The fated sky

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The fated sky

Title:

The fated sky

Author:

Kowal, Mary Robinette, 1969- author.

Series:

Lady Astronaut ;

Series Number:

Summary:

"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. 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?"-- Amazon.com.

General Note:

"A Tom Doherty Associates book."

Sequel to: The calculating stars.

Edition:

First edition.

Physical Description:

384 pages ; 21 cm

Genre:

Alternative histories (Fiction)

Science fiction.

Subject Term:

Women astronauts -- Fiction.

Meteors -- Fiction.

Manned space flight -- Fiction.

Interplanetary voyages -- Fiction.

Geographic Term:

United States -- Social conditions -- 20th century -- Fiction.

United States -- Race relations -- 20th century -- Fiction.

Publisher:

Tor,

Publication Date:

2018

ISBN:

9780765398949

Publication Information:

New York : Tor, 2018.

Call Number:

KOWAL

Holds: Copies:

Available:*

Item Barcode	Collection	Call Number	Status	Item Holds
33607003606780	Adult Fiction	KOWAL Mary Robinette	Searching... Unknown	Searching... Unavailable

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Summary

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.

Author Notes

Mary Robinette Kowal is the author of the historical fantasy novels Ghost Talkers and the five books in The Glamourist Histories series. She is also a multiple Hugo Award winner. Her short fiction has appeared in Uncanny, Tor.com, and Asimov's. Mary, a professional puppeteer, lives in Chicago with her husband Robert and over a dozen manual typewriters.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

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. (Aug.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.

Library Journal Review

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 Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.