A review by queenclio
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

3.0

This book disappointed. It has such a great alternative history premise with the potential for some interesting female characters and early feminist movement happenings, but it really falls flat after the first half. We lose out on the new and different of this world and fall back on 50s housewife tropes and a very insulated story that doesn't go anywhere. I had hoped for a deeper look into what could happen to the planet and society if the earth got hit by a meteorite, and I think it would be more than "gradual climate change and the US capital is now in Kansas." All the hints at more are really just that, hints, but they aren't even that tantalizing because the characters never interact with or react to those changes in a meaningful way.