Reviews

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

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ben_todd7's review against another edition

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hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The book never really explains what the benefit of going to other planets is and that is so annoying.

rai's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

tabatha_shipley's review against another edition

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5.0

What I Did Like:
-Genre-crossing. The blend here of historical fiction and science fiction is incredibly well done. There’s a solid balance between what living in that time period would have been like for women, what the space program would have been like in its infancy, and the devastating effects of a meteorite like that hitting earth.
-Great opening. Who wouldn’t be hooked by the meteorite hitting earth in the first few pages and the intensity that follows that? This one starts on a very high level and keeps you moving from there.
-Showing the bias. This book set out to confront the biases women and minorities faced when the space program was in its early days in an interesting way by using alternate history. I loved that, although you’re working with science fiction and breaking rules, the author stuck to the history as much as she could. This felt like it absolutely could have happened like this, right down to the bikinis for astronaut training (yes, you read that right).

Who Should Read This One:
-Historical fiction fans. This is an interesting concept. Don’t be scared away by the fact that it involves an event that absolutely didn’t happen in the 1950s. You’ll adore the way it explores sexism and racism in a way that feels historically accurate.
-Science fiction fans, specifically those who like big events causing chaos. From the meteorite strike to the start of the space program, this one keeps the science in the science fiction.

My Rating: 5 stars.
I love genre crossing books when they work and this one absolutely did! Totally recommended.

For Full Review: https://tabathashipleybooks.com/2022/08/22/2022-book-review-the-calculating-stars/

cinnamonandpancakes's review against another edition

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It is very disaster movie and I am not feeling up to that right now.

mikarala's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I really enjoyed this alternative history take on how the age of space exploration could begin differently if the motivation wasn't simply a competition between the USA and Soviet Union, but a race to save humanity. I found Elma to be an enjoyable main character overall. Given the concept, she is justifiably extraordinary, but she wasn't frustratingly perfect...most of the time. Elma grapples with grief and her own insecurities throughout the story in a way that made her much more relatable and likable.

Overall I found the prose serviceable and I breezed through this story quite quickly. It did a good job of keeping my attention. I do think it ended a bit ubruptly, though.

marcus_bines's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A meteor hits the USA in the early 1950s, necessitating an acceleration of the space program. Elma, a NASA mathematician, and her husband Nathaniel, an engineer, get caught up in the social and scientific progress that comes out of it. Will women be allowed to go into space? Will there be any kind of equality for black pilots? Will people put the good of the human race before their own egos? These are the questions Kowal takes in this alternative history, with a deftness of touch that makes the story fast-moving and fascinating. The science and maths never bog proceedings down, and I loved the central characters being a married couple, working out how to live and work together on the same high-stakes tasks.