Elma, however, makes a name for herself and her influence becomes a factor in including women.
Most of the computers are women, so it makes sense to include them in the flights to the moon and beyond (since ships won’t always have communication with Mission Control, they need computers on-ship), but as we learned in THE CALCULATING STARS that wasn’t the obvious solution to those in charge of the space program.
Now it looks like she’ll be one of the first women to Mars.Įlma is a woman living in a world where women and minorities must fight to be included in the space program. The book comes to a very satisfying conclusion and as far as I am aware, there will be no more Elma York stories – but if there are, I will be guaranteed to pre-order a copy.In THE CALCULATING STARS you got to know Elma York, the brilliant mathematician who becomes one of the first lady astronauts on an Earth that must take to the stars to survive. I cried at more than one scene in the book and found the relationships between the characters to be both convincing and compelling. Once I started, I didn’t want to put it down, except for those times that I was thinking about punching Parker. The space walk repairs are tense, and the physical confines of the astronauts provide plenty of tension too.
If you’ve read the book, then you’ll know the one I mean. There’s a scene with a bag that will stay with me for a very long time. The science is accurate – or at least convincing – and the difficulties of space travel are all too apparent. The character work is excellent, with one of the characters I disliked most in the first book eventually becoming sympathetic and almost likeable. While The Calculating Stars took place mostly on earth, The Fated Sky largely happens in space, where the astronauts are far away from the people they love and from help if anything should go wrong.Īs with the first book, the story deals with racial tension, misogyny, mental health and the bonds that connect us. This mission will require Elma to be away for three years, leaving her husband, Nathaniel, behind. Not to mention the politics around who will be taken to the new colonies and who is likely to be left behind.Īgainst this backdrop, the IAC decide they need to boost their public image by putting Elma onto the first manned mission to Mars, replacing her friend Helen. Tensions have been rising on earth between the people who believe that the salvation of the human race lies in space, and those who don’t believe in the climate future that has been predicted and want governments to spend their money on earth. The book opens with a shuttle crash and the passengers, Elma amongst them, being taken hostage by a group calling themselves ‘Earth First’. Elma is an astronaut and is regularly shuttling back and forward between earth and the base on the moon. The Fated Sky opens in 1961 and continues the story from The Calculating Stars.
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