The Calculating Stars (Lady Astronaut Universe, #1) in Around the Year in 52 Books

Jul 28, 2020 Nadine in NY Jones rated it it was ok

Shelves: fantasy-and-sci-fi, era-mid-20th-c, alternate-planes-and-histories

recommended for fans of The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet.

I feel bad about not liking this book!! I was really looking forward to reading this, but it disappointed me. In fact, when I set it down, I found myself quite reluctant to pick it back up again. It's clear to me that the author did a large amount of research for this book, but ... I didn't like it.

I was bored, I didn’t like Elma, and I didn't enjoy spending time with any of the characters. Elma's overwhelming anxiety coupled wit ...more

9 likes · Like · see review

Aug 12, 2023 John Warner rated it really liked it

Shelves: series, science-fiction, social-commentary, space-travel, tour-de-force

A potential extinction event has occurred when a meteorite strike occurs off the Maryland shore decimating much of the eastern United States. A global nuclear winter followed by rising temperatures will make the Earth potentially uninhabitable. Global governments and scientists decide that the best avenue for human survival is to build communities on the moon and Mars.

In this alternative history of the Cold War era, man has already made it to space 15 years prior to our timeline. The protagonis ...more

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Dec 10, 2022 Susan rated it really liked it

Math and science were always my least favorite subjects in school, so I usually avoid them in books as well. I needed a Hugo Award winner for the POPSUGAR Reading Challenge, though, and I'd heard good things about THE CALCULATING STARS. To my surprise—in spite of the math and science—I actually quite liked the book.

The novel has a hearty girl-power premise that is definitely appealing. It features a group of female pilots who are smart, capable, experienced, and brave. Despite these attributes, ...more

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Feb 27, 2019 Judy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: library-book

Starting in 1952, Washington DC is destroyed by a massive meteorite. And the race to space is on. Loved this read. Hidden Figures with a twist.

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Jan 17, 2019 Missy rated it really liked it

Shelves: historical, sci-fi, library

My geeky engineering heart is singing with joy about this one. I am fortunately just old enough that being 'good at math' meant I could actually be an engineer rather than a calculator or math teacher, but I recognize the echoes of the behavior of so many of the characters in the book.
(view spoiler) ...more

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Aug 01, 2020 Ana rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, 2020, 2020-aty, 2020-popsugar, 2020-august, 2020-newts

This was a really good book. I loved the alternate history and seeing a sci-fi event happen in the past. I thought that the past was captured well and loved seeing what could have been. I really liked the characters and the perseverance shown in all of them, but I also loved the anxiety and how that was handled. This book makes me say yes.

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