Fiction/Nonfiction Quick Reviews: The Out of this World Edition

The Six: The Untold Story of America's First Women Astronauts by Loren Grush (2023) 

When NASA was first formed, women were excluded because originally only military test pilots were considered for astronaut positions.  In the late 1970s, though, restrictions were lifted and NASA welcomed the first group of female astronauts in its class of 1978 - six women who would overcome great odds to make their mark on the agency and go to space.  Sally Ride, Judy Resnik, Anna Fisher, Kathy Sullivan, Shannon Lucid, and Rhea Seddon were the first women chosen and even if you don't know all their names now, you'll be impressed with all of them by the time you finish the book.  Grush explores the early lives of each woman, how she came to apply to NASA, and of course the time each spent there, culminating with one or more trips to space.  She goes into great detail about the training they went through and the scrutiny and bias they endured.  Grush has a very readable and relatable writing style - often nonfiction can seem dry, but Grush's writing is engaging and flows nicely.  I appreciated the research that went into this book (although she wasn't able to speak to most of the women, for various reasons) and really enjoyed the quotes she was able to find - hearing from the women in their own words was incredible.  At times, the book seemed a little surface level but overall I learned a lot about these pioneering women of space.  4 stars

Eversion by Alastair Reynolds (2022)

A sailing ship in Norway in the 1800s, a zeppelin in Antarctica in the 1900s, a space ship exploring an alien structure in the distant future - what do they all have in common?  Dr. Silas Coade was present at all these events, and in every single one, Dr. Coade and his crew fail terribly.  How do these events keep happening, and how can Coade stop it?  This book was so unexpected - when we first meet Coade, he is the on-board surgeon for a ship trying to locate a mysterious building, called the Edifice.  This journey, like many that follow, will end badly for Coade - but little nuggets along the way will clue you in to the fact that all is not as it appears to be.  I loved the reveal of Coade's true nature and purpose (I hope I'm not being too spoilery!), and I also loved how the author changed up the feel and tone of the story for each iteration (like using language appropriate for the time period).  There are deeper questions about the nature of humanity and its desire to explore and heal and also some meditations on technology and its role in our lives.  A uniquely touching sci-fi story!  4 stars

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