Paperback, 476 pages
English language
Published March 11, 2021 by Ballentine Books.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission–and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.
Part scientific mystery, part …
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission–and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it. All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.
Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian–while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
True to form. Mr. Weir has told another very readable yarn about how science can solve dire situations, as long as you can survive the scientific process.
Knock-knock-knock. No, that's not creepy at all. Being in a spaceship twelve light-years from home and having someone knock on the door is totally normal.
Outstanding novel! This book delivered in every way and I may have enjoyed it more than The Martian because of the relationship Grace develops.
Andy Weir unloads a lot of science in this book but it never feels cumbersome. What is the nitrogen level in an atmosphere? What spectrum of light can humans see? How about a sprinkle of physics? These scientific references are added in fairly often but work to enhance the story and avoid turning it in to a scientific article.
There is also plenty of science fiction in here but it doesn't seem out of place with current technologies and capabilities.
Weir allows his characters to get in to a bind and requires them to combine MacGyver skills and critical thinking to …
Knock-knock-knock. No, that's not creepy at all. Being in a spaceship twelve light-years from home and having someone knock on the door is totally normal.
Outstanding novel! This book delivered in every way and I may have enjoyed it more than The Martian because of the relationship Grace develops.
Andy Weir unloads a lot of science in this book but it never feels cumbersome. What is the nitrogen level in an atmosphere? What spectrum of light can humans see? How about a sprinkle of physics? These scientific references are added in fairly often but work to enhance the story and avoid turning it in to a scientific article.
There is also plenty of science fiction in here but it doesn't seem out of place with current technologies and capabilities.
Weir allows his characters to get in to a bind and requires them to combine MacGyver skills and critical thinking to bail them out. I didn't know what to expect with each chapter and had some pleasant surprises and twists. There were even a few moments where I laughed aloud, which is an impressive feat.
You and I found each other. That's something.
The relationship between Grace and Rocky was surprisingly wholesome and emotional. For me this is where Project Hail Mary excels over The Martian (but yet both get four stars). This added a very enjoyable layer in to the story and allowed for a nice blend of comedic relief against the impending doom of the mission.
Good:
The plot twist around Ryland's amnesia is great!
"Space amoeba" story done right.
Relationship between Ryland and Rocky is endearing.
Audiobook elevates the whole experience.
Bad:
Protagonist with amnesia trope has been done before.
Rocky has interesting alien physiology & boring human psychology.
* Earthbound story-line and characters seem childish & oversimplified compared to science in space sequences.
This book was a fast, fun read. Weir took the phrase 'science the shit out of this' and made a whole book based on that. Here's a science (usually physics) problem that feels very realistic for the problems one would encounter on a space ship. Then in the next paragraph, here is the solution. Also its a nice homage to science teachers. If you liked The Martian, then you'll probably like this one too, but I gave it three stars because the story, the novel itself, is weak. The book uses flashbacks to fill in the backstory of how the book opens, and I didnt feel particularly attached or interested in the characters described there in. The two main characters are what kept it going for me. It has some good humor too. I laughed out loud more than once.
Phenomenal read. Captivating, creative, detailed and fun. One of the best books I’ve read in years.
Edit (at the top for visibility): If you liked this or would like to read something like this, you can't go wrong with [b:To Be Taught, If Fortunate|43190272|To Be Taught, If Fortunate|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552530326l/43190272.SY75.jpg|67034571].
This is a book of two narratives. One of them, the "space" story, has much for the reader to enjoy. Amnesiac locked room mysteries? Good. A very clever protagonist, leveraging his vast scientific knowledge to remain alive under extreme circumstances? Sign me up. An alien friend? Now we're talking. It's fun, it moves fast, and it made me care. Definitely worth a read.
Then there's the second narrative. The "earth" story. It is bad. It strikes me as the vision of someone wanting to imagine what would happen if those pesky "politics" and "economics" and "project managers" stepped to the side and let science do its job. It's more fantastical and delusional than anything that …
Edit (at the top for visibility): If you liked this or would like to read something like this, you can't go wrong with [b:To Be Taught, If Fortunate|43190272|To Be Taught, If Fortunate|Becky Chambers|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1552530326l/43190272.SY75.jpg|67034571].
This is a book of two narratives. One of them, the "space" story, has much for the reader to enjoy. Amnesiac locked room mysteries? Good. A very clever protagonist, leveraging his vast scientific knowledge to remain alive under extreme circumstances? Sign me up. An alien friend? Now we're talking. It's fun, it moves fast, and it made me care. Definitely worth a read.
Then there's the second narrative. The "earth" story. It is bad. It strikes me as the vision of someone wanting to imagine what would happen if those pesky "politics" and "economics" and "project managers" stepped to the side and let science do its job. It's more fantastical and delusional than anything that happens in the "space" portions of the book. All governmental bodies pretty much start cooperating and direct all resources towards a common goal in response to a group of scientists warning of impending environmental disaster, then step to the side and hand them a bunch of literal get out of jail cards. I'd accept it as a "here's what we should be doing about global warming!" message if its handling of that topic wasn't obfuscated and confusing. There's the main character explaining how the fictional disaster is so much worse than global warming, and then there's a climate scientist weeping as he detonates nukes under the ice caps to warm the earth. It is bad. The characters are bad. The dialog is bad. The scenes regarding international relations, politics, or anything other than science are out of a Michael Bay movie. Every time the narrative shifted perspective my eyes rolled out of my head in anticipation of what the next "earth" bit would bring.
I enjoyed the ending. You'll never hear me say anything bad about a good alien friend.
I liked it! Very fun. About 2/3 of the way through it started feeling a bit like reading through someone’s engineering notebook as the 89th problem was presented and solved, but I enjoyed the ending.
Amaze amaze amaze!
Amaze! Amaze! Amaze!
Holy shit, this book is amazing. If you liked The Martian, you must read this.
Oh, and go in completely cold! Don't even read the synopsis.
Definitely a worth while read. I'm glad he did not get back to Earth. It's better left to the reader what happened after saving Rocky.
First of all, if possible - don't read a synopsis of the book!
Second, I highly recommend listening to the audiobook. It is charming in multiple ways and really added to the experience for me. It helps that Ray Porter is one of my all-time favorite audiobook narrators.
I really enjoyed The Martian. The problem solving and science experiments were right up my alley. Project Hail Mary has more of the same and adds in my most beloved trope: Ontological Mystery, with some Quest for Identity. (Along with some other things that would be spoilery, so I'll just adore them quietly.)
There was virtually no way I wasn't going to enjoy this book, but it far exceeded my expectations. I may even actually read it again someday! (I usually don't re-read anything - there are too many books I haven't already read out there.)
Rocky is my favorite character ever.
Another great book by Andy Weir
Andy Weir As proved himself to be the master of hard science-fiction adventure novels. If you like science fiction at all, you will love this book
I did hesitate between 4 and 5 stars - but then, when in doubt, be nicer ;) I did thoroughly enjoy Project Hail Mary - loved the premise, plot and characters, but a couple of plot points required a bit more suspension of disbelief than I would have liked. That said, many "coincidences" are explained in ways that make sense, which I liked; I also thoroughly enjoyed the linguistics part of the science-y bits :)
