The Sword and Laser discussion

From the author's website

About the Lady Astronaut novels
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/faqs/la...

links to the short stories in the Lady Astronaut verse in chronological order

We Interrupt This Broadcast
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal...
https://www.amazon.com/Mad-Scientists... (purchase and download)

The Calculating Stars

Articulated Restraint
https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu...
https://www.tor.com/2019/01/30/downlo... (download)

The Fated Sky

The Phobos Experience
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal...
https://www.amazon.com/Magazine-Fanta... (purchase and download)

Amara's Giraffe
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal...

Rocket's Red
http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal...
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01CGULBDG/ (purchase and download)

The Lady Astronaut of Mars
https://www.tor.com/2013/09/11/the-la...
https://www.audible.com/pd/Rip-Off-Au... (audio purchase and download)

and let's not overlook the impact calc

Flash version
https://www.purdue.edu/impactearth/

Text version
https://impact.ese.ic.ac.uk/ImpactEar...

Awesome. Thanks for concatenating all that, Mark.

There's also a brand-new Lady Astronaut story that came out in that Tor.com short fiction newsletter, too (over in Quick Burns) called "Articulated Restraint" I think.

David wrote: "There's also a brand-new Lady Astronaut story that came out in that Tor.com short fiction newsletter, too (over in Quick Burns) called "Articulated Restraint" I think."

Yes, forgot to add it. Thanks for the reminder. The OP has been updated.

And about that impact, lots of people thinking about it...

https://youtu.be/ZHZjb8ht5pY

Thnaks, Mark! You're on top of things!

You're welcome. Now everyone can pump up those short story challenge numbers.

Thank you!

Thanks! The ‘We Interrupt This Broadcast’ story has certainly whetted my appetite for The Calculating Stars!

Thanks Mark.

That Impact calculator is a fun little program.

Looks like I'd be OK if it hits Chesapeake Beach :-)
I'm 16,457 kilometres from Impact site


Little rocky ejecta reaches this site;
The fireball is below the horizon. There is no direct thermal radiation.
Nothing would be felt. However, seismic equipment may still detect shaking.
The air blast will arrive approximately 13.8 hours after impact.
Peak Overpressure: 295 Pa = 0.00295 bars = 0.0419 psi
Max wind velocity: 0.695 m/s = 1.55 mph
Sound Intensity: 49 dB (Easily Heard)
Tsunami wave amplitude is less than 10 cm at your location.

Mary gives all the relevant inputs if you want to run the program for your area.

https://www.purdue.edu/impactearth/

These are approximates but...
Set: Diameter = "Hartley"; Density = "8000"; Angle = 60 degrees; Velocity = 25km; Water of depth = 21 ft.
For distance, put in your distance from Chesapeake Beach.

If you think you are okay, remember winter is coming.

Articulated Restraint is now posted on tor.com by itself:
https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu...

Shad wrote: "Articulated Restraint is now posted on tor.com by itself:
https://www.tor.com/2019/02/06/articu..."

thanks, added the link up in the OP too

Oh man, it looks like we might be heading towards a compilation in a few years. The Lady Astronaut of Mars and Others, perhaps?

At least you could do a Subterranean Press edition and an eBook collection, right?

Oh hey, MRK just posted "The Phobos Experience" free on her blog today! It's no longer behind the paywall of F&SF magazine!

http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal...

Erik wrote: "Oh hey, MRK just posted "The Phobos Experience" free on her blog today! It's no longer behind the paywall of F&SF magazine!

http://maryrobinettekowal.com/journal......"

Cool. Added the link in the OP too.

Are any of these bonus stories in audio format? I have listened to The Lady Astronaut of Mars on audio but I am not seeing any of these other stories in audio format.

I looked at MRK's website and didn't see any of the other Lady Astronaut stories in audio.

Thanks for all the links, friends! I finished The Fated Sky today and need more in this world.

terpkristin wrote: "Thanks for all the links, friends! I finished The Fated Sky today and need more in this world."

Me too!

Big thanks to Mark! Love to see all that in the Lady Astronaut world in one list

Finished The Calculating Stars and now I need to devour everything else in the Lady Astronaut 'verse! Thanks for bringing together all the links in one place to enable my binge.

Just Finished The Calculating Stars and then started with We Interrupt This Broadcast. Boy! Does that bring a whole new spin on The Calculating Stars. I too have now devoured the rest of the short stories. These are so good I need to get The Fated Sky soon to continue along with Books 3 and 4 when they come out

Bryan wrote: "started with We Interrupt This Broadcast. Boy! Does that bring a whole new spin on The Calculating Stars..."

yeah I wasn't expecting that. That was a major plot twist.

Tassie Dave wrote: "Bryan wrote: "started with We Interrupt This Broadcast. Boy! Does that bring a whole new spin on The Calculating Stars..."

yeah I wasn't expecting that. That was a major plot twist."

Agreed. I'm not sure how I feel about it - so unexpected! I wonder if it will come into the novels at all.

I can't imagine that it would, everyone who *could've* known about it was eliminated. I think either in the S&L interview or one I saw with her on a Google Talks video, she said that no one in the books knows about it, so it's one and done.

Plus, that story was written first before "Lady Astronaut of Mars."

