Title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Year published: 2021
Category: Adult science fiction
Pages: 496 pages
Rating: 4.5 out of 5
Location: (my 2022 Google Reading map): Outer space
Summary: 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.
Review: I have not read Weir's The Martian nor seen the movie. But, I heard so many good things about this book so, even though I am not a science fiction reader, I decided to finally go for it. I had motivation to finish it since I am passing it on to a friend that I will visit later in March.
All I can say is wow. This novel is so good and I cannot wait to talk about it with my friend. Here are all my thoughts about this book in a bulleted list because I don't think I can adequately include them all in coherent paragraphs.
- I like that the initial premise is based on climate change and its impact on our planet and today's young children. He isn't preachy, but makes it clear that it's an issue.
- The science felt real and possible. I am not a science person, per se, and was worried at first that I would be turned off by the numbers, the terminology, etc. But, after about 30 pages, I was right there, fascinated by it all and it began to flow with the story.
- I LOVE that the main character is a junior high teacher showing teachers are smart, interesting, etc. And it gives the Ryan a great personality.
- Speaking of personality, there is a sense of humor that runs through this novel that made me smile many times.
- The relationship between Randy and Rocky is awesome; it is tender, inquisitive, and real. When they discovered they were both alone, I was wrecked.
- The book doesn't end the way I thought it would and that's awesome.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
Challenges for which this counts:
- Alphabet (Title)--P
- Literary Escapes--outer space
- Popsugar--takes place on a plane, train, or cruise (I decided a spaceship counts) and Has a constellation on the cover (does a planet count?)
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