Dava Sobel|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1465672020l/29496512._SY75_.jpg|49782569] and [b:Hidden Figures|25953369|Hidden Figures|Margot Lee Shetterly|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1481844518l/25953369._SY75_.jpg|45855800]. I shall be reading these too.
I liked the well drawn characters, especially the protagonist and the other hidden figures style computers, and the way the book tries to deals with the way racism, sexism, and antisemitism affect people psychologically. I also liked the way the book deals with Elma York's anxiety. However, I felt that not enough happened. I would have liked Elma to have made it into orbit by the middle of the book, and I felt that the character development was repetitious at times.
It is very interesting to consider how the US space program of the 1950s could have been accelerated and what the history of space flight would look like had that been the case. For example, how close would we have gotten to golden era sci-fi scenarios where astronauts held slide rulers between their teeth?
It is very interesting to consider how the US space program of the 1950s could have been accelerated and what the history of space flight would look like had that been the case. For example, how close would we have gotten to golden era sci-fi scenarios where astronauts held slide rulers between their teeth?
Fun plot! Terrible writing! Couldn't finish. It felt like it was written for middle school aged readers except had enough sexy stuff that I guess not? Too bad, I liked the general story