Project Hail Mary: A Novel

If I could give this more stars, I would. I ended up reading this after the movie and while I think it would have been nice reading it before, it certainly filled a lot of gaps that the movie left out and just made me love the story even more. It has the perfect mix of humor and seriousness. The author has an incredible way of making all the scientific calculations and theories understandable for all readers and entertaining. I walked away from the book with a little more knowledge into how space travel works and I think that's so awesome. The characters have my heart fully, they are well developed, personable and hilarious. The story itself is epic, with unlikely heroes that make it feel like anyone can make difference. This truly was a masterpiece and something I will be rereading for years to come. Amaze!!

If you watched and loved the movie adaptation, do not skip reading this book! It gives you full access to the scientific problem-solving that makes this story so unique. Weir has a talent for explaining complex science in a way that is engaging, clear, and thrilling to follow along with. Ryland Grace's internal thoughts keep the story moving fast with lots of laugh-out-loud humor. The relationships feel grounded and real. The bond between Grace and Rocky is at the core of the story. Rocky makes contact first so the characters can shift from strangers to absolute trust. The other standout character, Eva Stratt, and relationship between her and Ryland is also well done. She does not break her unyielding and legal authority of the planet earth as the administrator in charge of the task force for "Project Hail Mary." Versus Grace's brilliant scientific mind, reluctant to continue but curious, and humorous crisp dialogue personality. His respect for her shines even when recording videos logs to her from light-years away...that is how deeply her authority shaped the mission. A fantastic read for anyone who enjoys a witty, fast-paced survival tale, optimistic sci-fi, or just wonderful storytelling. Highly recommended! (I hear the audiobook is a must listen...I'm listening now!)

Many people can relate to the experience of waking up and having a Jumanji-esque "what year is it" existential crisis - which of course is usually in jest, or quickly passes. For Ryland Grace, waking up is an altogether cataclysmic experience - he can't remember his own name, or what he's supposed to be doing, or why there's two corpses and a robot in the room with him. With time, his memory's return in the hazy way a dandelion's seeds float on the wind - and he's slowly reacquainted with the impossible nature of his task. Alone and hurtling through deep space on a veritable chimera of a ship fueled by every government agency on the planet, he's humanity's last hope against an extinction-level event taking place back at home. And with the unexpected help of an ally, the odds may just be in his favor. I walked into this book fairly blind - it was my book club's choice ahead of the movie adaptation coming out this year, and I missed out on "The Martian" when it was popular, so I was pleasantly surprised with how much fun (and anxiety) I had while reading about Ryland Grace (main character name if I ever saw one) and his schoolteacher smarts fighting it out at the brink of the universe. The book did a good job in slow-baking a lot of nebulous concepts into something the average reader could parse out and enjoy, which I think can be difficult for science fiction books - and while I doubt much of the science will stand up to proper scrutiny, this isn't one of those books that's diving into realism. You're here to have fun, and maybe review some of what you've forgotten from high school or entry-level college courses, and that's okay. I think the book did a great job in capturing the desperation of what the internet cryptids would call an "XK Class End-Of-The-World Scenario" and took a good stab in imagining what that might look like from a world government/cooperation standpoint, if with heavy liberties towards how maturely some world leaders would act. I think the humanistic and scientific facets of the mission, which was revealed in piecemeal as Grace's memory catches up, worked really well from a pacing and storytelling perspective, and while there were loose ends I really wanted follow-up on that were never tied up properly, I don't think this necessarily ruined my enjoyment of the story overall. I'll be looking forward to seeing how this one plays out on the big screen since there's a lot of internalization and explanation from a reader standpoint, but overall I'd be up to reading more Andy Weir stories in the future.

