Project Hail Mary Written by Andy Weir

📕 What It's About

Something is feeding off the Sun and it’s getting dimmer at a rapid pace. Eventually, it will lose enough energy that it will cause massive extinctions on Earth and give the human species all kinds of problems.

The story starts off with Ryland Grace waking up in a strange place that he eventually learns is a spaceship.. in a different star system. Slowly, through a series of flashbacks, he starts to piece together what happened and more importantly, why he’s on this spaceship in the first place.

🧠 Thoughts

This book was amazing. I didn’t find it too similar to The Martian like most reviews said, but I did notice a formula between the two. It was absolutely thrilling throughout the entire book and it somehow made me feel good (and maybe even a little excited) for alien life.

Andy Weir is great in this lane. It’s easy to tell that he does a ton of research before delivering his science-fiction novels.

What I Liked About It

I couldn’t put this book down. It’s the second time Andy has done that, the first time with The Martian and it’s because of his writing style. He writes as if he’s talking and it makes it super easy to digest and understand. There are a lot of good writers out there, but Andy shines in his ability to put you in the character’s shoes and really feel what’s going on around them.

What I Didn't Like About It

Hail Mary is very heavy-handed with science references. I’m a nerd, so I enjoy reading about measurements, space specifications, and biology.. but it was a bit much for me. Like I previously mentioned, this book was an easy read so it wasn’t terrible but it was one of the few flaws that stood out.

🧠 Favorites

Character

ROCKY. Rocky was the alien robot that Grace met while in orbit of Tau Ceti. As time goes on, the two of them start to exchange languages and meaning in their respective cultures. Eventually, they good pretty damn good at communicating together and Rocky, being the alien that it is, doesn’t have human characteristics and says stuff bluntly.

And it’s great.

Parts

My favorite parts were basically every part where Grace and Rocky were interacting. Andy Weir did an amazing job of creating humor and entertainment out of Grace trying to explain why and how humans do human things to Rocky. Sleep for example.

🦉Who Would Like It?

If you liked The Martian, you’ll 100% love this book. In all honesty, I feel that anyone who’s even remotely interested in the science-fiction genre would absolutely love Project Hail Mary. It’s thrilling, a somewhat short read, and the pacing is great.