Quick & Dirty: This second novel spends a lot more time in space and is more scientific but it is an emotionally driven story that was highly entertaining.

The Review:
The Fated Sky by Mary Robinette Kowal is the second novel in the Lady Astronaut duology. The first book, The Calculating Stars, blew me away! I was entirely surprised by how much I was fascinated in the end of the world storyline and how much I really liked the character of Elma York. I enjoyed this book almost as much as I enjoyed the first book for entirely different reasons. The majority of this book was set in space so it even had a different feel than The Calculating Stars which was set almost entirely on earth.

I would highly recommend reading The Calculating Stars first because it helps you get to know all the characters. There isn’t really a character recap. Plus, there is a time jump between the two books. The second book starts several years later after a moon colony has been established and Elma has been spending her time between earth and the moon. She likes to think of herself as a glorified bus driver because women still aren’t allowed to operate a rocket between the earth and the space station. Events are tense down on Earth where people don’t think we need to be spending money on a space program when they need to be focusing saving the people on Earth. In a spur of publicity, Elma is moved to the Mars program.

A majority of this novel deals with space flight and flying to Mars. Science plays a huge role in this book. I really like the authenticity but I did kind of skim over those parts especially since I don’t know what a lot of it means. If you like science, then you should really like this series. Sexism and racism are still huge issues that are tackled in these two books. The setting in The Fated Sky is the early 60’s and even though they have advanced technology, their ideals are still misplaced.

Dr. Elma York is a character that I find really sympathetic. She has flaws and anxieties. Sometimes, it does take being called out for her to realize something which would be obvious to the reader but when she learns her lesson she has no problem fighting for what is right. She doesn’t believe she is worthy to be on the Mars mission but ultimately I think she was. She always had what it took to be focused and get the job done.

The side characters are equally developed. There are a few characters I really enjoyed and others I didn’t care for so much. I was really awed by the redemption arc of one of the most terrible characters and how she made me feel for him. I had resigned myself to hating him.

Space isn’t all sunshine and rainbows. Elma has to deal with some heavy issues that have tragic consequences. She has to go through some really tough situations. This novel isn’t action packed but there are some scenes that should make your heart race.

Overall, I highly recommend these books. They are books that I wouldn’t normally pick up so I’m glad I got the opportunity to review them. The ending had my emotions going wild. I can only hope that this world and the humans in it can survive in the years to come.

The Fated Sky is set a number of years after the end of The Calculating Stars. A colony has been established on the moon, and they are working to develop a colony on Mars. I continue to really enjoy this series. Kowal creates very intriguing characters, keeps the pace moving well and just writes very readable and compelling stories.

If you missed reading the first one, I highly recommend you go check it out. It is an alternate history set in the 1950s and the gist is that the earth is dying, and the space program is working to find a place to relocate the human race to ensure our survival. It turns out women are critical to this as they are the ones with the math skills required to complete the complex calculations.

Elma is working as something like a glorified space bus driver, piloting a shuttle for the moon colony and plans are in full swing to get the mars colony going. The team selection for this mission is a big deal and more than just skill definitely seem to come in to it, which causes tensions between friends and teammates.

I enjoyed Elma’s relationship with her husband. They continue to be such a strong, respectful and loving couple. Though having her husband be upper rank on the project can sometimes cause complexity. She wants, and really needs, to share things with her husband who is a wonderfully supportive and calming influence for her, but at the same time, she is also talking to a superior. But I think the husband role trumps all else.

Parker was certainly not my favorite character from the first book. In fact, he annoyed me to the point of just making me dislike reading him at all. But his character gets a bit more humanized in this one. While he is still a jerk (I mean really, he can’t just evolve into a completely different character), we also get to see a different side of him that make him seem a bit more vulnerable and while maybe not be fully compassionate, he does seem to be on his way. I did enjoy seeing this redemption of character for him. People are complex and I think this book has moved him from what felt closer to a caricature to a, while not entirely likable, at least relatable on some level, character. He is not just a jerk, there is more to him, it just takes a bit of getting to know him better.

This series continues to be about more than just space travel and saving the human race. It is also an examination of discrimination and how ignorance and lack of awareness can perpetuate it. The push for gender equality is still there, but it is racial equality that seems to have the largest disparity and therefor takes a stronger focus. Elma learns in this book just how much she has to learn about how the world works.

The ending to this one is fantastic and even though I am happy to hear there are two more books coming, this gives a clean and satisfying ending to the duology. I really enjoyed both of these books, so was happy to hear that two more are planned. Definitely recommend to anyone who enjoys reading about strong characters working to not just save the human race from a dying planet, but also from our own prejudices and assumptions.

My long awaited sequel of The Calculating stars (review here) turned out to be just as amazing as the first book! After closing the last page, I was just as devastated as the first time round that I have to leave the world of this story. The Lady Astronaut books remain the kind of story you don't really want to leave.