David wrote: "I can't imagine that it would, everyone who *could've* known about it was eliminated. I think either in the S&L interview or one I saw with her on a Google Talks video, she said that no one in the ..."

The way she put it in the FAQ about the series is:
"Note that no one in the whole Lady Astronaut universe knows about the events of "We Interrupt This Broadcast." At least, no one alive."

I've been thinking about reading order for the series, as somebody who is now almost done with The Fated Sky. Take a deep breath, and let's dive in to Erik's recommended reading order!

1. The novels (in order)
2. The shorts (in any order)

...I think that's it.

Some of the shorts take place after the novels anyway. The ones that take place in-between the books benefit from reading book 2 first, I feel. Book 2 provides a better exposition framework. (For example, "Articulated Restraint" benefits from familiarity with Ruby Donaldson and the Lunetta space station, both introduced in book 2.)

That leaves only the one short from before book 1, and I feel like it reads better as an extra, since it doesn't affect the world (because nobody in-universe knows it happened).

Thoughts? Has anyone tried reading everything chronologically? How did it go?

I'm glad I didn't read them in chronological order. If I'd have read "We Interrupt This Broadcast" first, I would have been waiting for the world to find out about that.

Knowing now that no-one outside the two people involved in that story ever knew about what they did, does colour the story differently than if the world ever knew.

I'd say read the 2 novels first, then read the other short stories in whatever order you like.

Yes, I definitely would not recommend reading We Interrupt This Broadcast first. I actually don't like to think of it as a real (to the series) event. I prefer to think of it as a piece of in-world fiction written by someone trying to make sense of the disaster that unfolded.

Ruth (tilltab) Ashworth wrote: "Yes, I definitely would not recommend reading We Interrupt This Broadcast first."

Agreed. It's a shocking short story, but not essential to read first.

Just read We Interrupt This Broadcast too, and well, yeah - what you all said! That really does put a whole new spin on the books. Nicely played, Mary Robinette!

Erik wrote: "I've been thinking about reading order for the series... Book 2 provides a better exposition framework. (For example, "Articulated Restraint" benefits from familiarity with Ruby Donaldson and the Lunetta space station, both introduced in book ."

I’ve just finished The Fated Sky and, while I think the extra familiarity with stuff like Lunetta would have helped me get to grips with the technical details of Articulated Restraint, I gotta say I’m glad I read the short story before the novel.

(view spoiler)[ Ruby’s death had much more impact on me having got to know her in the story first. I was crying my eyes out at the bag scene... (hide spoiler)]

Just downloaded the Rip-Off! audiobook so I can listen to The Lady Astronaut of Mars. It’s going to be strange hearing someone other than MRK reading!

Wow, the shorts were great! Thanks Mark for putting that together. My reactions below.

We Interrupt This Broadcast
Wow. Wow. Just wow. For anyone who's read the first book, go read this now!

And a small quibble with that story.
Do not, NOT, international symbol for no, read the spoiler text until you've read the story!
(view spoiler)[I'm not convinced a single nuke could have directed the asteroid in the way that it did. That doesn't take away the power of the story, nor its implications for the "Punchcard Punk" universe. I just didn't find it quite realistic. (hide spoiler)]


Articulated Restraint
One of the best parts of the "Punchcard Punk" universe is the way in which characters struggle with flaws and personal failings. This one is a prime example. And wow, does MRK do a ticking clock well! Also liked the use of a side character here as a pull into the overall storyline.


The Phobos Experience
(view spoiler)[Exactly the kind of military overreach that MRK wrote about in "We Interrupt This Broadcast." Nicely handled (hide spoiler)]

Amara's Giraffe
Short, silly, fun and a great explanation of a point that came up in the books.

Rocket's Red
A fun short about different kinds of wisdom.

The Lady Astronaut of Mars
A poignant character study. The timelines don't quite match up to the novels, but meh. No biggie. The "Wizard of Oz" bit works as Dorothy certainly wound up in Oz, with the colony ship as her tornado.

(view spoiler)[I'm not sure I believe that computers with punchcards would still be in use 30 years after the colony started. Surely the state of the art would have advanced. Perhaps the local mission control is using them to make Nathaniel feel wanted.

Not sure how Yuri Gagarin would have gained enough notoriety in this timeline to have a restaurant named after him. Perhaps he's the proprietor?

As for the space warp, I'm having a hard time crediting that humanity would have developed it by then. I mean, I'd love it. Seems too fast though.

I feel like there's an opportunity missed as well. Elma didn't have kids, but could Nathaniel be hiding a secret? He was alone on Earth for 3 years, a well liked, high status man in a charged office atmosphere, lonely and dealing with medical issues. Even if he wasn't seeking sex he could have given in during a moment of weakness. Less a betrayal than a failing. Nathaniel might have at least one child, which would help explain why he wanted his wife to go back to her love of space travel. A secret he might want to take to his grave. (hide spoiler)]

John (Taloni) wrote: "We Interrupt This Broadcast ... And a small quibble with that story."

(view spoiler)[I agree that over that short time scale, a day or 2 from earth, is too short a distance to divert a large-ish rock, but maybe it didn't need to divert it.

If the asteroid was going to cross earth's orbit several seconds before earth got there, then all the nuke needed to do was slow it down enough that the asteroid got there at the same time as the Earth.

A diversion in spacetime, not just in space (hide spoiler)]