THE FATED SKY

Reviewed by Steven H Silver

The Fated Sky picks up three years after the conclusion of Mary Robinette Kowal's The Calculating Stars. During that time, mankind has established a permanent base on the moon and is preparing for the launch of the first mission to Mars, establishing a space program which is complete different from the method of interplanetary exploration in our own timeline. As with the first book, Kowal follows "The Lady Astronaut," Elma York, although her situation is completely different in The Fated Sky than in the previous novel.

When the novel opens, York is splitting her time between living on the moon in the permanent base established there and living at home with her husband, Nathaniel. Although they spend significant time apart, they are able to remain in communication. Following a crash on the shuttle that is carrying York and several other astronauts and scientists back to Earth, York finds herself in the spotlight for her negotiations with a group that took advantage of the crashed shuttle to further their political agenda. The publicity leads to York being placed on the first mission to Mars, partly as a publicity stunt. Unfortunately, management's decision to include York on the flight not only means that she will be separated from her beloved Nathaniel for three years, but that she is also taking the place of her good friend, Helen, on the flight. Not only does this harm her relationship with Helen, but it puts her on a mission with astronauts who are annoyed with her presence at the expense of one of their teammates. Throughout the first volume, York worked to use her celebrity and the power it accorded her to try to help others. In The Fated Sky she begins to learn that what she sees as helpfulness is seen as interference by others and even those with whom she has been friendly resent her presence on the mission.

Making matters worse for York is the presence of Stetson Parker as her commanding officer, a man with whom she has had problems ever since they knew each other in World War II. Both are able to act professionally around each other, but they approach life in completely different ways with York seeing Parker as an asshole and Parker seeing York as a self-serving dilettante. The two of them have to work with each other and the friction between them, while not the worst conflict on the mission, is the most important one for Kowal’s story, eventually reaching a realistic entente.

Given the distance to Earth and the issues which the mission faces, the word that best describes the way the mission is being run is Realpolitik, with most of the crew of the two ships traveling in tandem to Mars trying to figure out the best and most realistic way to succeed in the face of interpersonal, mechanical, and political problems.

While The Calculating Stars had the feel of an alternate history of a new space race following a global disaster, setting The Fated Sky almost entire on a spaceship flying between Earth and Mars relegates the alternate history aspect to an undercurrent, giving the book the feel of a near future history of space flight. The tenor of the book, just as the depiction of York, is almost completely different from the first novel, providing an alternative view of the world Kowal has very thoroughly built. It also means that each of the books stands completely on their own, creating a diptych that is more than the sum of its parts.

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