BookRank

Reading order

Lady Astronaut reading order

Mary Robinette Kowal

  1. The Calculating Stars2018
  2. The Fated Sky2018
  3. The Relentless Moon2020
8.38.3 / 10
710 ratings
Score
3 volumes
Volumes
2018–2020
Published
about 25 h
Reading time
Completed
Status
Science fiction#20
Genre

Quick answer

The Calculating Stars
Start withThe Calculating Stars2018 · Volume 1 of 3
Open the volume →Buy the first volumeListen to the audiobook

Affiliate link: buying through it supports BookRank at no extra cost to you.

Publication order

3 volumes2018–2020Completed

  • Alternate history: a meteorite destroys Washington in 1952 and forces an early space race.
  • The Calculating Stars won the Hugo, Nebula and Locus awards; The Fated Sky, its sequel, rates highest.
  • The Relentless Moon runs alongside it with a different heroine on the Moon.

A plan for the whole series

3 volumes, 1,436 pages, about 25 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 5 weeks.

54%

Share of volume 1’s readers who reach the last volume. Chance of reaching the last volume: medium

Stages

2 stages, with 1 short book from outside the series between them. You finish around December 13, 2026, 4 days later than in one go.

  1. Stage 116 habout 3 weeksby November 26, 2026
  2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 30, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
  3. Stage 210 h13 daysby December 13, 2026
    • 3. The Relentless Moon2020 · 544 pages · 10 h
  4. The end of the series
    December 13, 2026
In one goDecember 9, 2026about 5 weeks
In stages, with breaksDecember 13, 2026about 6 weeks · +2 h of other books

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

How this plan is calculated

The plan comes from the pages and ratings of each volume: we split the series into stages of about three weeks’ reading, size each break to the stage before it, and read the chance of finishing from how many readers rate the last volume compared with the first. How we work out the plan →

Every volume in order

Read: 0 of 3
  1. The Calculating Stars
    The Calculating Stars2018 · 460 ratingsStart here
    8.28.2 / 10
  2. The Fated Sky
    The Fated Sky2018 · 250 ratings
    8.38.3 / 10
  3. The Relentless Moon
    The Relentless Moon2020 · Not ranked yetBuy
    –Not ranked yet

Order checked by hand · Order and years: Wikidata (CC0). Spotted an error? Tell us. · Data updated October 31, 2026

Extras, short stories and spin-offs

Not needed to follow the main story — read them after the series or skip them.

  • The Lady Astronaut of Mars2012
  • Lady Astronaute2020

Frequently asked questions

Which Lady Astronaut book is the best?

By reader score, The Fated Sky (8.3/10). The lowest-rated is The Calculating Stars (8.2/10).

Which Lady Astronaut book is the longest?

“The Relentless Moon” is the longest at 544 pages; the shortest is “The Calculating Stars” with 432 pages.

What should I read after Lady Astronaut?

After the main series: The Lady Astronaut of Mars, Lady Astronaute.