project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir
Author's Description:
“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, 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 deliver, 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.”
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 deliver, 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.”
My Review - Rating - 9.5/10
Let me start this review off by saying that Project Hail Mary is, so far, my favorite sci-fi book of 2021. I’m not one to overhype a book, nor will I gloss over a book’s failures. But if you read The Martian, or enjoy even a little bit of science fiction, then go get this book ASAP. I first read The Martian in early eighth grade, now almost half a decade ago, and I loved it. It was interesting, realistic, and still ‘hard’ science fiction. For those who haven’t read it (and I highly recommend that you do), Weir approached the plot of the book by putting the protagonist, Mark Watney, in a scenario (stuck on Mars all alone) and then figured out what problems Watney would have to face, and how those problems could be solved. Weir is the only sci-fi author I know who can stick to realistic (by which I mean possible in the real world, not sensible or practical) solutions to solve scientific problems and still keep the book interesting, understandable, and engaging even for readers with minimal scientific knowledge. Weir brings back that approach to the plot here, although he does take a few author’s liberties in inventing the problem (something sucking up the Sun’s energy, reducing its output, and potentially putting humanity into an ice age) and in one other major aspect of the book (it is related to the mid-to-late part of the book, so I can’t explain it without spoilers). The book isn’t realistic, of course, but it’s sci-fi, even if Weir emphasizes the “sci.” Along with being the best sci-fi book I’ve read this year, it’s also the best man-versus-nature book I’ve read, period. The story is high stakes, filled with twists and turns, and keeps you on the edge of your seat. You’re just as much in the dark as Grace when the book starts, you learn along with him, and you’re invested in him. The plot, some of the characters, and the problems that pop up are all original, and honestly, I could not be more in love with this book. The only way I see someone not liking it is if they 1) dislike science, and are bored by anything science-related or are 2) climate-change deniers. If 1, I think you’re making a mistake but I get it, I guess, and if #2 applies to you, it is clear you don’t like science! With that said, I highly recommend this book and hope you enjoy it as much as I did!
Find the book here