RaveKirkusHello, let me tell you how super great The Calculating Stars, the new novel by Mary Robinette Kowal, is ... It’s an alternate history of the world set in the 50s, in which a meteorite falls to Earth, causing what Elma, our protagonist – a lady scientist, physicist, mathematician and pilot to boot – calculates is an extinction event. This accelerates the space program since humans now have to GET OUT OF HERE as fast as possible, anticipating the moon landing by almost a decade. Getting to that point though, is what the novel is all about ... (The meteorite) decimates part of the US, killing thousands of people...and starting a devastating domino effect...Surviving the first few weeks is hard. Convincing the top brass, military and government officials that they need to speed up their space program to ensure humanity’s survival in the long run, is harder. Convincing these people that women should take part in the process of colonizing space, while being a woman scientist, seems almost impossible ... The novel’s greatest strength to me lies in its quietness – I know it probably sounds strange to hear this considering The Calculating Stars deals with topics as grand as an apocalyptic event, space exploration as well as overt systemic sexism and racism. However, it is Elma’s internal struggles with all of those that inform the story. From her sense of self-worth which wavers between a lack of confidence...and her obvious intellect, to her ongoing struggle with anxiety...from her unwavering belief that women wholly belong in the space program...to her blind spots with regards to women of color (white feminism is a thing and this book does not shy away from showing Elma’s ignorance and privilege).
