Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (2021)

Fiction | Sci-Fi

Blurb:

A LONE ASTRONAUT. 
AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION. 
AN ALLY HE NEVER IMAGINED.

RYLAND GRACE is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and 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, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.

Or does he?

An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could imagine it, 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.

Goodreads | Amazon

**THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS**

pooled ink Review:

Okay I’m still not really back, but I’m sharing some book thoughts anyway haha.

This is the third book of Andy Weir’s that I’ve read now and I find I really do enjoy his writing style, I love the humor in it and how, yes, he puts in a TON of more science than most people care about but he writes it in a way that is generally understandable (or even skim-able if it’s really not your thing lol). This was another great story and I’m looking forward to the movie that I think releases next year! I really loved The Martian adaptation so we’ll see how this one ranks.

PLOT DEVICES! The flashbacks scattered throughout the book made for perfect, organic plot twists and revelations which I really enjoyed especially as it allowed us to get knocked back or shocked or amazed etc. right alongside the main character due to his amnesia and the slow return of memories. It felt natural and helped deepen the immersive experience of sinking into a good book. Oh, speaking of shocking revelations/flashbacks…I think Ryland Grace not wanting to go on this mission was 100% realistic and relatable and I really love that character choice of Weir’s, but I also don’t blame Eva Stratt for forcing him to go. I mean I’d 100% be as upset as Grace was, it’s absolutely valid, but at the same time he’s the only option and I don’t blame her decision at all and honestly I loved her “I will do whatever it takes to save Earth and suffer the consequences whatever they may be later” boss energy. Ryland would lose his life to space, Stratt probably lost hers to prison. That being said, the entire world being willing to work together and spend any amount of money and do anything it took to save Earth was the least believable part of the plot to me lol and I’m unfortunately serious. I genuinely don’t believe even the dying of our sun/earth could get us to work together to that level but we can dream.

SCI-FI = HUMAN STORY. The plot overall was a fascinating exploration in so many ways and not just the space stuff, the alien stuff, or the high stakes. A strong core of this book is an exploration of what it means to be human and with that what it means to have “greatness thrust upon you”. Ryland DID NOT WANT TO GO. But Stratt forced him to go because he was Earth’s best chance of survival and she made sure he wouldn’t remember not wanting to go until it was too late and he was already knee-deep in saving Earth. And to read that revelation, that shocking discovery that he’d cried and fought against being put on that ship is not only shattering on its own, but it’s a deep gut-punch to Ryland who thought he was a voluntary hero only to regain the memory that revealed he was a coward. But again, I think he’s a far more relatable and realistic hero than most stories like to write about and I loved that raw truth of humanity. Ryland was and is a good person, but he’s also human and he was scared and he feared death. In every moment of the book he remains so so human and that is fantastic writing.

ALIENS?! When he comes across another space ship I thought either a) aliens or b) some timey-wimey stuff where it’s humans from his future or a parallel timeline or something idk and I felt hesitant…then it was revealed yep, aliens. And I honestly wasn’t sure I liked that? In general when aliens get introduced to stories it ends up losing my interest or putting me off entirely (which is funny coming from a Doctor Who fan lol) BUT how can anyone not love Rocky?? I will admit though that my brain refused to picture him as described (because *shudders* spiders) and I kept picturing him like an adorable, cartoon, mud-colored Mr. Krabs from SpongeBob Squarepants lol and honestly it feels more fitting for Rocky’s adorable personality so I won’t apologize. 

THE ENDING… To be honest I’m not sure how I feel about the ending…I don’t hate it…but I also don’t love it…but what ending would I want? What ending could possibly replace it? I dunno haha I just don’t know how I feel about it and can’t seem to get my brain to be more specific than that. WAIT. ACTUALLY you know what would have made me more satisfied with the ending?? KNOWING THAT HE KEPT A DETAILED DAILY DIARY SO THAT EVERYONE ON EARTH WILL KNOW EVERYTHING THAT HAPPENED. EVEN BETTER WOULD BE IF THERE WERE CAMERAS IN THE SHIP RECORDING EVERYTHING AND THAT ALSO WAS INCLUDED WITH HIS DIARY ON THE USB CONTAINING THE EARTH-SAVING SCIENCE. That. That would have me feeling completely satisfied with the ending even if he never sees Earth again. That being said, I’d still recommend this book for sure! It has the type of ending that’s resolved just enough and that works for it…but my addition would make it better for those of us who overthink and indeed stay up at night angry at unanswered questions and besides it would bring Ryland some justice in a way!! Anyway…lol.

Overall Project Hail Mary collides a space adventure with a human story and will even make you love a creepy crawly learning the fist bump as a part of “earth culture”. A recommendation for all sci-fi fans, massive or new.

Cheers.

P.S. I’ve heard from coworkers, friends, and even the flight attendant on my last trip that the audiobook version of this book is TOP. TIER. I happened to already own the paperback so that’s what I read, but I’ve heard so many people praising the audiobook that I’m tempted to at least sample it or maybe when I get around to doing a re-read I’ll choose the audio route instead! Anyway, just sharing that info in case you hadn’t heard. Even not big sci-fi fans have loved the audiobook so maybe that’s your route for this one if you’re on the fence.

Check out more by Andy Weir: The Martian (2011), Artemis (2017)

Meet Andy Weir!

Andy Weir built a two-decade career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full-time. He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of such subjects as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail. He lives in California.
-Penguin/Weir’s website

Website | Goodreads