: What sort of research did you do to get the aerospace stuff right? … I just really wanted to dig into that and also explore what would have happened if we had been trying to send people to space when we didn't have mechanical computers, when the only way to send a computer into space was to send a woman. … I started exploring women's early involvement in the space program and discovered that it was far more extensive than I had had any idea - I was writing these before ' Hidden Figures' came out - and so it was this kind of constant revelation about how thoroughly embedded and essential women were.

Everything was still on punch cards, and it was amazing, these giant rooms, and that's where my initial wonder about computing came from. But with so many skilled and experienced 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.Įlma’s drive to become the first Lady Astronaut is so strong that even the most dearly held conventions of society may not stand a chance against her.Kowal: I joke that it's a punch-card punk universe, and that is basically coming from going to IBM with my dad when I was a kid. 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.Įlma 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 calculator. The ensuing climate cataclysm will soon render the earth inhospitable for humanity, as the last such meteorite did for the dinosaurs. 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 D.C.

Sword and Laser Goodreads Group Discussion of The Calculating Stars The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal How/Why was this book chosen: Chosen by Veronica The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal was the 117th official Sword and Laser Book Club selection.

The calculating stars series