Book Review: The Fated Sky (Lady Astronaut book 2)

I’ve been curious about Solarpunk science fiction lately. If you’re not familiar, it’s exactly what it sounds like: optimistic, futuristic sci-fi with an emphasis on sustainable technology. Basically the opposite of cyberpunk, where the destruction of the natural world is a foregone conclusion and hyper-capitalism oppresses the masses. The Fated Sky is not, strictly speaking, aesthetically, Solarpunk, but it does share the hopeful optimism of that burgeoning trend. It’s the second book in a series, so if you haven’t read The Calculating Stars, check that out. I’ll wait. All done? Great. Let’s get to it.

The Basics:

Title: The Fated Sky (Lady Astronaut #2)
Author: Mary Robinette-Kowal
Genre: Science Fiction, Alternate History, Drama
Published Simon and Schuster, 2018

Spoiler-Free Summary:

Ten years have passed since the asteroid strike started the slow (but not too slow) destruction of the Earth. Humanity has decades, not centuries, to solve the problem, and progress is well underway. The story opens with Elma’s living and working at a permanent lunar base. The moon, however, is a testing ground and a stepping stone. The real next step is a sustainable colony on Mars.

Not everyone is onboard with the new international push to prepare humanity to move to the stars. The Earth First movement views the effort as an elitist agenda aimed at leaving the disenfranchised behind. Their efforts to thwart the space movement grow increasingly aggressive.

Against that backdrop and a healthy dose of family drama, Elma joins the first expedition to Mars. Months of isolation in the unfeeling void of space with well-planned but unproven technology threaten to destroy her life and her sanity. She works with a talented, diverse, international crew with a common goal, but despite those similarities, people crammed together in a tight space will make their differences known, with explosive results.

Although this is an optimistic story, nothing worth doing is easy. Several of the Astronauts who leave our atmosphere never return.

Why You Will Love This Book:

The Fated Sky is a different type of post-apocalyptic (inter-apocalyptic? What do you call it when the disaster is ongoing?) novel. The focus is on neither the mechanics of the apocalypse nor the many challenges threating civilization. It is a quiet, personal tale of one woman’s determination to hope, and to use her skills to push solutions just a little bit forward.

Much of the narrative centers the challenges of embarking on an egalitarian, international effort in a world with 1960’s sensibilities. In short, racism, sexism, and ableism abound. While very progressive for her age, Elma is not immune to the worldview society forces on her. She navigates her own biases and blind spots with a very human earnestness. You know, when she isn’t making life-and-death repairs to their floating bomb-powered trailer.

Where Can You Learn More?

Robinette-Kowal is 25% of the Writing Excuses team. If you are a writer or you’re curious about the industry, check it out. Visit her website for her backlist. I’ve personally enjoyed her work so far.

Happy reading, folks.