Science Fiction

Project Hail Mary

Author: Andy Weir

Average Rating: 4.63 / 5

Trigger Warnings:

Ryland just woke up in a strange bed in a circular room with robot-overlord type arms that appear to be caring for him. And he’s naked. Fantastic. Wait… he also doesn’t remember his name or why he’s here. Even freaking better. 

What Dr. Ryland Grace doesn’t remember is that he is the sole surviving crew member of a last-ditch, probably doomed mission – and all of humanity and even earth itself is depending on him to succeed. 

It’s clear that he’s been asleep for a very long time. At least, that’s what the long dead corpses next to him would indicate.  And now he’s awake, in a different solar system, and not entirely sure what he’s supposed to do now except for a vague sense of anxiety and purpose. 

As his memories slowly return in fuzzy pieces, Dr. Grace is confronted with the impossible mission he’s been tasked with. Can he even do this without the help of his crewmates? However, this is the hand he’s been dealt, flying through space on a ship he doesn’t remember how to operate, and faced with a scientific mystery of extinction-level proportions. 

With time quickly running out, Dr. Grace has to find a way to complete the mission on his own. 

Or does he?

Corinna : 4/5

I enjoyed Project Hail Mary more than expected. I consumed it via audiobook and I think that form of media made it even better! The characterization of Ryland Grace and his sarcastic nature was perfect and made me like him immediately. There were a lot of technical components to the writing including a lot of astrophysics and biology, but I was able to keep up with it, even in parts where I didn’t quite fully understand the science.

Being able to hear Rocky (a friend that Ryland makes) in the audiobook, as opposed to reading him in text, really solidified my opinion that the audiobook is a superior format for consuming Project Hail Mary (I don’t want to give too much away, just trust me on this one). 

Experiencing the story through flashbacks, as Ryland experiences those same flashbacks, was so effective. There were a few twists and turns I did not expect, and really felt the emotions that Ryland had as he slowly remembered them. 

The story didn’t end as I expected, which was refreshing, and I like that it left it a little bit unknown and unresolved.

Lydia : 5/5

I can safely say that this will be one of my favourite books of all time. The scientific terms that were used can be off-putting to some but I found it very engaging. I was able to keep up and enjoy the story even when there were terms or ideas that I didn’t understand. I encourage anyone who is intimidated by the science to push through and give it a try!

Immediately when you think of space, you think of what else could be out there – I thought that this was addressed really well in this book. For the sake of not spoiling anything I won’t expand on that specific thought.

I loved how Dr. Grace faced his challenges with positivity and humor – it made reading this book very easy. The adversity the Hail Mary faced was unlike anything I have ever read before. 

Another aspect of this book that deserved a five star rating was the character development – there was a lot of range from many characters, some who were in the story a lot, and those who were “extras”. Dr Ryland Grace, Stratt, Dr Lokken etc. are only a few examples of this. 

I also appreciated how relatable Ryland Grace was. He wasn’t your typical male protagonist who is the obvious hero and is strong and brave. Rather, he was scared, alone, and secretly plucky. He is smart and takes things as they come and is able to be around Stratt (which I feel would be very difficult and speaks for itself).

The ending was great as well – I did not want a happy ending necessarily, but I feel like everyone got what they truly wanted. 

Megan : 4.5/5

I was fully engaged with this book from page one! That fear and confusion of waking up and not knowing who you are or what’s going on was very well written. It was easy to experience the emotions that Dr. Grace was experiencing as he began to remember what was going on and why he was in space.

I went in with the thought that I may not like this one. I had previously read another book by Weir and I ended up rating it lower than I had originally expected. Thankfully the voice of this character was much better written and more believable. I was constantly on the edge of my seat. With the setting being space there can be no margin of error, so my stress level got higher than it should have at times. While there were moments of anxiety, I was also chuckling and rolling my eyes. Dr. Ryland Grace is not who I was expecting and some of his comments were quite witty. The flashbacks to his past (as he was trying to remember details) were probably my favourite parts. I found the flashbacks fit seamlessly within the story and I was most curious to know why Dr. Grace volunteered for such an important mission.

I appreciated that the ending was a bit open-ended. The main storyline came to a close, but Weir left his reader with a “what if” question at the end. The only reason I’m not giving this otherwise fantastic novel a full five is because of all the science. I’ve never liked science. While the author did a good job at explaining everything, at times I found it to still be a bit too much (and yes, I’m aware it’s a science fiction novel), so I skimmed certain parts. Overall, it was well worth the read and I would highly recommend picking this one up as your next sci-fi book!

Sharaya : 5/5

This novel is fantastic! One of the things that I appreciated was that there were several elements that I was not expecting at all.  By reading the back of the book I anticipated an extinction level event, like the meteor hit in The Lady Astronaut series. Or maybe an armed alien invasion. I did not expect such a subtle cause of the crisis. Science fiction seems to usually focus on huge events, and it was refreshing to narrow that focus to some of the smallest, but essential, building blocks of the universe.

I’ve taken enough biology, microbiology, and other assorted sciences to follow along with Dr. Grace. I really enjoyed digging into the depths of my high school and university classes to remember the basics and sort through what Dr. Grace was working on. I found the science accessible which made the story that much more engaging.

I enjoyed how Weir took us smoothly back and forth between the past and present. Because Dr. Grace woke without his memories, the previous timeline was actually snippets of memories as they returned to him. We always knew just as much as he did. It felt like I was along for the ride with Dr. Grace, rather than slowly catching up to his story. 

The humour and sarcasm in this book was definitely what first drew me in. Dr. Grace’s inner dialogue was so similar to mine that I felt instantly connected to the story. Throw in a musical R2D2-esque entity, and I was sold.  The sass is strong with this book. And I am here for it!

I would highly recommend this read, even if science fiction isn’t quite your thing. Give it a try, you might be surprised.

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