Paperback

English language

Published Dec. 8, 2019 by Rebellion Publishing.

ISBN:
978-1-78108-731-2
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5 stars (17 reviews)

On a cold spring night in 1952, a huge meteorite fell to Earth and obliterated much of the east coast of the United States, including Washington, DC. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render Earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. This looming threat calls for a radically accelerated effort to colonize space, and requires a much larger share of humanity to take part in the process.

Elma York's experience as a WASP pilot and mathematician earns her a place in the International Aerospace Coalition's attempts to put man on the moon, as a computer. But with so many skilled and experience women pilots and scientists involved with the program, it doesn't take long before Elma begins to wonder why they can't go into space, too.

Elma's drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions …

2 editions

A review from Goodreads

5 stars

Alternate history. What if a meteor had hit the Earth in 1952 and the space program was accelerated? I loved that the story is told through the eyes of a woman: Elma York, ex-WASP pilot, mathematician, PhD and a computer. Yes, back in the '50s without the power of digital computers the calculation were made manually by women, called "computers". So, men were engineers, women were computers. And also, men were astronauts. So the book has this cool feminist feel because women want to be astronauts too! Why not?

I was excited to share with Elma the fascination about science. In a sense the story could have been told today, when women in STEM are still a minority. Elma and her husband (Nathaniel), a rocket engineer, form an amazing couple. They have their struggles and it was so nice to see this great "nerdy" relationship. Also, I could completely relate …

Review of 'The Calculating Stars' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

I wonder if this is another story where curmudgeony dudes whine about women in SF, and where's the hard science?

Well, tough shit, there's hard science here in this alternative history of manned space exploration in the 1950s. The difference between their Artemis and our Apollo program: space exploration is more important because in 1952 a meteorite crashes into the ocean just off the coast from DC, obliterating the East Coast, and starting a chain reaction that would cause Earth to heat up. An extinction event.

At the forefront of it all is our first-person protagonist Elma, who is a mathematician. Her husband is assigned as lead engineer of the American space program, which later becomes an International Program. Elma works as a computer, doing all the calculations required by hand, a job done by women. Female mathematicians become computers, dudes become engineers, you see.

Elma was also a pilot …

Review of 'The Calculating Stars' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

I loved this! Alternate history science fiction where a meteorite destroys most of the east coast of the US in 1952, starting the space race and colonization of the Moon & Mars a few decades early. Despite the scifi setting, the book mostly focuses on the social and cultural ramifications, especially around having white women and people of color as astronauts (or, more to the point, not having them), though the science is solid too. I really liked the relationship between Elma & her husband, as well as the myriad of interesting relationships she has with other astronauts, pilots and computers. Looking forward to the next one.

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