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Mary Robinette Kowal continues the grand sweep of alternate history begun in The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky looks forward to 1961, when mankind is well-established on the moon and looking forward to its next step: journeying to, and eventually colonizing, Mars.
The Verge—Best SFF Books for August 2018 io9 —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Unbound Worlds —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Tor.com —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Kirkus Online —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Nerdmuch —Best SFF Books for August 2018
Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but there's a lot riding on whoever the International Aerospace Coalition decides to send on this historic—but potentially very dangerous—mission? Could Elma really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family to spend several years traveling to Mars? And with the Civil Rights movement taking hold all over Earth, will the astronaut pool ever be allowed to catch up, and will these brave men and women of all races be treated equitably when they get there? This gripping look at the real conflicts behind a fantastical space race will put a new spin on our visions of what might have been. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Mary Robinette Kowal continues the grand sweep of alternate history begun in The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky looks forward to 1961, when mankind is well-established on the moon and looking forward to its next step: journeying to, and eventually colonizing, Mars.
The Verge—Best SFF Books for August 2018 io9 —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Unbound Worlds —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Tor.com —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Kirkus Online —Best SFF Books for August 2018 Nerdmuch —Best SFF Books for August 2018
Of course the noted Lady Astronaut Elma York would like to go, but there's a lot riding on whoever the International Aerospace Coalition decides to send on this historic—but potentially very dangerous—mission? Could Elma really leave behind her husband and the chance to start a family to spend several years traveling to Mars? And with the Civil Rights movement taking hold all over Earth, will the astronaut pool ever be allowed to catch up, and will these brave men and women of all races be treated equitably when they get there? This gripping look at the real conflicts behind a fantastical space race will put a new spin on our visions of what might have been. At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
About the Author-
Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award-winning alternate history novel, The Calculating Stars, the first book in the Lady Astronaut series. She is also the author of The Glamourist Histories series and Ghost Talkers and has received the Astounding Award for Best New Writer, four Hugo Awards, the Nebula, and Locus Awards. Her stories appear in Asimov's, Uncanny, and several Year's Best anthologies. Mary Robinette has also worked as a professional puppeteer, is a member of the Award-winning podcast Writing Excuses, and performs as a voice actor (SAG/AFTRA), recording fiction for authors including Seanan McGuire, Cory Doctorow, and Neal Stephenson. She lives in Tennessee with her husband Rob and over a dozen manual typewriters.
Reviews-
July 1, 2018
After successfully establishing base colonies on the moon, the International Space Coalition looks to the next step: traveling to Mars. Lady Astronaut Elma York definitely wants in on that trip, but this voyage will be both historic and especially dangerous. It's 1961, and the burgeoning civil rights movement may finally see individuals of all races on equal footing across the globe. But in the meantime, Elma must face the ups and downs of being a woman in a male-dominated field as she struggles to make her mark. As a nearly three-year trip to the next planet in our solar system looms, will Elma be able to leave her husband and chance at a family behind? VERDICT This gripping follow-up to The Calculating Stars is a near-perfect combination of real-world issues set in an alternate universe. Highlighting the racial tensions of the early 1960s with a frantic race for space colonization, Kowal's deft writing is sf at its best.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
Copyright 2018 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
August 1, 2018 Elma York's enterprises as the Lady Astronaut continue in this follow-up to Kowal's The Calculating Stars? (2018). It's 1961, three years after that novel's conclusion, and mankind has set up a temporary society on the moon. When Elma returns to Earth, the International Aerospace Coalition?desperate for good PR?assigns her, its most famous astronaut, to its first Mars mission. Elma agrees, even though it means leaving her husband behind for three years and, as she realizes belatedly, replacing her more qualified Taiwanese friend. Most of the story occurs within the Mars-bound spaceship. Fires, broken antennas, and E. coli by turns threaten the crew's safety, ramping up the suspense and drama. Racism and misogyny complicate matters further. Elma's boss still thinks it's funny to make sexist jokes, while some colleagues want to keep the brown-skinned astronauts on the kitchen and laundry roster. In the process of trying to fix these social issues, Elma often makes them worse. An alternative look at the midcentury space race led by an intelligent, well-meaning, but flawed heroine.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)
Starred review from July 2, 2018 Kowal continues her exquisite exploration of race and gender relations in an alternate 1961 that is still shockingly close to our own. The stunning second part of Kowal’s duology picks up 10 years after a meteor strikes Earth (depicted in The Calculating Stars) with series heroine Elma now serving as a pilot to the lunar colony. After she survives being taken hostage by a terrorist organization opposed to space travel, Elma is asked to join the first Mars mission, replacing a close friend and incurring the resentment of the existing crew. For Elma and her colleagues on both ships, contained in close quarters for three years far from family and friends, the journey is filled with tension, joy, terror, and sorrow, including the deaths of crew members and an anxious period when contact with Earth is cut off. The clever details of life in space—from baking challah in zero gravity to finding tricks for communicating privately, as well as the more horrifying practicalities of how to deal with illness and corpses—create an immersive world that will stay with the reader well past the final page.
Publishers Weekly, starred review
"An immersive world that will stay with the reader well past the final page."
The Verge
"The Lady Astronaut series might be set in an alternate past, but they're cutting-edge SF novels that speak volumes about the present."
Caroline Bookbinder
"This is by no means just for Sci Fi lovers."
Marzie Reads
"This was a fabulous sequel."
The Wall Street JournalPraise for The Calculating Stars
"This is what NASA never had, a heroine with attitude."
Cady Coleman, Astronaut
"In The Calculating Stars, Mary Robinette Kowal imagines an alternate history of spaceflight that reminds me of everything I loved about Hidden Figures."
Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Readers will thrill to the story of this "lady astronaut" and eagerly anticipate the promised sequels."
Tor.com
"Kowal's book was revelatory for me, because here is a version of history where men eventually, finally, listen to women."
Booklist
"A fine balance of integrating historical accuracy--including mid-twentieth-century sexism, racism, and technology--with speculative storytelling."
Library Journal
"Readers will be hooked."
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