Jul 21

Jul 21 Project Hail Mary

Author: Anthony Weir
Publisher: Ballantine
Goodreads | The StoryGraph

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Note: Content and trigger warnings are provided for those who need them at the bottom of this page. If you don’t need them and don’t want to risk spoilers, don’t scroll past the full review.

Cover 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, 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.

TL;DR Review

Project Hail Mary is a fast-paced, fun read. The prose isn’t particularly special, but it’s very exciting, and the math/science/plausible sci-fi premise really makes it stand out.

For you if: You like dad joke humor (and you don’t hate math or science).

Full Review

Project Hail Mary was my first read by Andy Weir (I know, I know, I need to read The Martian), and my final nudge to pick it up was its nomination for the Hugo.

The story is about an academic-scientist-turned-junior-high-teacher named Ryland Grace. It starts with him waking up aboard a spaceship, alone, with a medical robot/computer tending to him, and no memory of where he is, who he is, or how he got there. Throughout the book, his memory comes back to him in flashes and we piece together not only what’s going on but also how he ended up on the ship himself. One thing he remembers early on, though, is that Earth is facing a mass extinction event.

In a nutshell, I had a lot of fun reading this book. The prose is nothing super special, but Weir really knows how to keep you hooked and reading. But now I understand the real reason people love him, which is that his premise/science/math is just so…plausible. He really knows his stuff, and there are very few moments when you feel like you have to suspend disbelief. It feels like any of these things could happen, given what we know about science today. So of course it is a bit heavy on math and science, although I thought it was done in an exciting and approachable way — that said, if you really hate math, this might not be for you.

Also, be warned: The slightly-bro-ish dad joke humor is strong here. There were a few moments where I was like “BOOO lolol,” as well as a few that felt just a toe over the line. The first few chapters also felt like they were trying a bit too hard (five uses of the term “butt tube” in four pages?), but it did eventually settle down into its zone.

Last thing I’ll say: I have read a lot of buzzy books before, but I’ve never had so many people in my DMs telling me how much they loved a book, invested in knowing how I felt about it. That alone makes me feel like it’s a strong Hugo contender (since the winner is decided by vote).