Racism Discussion Replaces Feminist Themes

The first thing we have to speak about is probably the biggest theme throughout all of The Fated Sky. There is a lot of talk about racism, it's very well written, and relevant, and it's also presented in a way that will really make you scratch your head and think about things you might have not thought about before.

Why do I say that feminist themes are replaced by racism discussion though? It's not that the women's battle has been shelved and marked as 'completed' – but it sort of takes a back seat. Now that the women have been allowed to join the astronaut corps, even if they're not there in equal capacities, the problem is not as apparent as... the other problem. The fact that the entire corps is almost nearly pearly white, and the fact that a capable, trained and dilligent astronaut of color can be replaced for an unprepared white astronaut purely for the sake of publicity. That is the crossfire that poor Elma has inadvertendly stepped into, and it will be one of the main themes in the book.

The Fated Sky concentrates on racism and how problematic it is in general, especially so when you're talking about relocating the human race and having to pick who goes and who stays. Despite PoC being part of the astronaut corps, they aren't treated as equal and they are scrutinized in the most brutal and hurtful of ways (I will not elaborate for fear of spoilers though.) What stuck with me most was the term 'equal but separate ship'. Since the Mars trip is long and dangerous, there is need of redundancy and two ships leave the Earth – however, one of them contains all of the PoC and a good half of the white people, and the other one is all white. And it also happens to contain the biggest racist in the entire organization. That is a ticking time bomb, and the whole situation devolves so fast and so badly, it makes for some really great discussion and thought material in the book. I loved how that was presented and it raised so many questions that I wasn't even aware of, living in a country that is pretty homogenous (I'm from Eastern Europe, in case I haven't mentioned, we barely have any immigrants, foreigners and PoC here historically.) The most interesting part of all this is that the book talks about roughly the 60's – but so many of the discussed problems are present in today's world as well.

But let's talk about something more upbeat! And if you read the first book... You will agree with me that Nathaniel is an absolutely amazing book boyfriend...

An Example Of A Strong Male Lead Who Is Supportive

There's always that question in book quizzes, book chats and general bookish fandom. Who's your book boyfriend? While everyone usually either chooses Mr Darcy or something of the like that's a little more contemporary, I am always baffled. I have never really fancied anyone from a book... Or not even a movie, so much. (Okay, Daniel Jackson from Stargate SG-1, I did fancy you. WHO DIDN'T.) But Nathaniel from The Lady Astronaut books? Oh my god, he is the perfect book husband. He's just... so good, supportive and wonderful! You rarely see a husband like that even in books. It's an example of how a strong, smart and capable man with a good career can still move out of the way of his wife, let her career take the first place if that's what makes her happy, and yet still love her and have a wonderful relationship with her. It's so rare that we see happy stories like that in the media. And it's about two quite realistic people – they're not 'too good to be true' like in a lot of romance books. They're someone I could actually imagine. Which is why we need MORE of this!!

In Keeping With The First Story

The Fated Sky keeps the same feel as The Calculating Stars did. So if you enjoyed it, you'll definitely love this book as well! You will see a lot of the same characters (obviously!), you will learn more about the training procedures and actual spaceflight, and you will hear more about mental health issues and people dealing with a lot of stress. However, I must also warn you – this series... Is kind of stressful. The first book was quite strong, and so is this one – I mean it, when I say they are in keeping with the same story. So don't expect a fluffy tale. This is Elma's universe we're talking about.

Speaking of which, Elma remains as unreliable a narrator as she was in the first book! I could say, even more so. I think this worked so well in the story – because it helps show the reader certain aspects of reality that Elma is failing to see herself. This helped uncover a lot of story arcs from the first book that were unfinished – particularly, Parker's arc.

Parker's Redemption Arc Is Amazing

Ever since book one, I didn't think Parker was REALLY that much of a dick. It is true that Elma tries her best to see AND paint him as a dick, but between you and me? We could always tell there was something there that will redeem him. Yes, he's got his shortcomings. Yes, he hates Elma – but let's admit it – we have all hated someone at some point in our lives. Does that make us bad people? I believe it only makes us human.

As for Parker, the story has been hinting that he might not be that bad since book one. As I mentioned before, we start seeing how unreliable Elma can sometimes be as a narrator more and more as the story progresses. A couple encounters between her and Parker and a few elements of his backstory reveal a lot of the actual situation to us. You will know everything before Elma does, and let me tell you – I loved Parker's arc so much. Our mistake in judging people is often in the belief that people never change, that they always stay the same. That is quite rarely true, and that certainly wasn't true in the case of Parker.

But Beware Of The Triggers

Like I said, stressful book. Expect anxiety to be talked about, also death by violent accident, death by disease. Anger, racism, something I could call bullying. Violent attacks. Hostage situations. Having to deal with a dead body and how soul crushing that can be. Loss and sorrow, of course.

I thank Tor Books for giving me a free copy of the book in exchange to my honest opinion. Receiving the book for free does not affect my opinion.