Mary Robinette Kowal – Page 3 – Cannonball Read 17

Breaking the Glass Ceiling to Space

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

January 5, 2020 by Jen K 1 Comment

Elma York and her husband Nathaniel are on a long deserved vacation in the Poconos after a very busy time at work, when an world altering event happens: a meteor strikes DC and the eastern seaboard, leading to massive destruction, earthquakes and tidal waves. If Elma and Nathaniel had been home, they never would have survived, and it’s a miracle they make it out of the Poconos alive, using their unique expertise from working in the space program to predict some of the immediate after […]

If only we had started tackling climate change 60 years ago

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

October 5, 2019 by ingres77 Leave a Comment

CBR11 Bingo: Award Winner I read almost no alternate history – but I absolutely love the thought experiments. I read this book for two reasons: I don’t think I read enough award winners, and I know I don’t read enough books written by women. Most of my reading is for pleasure. I’m not necessarily trying to challenge myself, or expand my horizons. I’ve tried reading books held in high esteem by people much smarter than I, and I even tried reading more literature a couple […]

As I sat there with my eyes squeezed shut, the light faded.

The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal

September 4, 2019 by vel veeter Leave a Comment

This alternate history novel starts in 1952 with a meteor hitting the Atlantic Ocean and wiping out a significant portion on the eastern US coast. We see the event through the eyes of Dr. Elma York, a mathematician married to a rocket engineer. They begin to understand the implications of the event. Elma becomes prominent for calculating the size and basic shape of the meteor while her husband begins work for designing rockets. What has become clear is we have witnessed an event that will […]

Just as outstanding as the first book, now I need to seek out The Lady Astronaut short stories

The Fated Sky: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal

February 7, 2019 by Dome'Loki 2 Comments

Fun fact, Robinette is not part of her last name and while it sits in the middle of her name it isn’t technically a middle name either. She is Mary Robinette, and that is how she prefers to be called. Both Mary and Robinette are in honor of her grandmothers. It is not uncommon to find her books misshelved due to this misunderstanding. The Fated Sky is the second book in the Lady Astronaut duolgy that started with The Calculating Stars. The alternate timeline Kowal created has […]

Overall an amazing alternate history but what I really appreciated was the portrayal of the main character’s anxiety

The Calculating Stars: A Lady Astronaut Novel by Mary Robinette Kowal

January 30, 2019 by Dome'Loki 3 Comments

Mary Robinette Kowal seems to lean towards alternate history in her speculative fiction writing. The Glamourist Histories re-imagines the regency era with illusion magic. Ghost Talkers creates a WWII in which spiritual mediums talk to recently dead soldiers to get information on battles. In The Lady Astronaut novels, Kowal has dreamed up an alternate timeline where a gigantic meteorite strikes the Atlantic just off the East coast of the United States in 1952, destroying much of the Eastern seaboard and annihilating most of the US government. Recovering from […]

A lot of wasted potential

March 12, 2017 by The Book Omnivore Leave a Comment

Katya is a dealer in Authenticities and Captures, remnants of a world long gone. She finds old things and sells them to her rich clients. She is constantly connected to the grid, which provides her with information when she asks it to, gives her warnings when she needs them and so on. One day, Katya is forced to stop her bike on her way into the city, in order to let some deer cross the road undisturbed. Suddenly, one of the deer is shot and […]

Zirza on A Gothic Classic for a ReasonIt's one of those wish-you-could-read-it-again-for-the-first-time books. I loved it.
Emmalita on “It came to something when you found yourself hoping that the footsteps you heard were ghosts.”I loved the ending! I don’t think it’s been out long enough to talk about why though.
Dixie on Track Her Down by Melinda LeighI am just starting Track Her Down and I have read them all in order till now and thought I...
Roland of Gilead on How can you give us the gift of a crazy character named Rando Thoughtful and then just as suddenly take that gift away? We need to talk, Uncle Stevie.I came across this randomly years after it was written because I was searching "Random Thoughtful. But I have the...
Emmalita on “Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”Oh my goodness, Gallifrey was beautiful. I’m sure her mittens were gloriously murdery.

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