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timinbc's review
5.0
You have to give the full five (and look at that average rating!).
It's a full-on space thriller like we used to read in the 70s, except that women are well on the way to being treated equally, and it's OK to talk about anorexia, and the science is probably better than most of the earlier stuff.
You'll enjoy this more if you have read the first two, if only because Kowal often assumes you know who the secondary characters are and what they bring to the table.
It's set in an alternate 1960s, with a better space program and a moon colony.
After the first two books, I sure didn't expect a Le Carré spy thriller, but hoo boy did I get one.
There's drama on the ground, and I won't say more about that. But there's a slow-developing drama on the moon, too, constantly ramping up.
As we learn that Nicole has some mad skillz we didn't know about, we also learn that she's anorexic, and that comes up often enough to be annoying. I finally decided, "yeah, it would in the story world too, and the author decided not to hide it. Good." Maybe this wil put an end to the all-too-common trope of characters not eating when they are busy, sad, distracted, working, ...
Kowal also decided to describe some of the characters as "Black," while still using "Negro" in mock news reports of the era. As an old white guy, I am not qualified to comment so I will just point it out.
Main takeaway: it's been a long time since any SF book combined good science with a thriller plot that actually made sense. Applause.
It's a full-on space thriller like we used to read in the 70s, except that women are well on the way to being treated equally, and it's OK to talk about anorexia, and the science is probably better than most of the earlier stuff.
You'll enjoy this more if you have read the first two, if only because Kowal often assumes you know who the secondary characters are and what they bring to the table.
It's set in an alternate 1960s, with a better space program and a moon colony.
After the first two books, I sure didn't expect a Le Carré spy thriller, but hoo boy did I get one.
There's drama on the ground, and I won't say more about that. But there's a slow-developing drama on the moon, too, constantly ramping up.
As we learn that Nicole has some mad skillz we didn't know about, we also learn that she's anorexic, and that comes up often enough to be annoying. I finally decided, "yeah, it would in the story world too, and the author decided not to hide it. Good." Maybe this wil put an end to the all-too-common trope of characters not eating when they are busy, sad, distracted, working, ...
Kowal also decided to describe some of the characters as "Black," while still using "Negro" in mock news reports of the era. As an old white guy, I am not qualified to comment so I will just point it out.
Main takeaway: it's been a long time since any SF book combined good science with a thriller plot that actually made sense. Applause.
bananasreads's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
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
4.75
smartflutist661's review
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I sympathize with Elma, but I understand Nicole. And I'm a sucker for a good mystery/sabotage/spy plot, especially in space. And you know it's good when all of the characters and the reader all have the same information and are coming to the same conclusions, without any of the annoying "let's withhold this information from these people for no other reason than to create some conflict." I also got the impression this book wasn't necessarily planned, and was impressed by the weaving together of the known events from The Fated Sky.
stev's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
amryden's review
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
tense
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
3.75
funkycide's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
luminous's review
3.0
Love this series, and this is a fine entry. Just not a standout. The mystery aspect was really intriguing, and I enjoyed that the characters, especially Nicole, the MC, were clever in the ways they tried to solve the mystery, or "work the problem" in the lingo of the world. As usually, the representation of happy nmarriages was welcome. The moon colony was well-realized.
At first, I was dismayed when a major life even occurred off-screen, making it feel unreal, as if it could not have happened. As the book went on and so did life at the moon colony and so did the affected characters, I came to feel that this was perhaps a smart way to get the reader feeling just like a character might (even though the character never did express quite what I am about to) — that there wasn't any way to resolve the situation up close and that the unreal quality was intentional by the author.
At first, I was dismayed when a major life even occurred off-screen, making it feel unreal, as if it could not have happened. As the book went on and so did life at the moon colony and so did the affected characters, I came to feel that this was perhaps a smart way to get the reader feeling just like a character might (even though the character never did express quite what I am about to) — that there wasn't any way to resolve the situation up close and that the unreal quality was intentional by the author.
okevamae's review
5.0
This installment in the Lady Astronaut series takes place at roughly the same time as The Fated Sky. With Elma York on her way to Mars, the POV narration shifts to fellow Lady Astronaut Nicole Wargin to chronicle all of the things that happened on Earth after the Mars mission left. Due to the space agency’s very selective forwarding-on of news from home, Elma and her compatriots learned very little about the troubles at home, so it was interesting to see what was really happening on Earth while they were away. And boy, did A LOT happen. The right-wing, anti-space Earth First movement is ramping up their rhetoric and violence, causing problems both on Earth and off, as there appear to be saboteurs from Earth First undercover in the space program, including at least one on the Moon. Nicole Wargin is sent up to the Moon to root out the saboteurs and help bring the chaos plaguing the space program to an end.
This is a very different Lady Astronaut novel from the others – it's more of a mystery novel, following the cat-and-mouse game that Nicole and her compatriots play with the saboteurs. As a result, the book is more tense and fast-paced than the others, even though it is longer. In addition to the mystery plot, the book has a lot of emotional tension and conflict, with Nicole’s eating disorder flaring up due to stress, as well as her dealing with mixed feelings about her husband’s political career.
I found Nicole to be a much more interesting and complex narrator than Elma, to be honest. The supporting characters also got much meatier roles in this one, especially Eugene. A few of the twists you’ll see coming as they were also dealt with in The Fated Sky, but there are quite a lot of major events that the astronauts on the Mars mission were kept in the dark about, so don’t worry about it being too predictable.
Nicole’s anorexia is a struggle throughout the book, so if you’re triggered by that, proceed with caution. I will say that Kowal approached the topic very thoughtfully, and was careful not to glamorize the condition in any way.
Representation: Major side characters of color, atheist main character, main character with mental illness/eating disorder
CW: Miscarriage and infertility, racism, sexism, murder by gun violence (mentioned), first person depiction of eating disorder (anorexia)
This is a very different Lady Astronaut novel from the others – it's more of a mystery novel, following the cat-and-mouse game that Nicole and her compatriots play with the saboteurs. As a result, the book is more tense and fast-paced than the others, even though it is longer. In addition to the mystery plot, the book has a lot of emotional tension and conflict, with Nicole’s eating disorder flaring up due to stress, as well as her dealing with mixed feelings about her husband’s political career.
I found Nicole to be a much more interesting and complex narrator than Elma, to be honest. The supporting characters also got much meatier roles in this one, especially Eugene. A few of the twists you’ll see coming as they were also dealt with in The Fated Sky, but there are quite a lot of major events that the astronauts on the Mars mission were kept in the dark about, so don’t worry about it being too predictable.
Nicole’s anorexia is a struggle throughout the book, so if you’re triggered by that, proceed with caution. I will say that Kowal approached the topic very thoughtfully, and was careful not to glamorize the condition in any way.
Representation: Major side characters of color, atheist main character, main character with mental illness/eating disorder
CW: Miscarriage and infertility, racism, sexism, murder by gun violence (mentioned), first person depiction of eating disorder (anorexia)
lemonmeringuepie's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
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
5.0
crimsoncor's review
5.0
So at first I was like, I'm not as big of a fan of Nicole as I was of Elma. And this book is rehashing (to some extent) plot points covered in the first two books. And then. Moon station espionage mysteries! Secret spies and daring heroics. The book definitely lives up to the first two, even if we have a new setting and a mostly new cast.