The Calculating Stars
In an alternate 1952 a meteorite strikes the Chesapeake Bay, vaporizing Washington and setting off a cascade of climate effects that will eventually make Earth uninhabitable. Elma York, a former WASP pilot and brilliant mathematician now working as a computer for the newly urgent space program, realizes before almost anyone else that humanity's long-term survival depends on getting off the planet. Convincing the men in charge that she belongs in the astronaut corps, not just at a desk running calculations, is its own kind of orbital mechanics. Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut novel pairs meticulous period and aeronautical detail with a warm, funny, deeply felt portrait of a woman battling anxiety, sexism, and the bone-deep condescension of her era, and quietly insisting on her place in history.
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First in the Lady Astronaut series. In 1952 a meteorite strikes the Chesapeake and triggers a runaway climate emergency. Mathematician and pilot Elma York calculates that humans must leave Earth, and pushes to fly the missions herself.
Mary Robinette Kowal's Lady Astronaut series has four main novels: The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky, The Relentless Moon, and The Martian Contingency. The original novella, The Lady Astronaut of Mars, won the Hugo.
Yes. The Calculating Stars won the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards for Best Novel in 2019, making it one of a handful of novels to sweep all three top science fiction awards.
The Calculating Stars was written by Mary Robinette Kowal, published in 2018 by Tor Books.
The Calculating Stars is 432 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, The Calculating Stars takes most readers 6 to 9 hours to finish.
The Calculating Stars is a standalone novel by Mary Robinette Kowal, not part of a series.
The Calculating Stars is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.
