Sunday, October 27, 2019

73:100 The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

It's 1952 and a meteorite has just struck the ocean outside of the Eastern Seaboard wiping out Washington DC, New York, and pretty much anything else within a few miles of the coastline.  Elma York and her husband were on a weekend getaway when it happened, far enough away that they felt the shockwaves but far enough away that they were able to get to their small plane and escape when so many others couldn't.  Now the world is trying to rebuild and the conclusions coming back are frightening.  While things will settle down in the short-term, global warming (a term never before heard of) will happen in a few decades due to all the particulate matter thrown up in the atmosphere from the meteorite.  What used to be a fun idea of getting into space is now imperative for the survival of the human race and Elma York, a mathematician and WASP pilot, is determined that women will be included in the program, especially herself.

An interesting idea, fairly well executed, although I could have done with a little better explanation as to what was actually up with Elma and her anxiety earlier in the story and a lot less of how much she and her husband are into each other. 


Page count: 432p/19,333p ytd/328,028p lifetime

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