Series Review: The Lady Astronauts

Clue and Wil are fans! Photos by Kate Ota 2021

A few weeks ago, I finished the three books in Mary Robinette Kowal’s The Lady Astronaut series: The Calculating Stars, The Fated Sky, and The Relentless Moon.
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The Calculating Stars (2018) follows Dr. Elma York after a meteor strike the US in the early 1950s. She’s a mathematician for the equivalent of NASA and her husband is an engineer there. After the meteor, the realize there will be apocalyptic climate change and they need to ramp up space exploration for humans to survive. Elma fights sexism for the ability to apply for an become an astronaut.
 
The Fated Sky (2018) follows the same protagonist as The Calculating Stars, Elma York. There’s a several year time jump, which at first, I didn’t like. I wanted to know about what was about to happen at the end of book 1! However, a few chapters in, I understood why there was a time jump and was on board for this new adventure. Glad I trusted the author because wow! Such a white-knuckle ride.
 
The Relentless Moon (2020) switches protagonists to Nicole Wargin, the Senator’s wife and fellow female astronaut. This plot is a little more of a spy novel/mystery mostly set on the moon. Discussing more of the plot would spoil the second book so I’ll leave it here.
 
This series has won a ton of awards. The Calculating Stars won the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novel, the 2019 Hugo Award for Best Novel, and the 2019 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. It was also a finalist for the 2019 John W. Campbell Memorial award for Best Science Fiction Novel of the Year. The Relentless Moon was a finalist for the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novel and the 2021 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel. The series was also a finalist for the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Series.
 
Looking for more? A fourth installment, The Martian Contingency, has been announced for 2022! And of course, it all goes back to Kowal’s novelette, The Lady Astronaut of Mars (2012) which won the Hugo for Best Novelette.
 
Good news! The Calculating Stars is our next Podcast book, so we’ll be getting in depth about it. Want us to talk about anything in particular? Leave your comments or discussion questions in the comment section.
 
I recommend this series to lovers of sci-fi and cli-fi. If you enjoyed Hidden Figures, you’ll enjoy this, too (because yes, there’s also quite a bit of dealing with the racism of the 1950s). If you enjoy the type of book where a woman (or girl) does a thing that only men (or boys) have been allowed to do, you’ll love this. It may not be for you if you’re going to be too frustrated (or triggered) by very blatant sexism, which mentions of assault and gaslighting. The third book also deals significantly with anorexia, and the first two books have a lot of anxiety, so if you can’t or don’t want to read about those topics, steer clear. It’s heavy on realism, so if you’re looking for a space opera, this isn’t what you want. Overall, I recommend this series!
 
Have you read this series? What did you think? Any recommendations for our podcast discussion? Let’s discuss in the comments!