I realize that Project Hail Mary already has approximately the population of a small city reviewing it, but I loved this book so much that I want to add my five stars to the pile. Andy Weir had me at the science. Actually, he had me at spectroscopy. I'm a spectroscopist, and discovering that spectroscopy isn't merely mentioned in this novel but plays an important role in understanding what is happening was ridiculously satisfying. More broadly, I loved the way Weir uses science throughout the book. It isn't decoration applied to make the story sound technical. The characters observe, hypothesize, calculate, experiment, get things wrong, revise their hypotheses, and try again. Science is how the story moves forward. And, remarkably, Weir makes all of that tremendous fun. The human protagonist is smart without being implausibly infallible. He has flashes of ingenuity and moments of spectacularly ordinary human fallibility. He can be noble and deeply flawed—and, importantly, is capable of being dismayed by his own flaws. That makes him much more interesting than a conventional heroic scientist who always knows what to do. Then there's Rocky. What a wonderful creation. Weir makes his alien just human enough that we can form an emotional connection with him, while keeping him sufficiently non-human that we never forget we're encountering a genuinely different life-form. The differences aren't merely cosmetic. Biology, perception, environment, language, technology, and ways of thinking all matter. And somehow, across all those differences, a friendship develops. By the time that relationship is fully established, Project Hail Mary has quietly become one of the best buddy stories I've read. Two intelligent beings who shouldn't even be able to communicate gradually learn not only how to work together, but how to understand, trust, tease, worry about, and care for one another. That's where the book becomes more than a clever science-fiction adventure. Rocky raises fascinating questions about which qualities we think of as "human" that might actually be something more universal: curiosity, loyalty, humor, cooperation, friendship, even love. Speaking of humor: this book is genuinely funny. Sometimes wry, sometimes absurd, and occasionally laugh-out-loud funny. I know this because I read part of it on an airplane and actually laughed out loud. Fortunately, the person sitting next to me was wearing headphones, so my dignity remained largely intact. I loved the adventure. I loved the friendship. I loved the imperfect protagonist. And I absolutely loved encountering a science-fiction novel in which the science is not simply scenery but an essential part of the story. Five enthusiastic stars. Did I mention the spectroscopy? For readers who enjoy: The Martian, also by Andy Weir, Contact by Carl Sagan, and The Mote in God's Eye by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle—science fiction in which figuring out the science is part of the adventure, and encountering something truly alien gives us a new way of looking at ourselves. Cocktail pairing: A Moscow Mule — vodka, ginger beer, and lime. Vodka gets its small but memorable nod in the novel, while the copper mug seems entirely appropriate for a book in which materials, chemistry, engineering, and the physical properties of practically everything can suddenly become important. Besides, after spending several hundred pages trying to save humanity using astrophysics, biology, engineering, chemistry—and, yes, spectroscopy—you've earned a drink. Just analyze its spectrum before consuming. For science, and, ya know, just in case...

I consider The Martian my favorite fictional novel of the last 15-20 years. The movie was incredible in that they actually followed the book closer than 99% of other films based on books. It remains my favorite movie of the last 15 years or so as well. I don't know anyone (personally) that loves either of them as much as I do. With that said, I was REALLY looking forward to Artemis. It was good...but, it was certainly not in the same caliber as The Martian was (at least not for me). I enjoyed it a lot, however and appreciated how author Andy Weir chose to go in a completely different direction and not just rehash another similar story, which I am certain would have been great as well. As a result, I was cautious regarding Project Hail Mary. It sounded a little too close to The Martian, but yet, also different in that the circumstances simply could not be more opposite and the stakes so much higher. I'm trying to figure out the best way to summarize without giving too much away from this utterly compelling novel. As I read several reviews, I noticed a recurring theme: SCIENCE. Lots and LOTS of science. Holy cow, they were right. Many years ago I read Apollo 13 and Jim Lovell and his co-writer, try as they might, simply could not dumb down Orbital Mechanics anywhere near enough for me to have even a minor clue as to what they were attempting to say...I just skipped 90% of it and hoped that the sentences written afterwards, would help to make sense of what I had just skimmed over. I'm a lot of things, but a math wizard is definitely not one of them. Michael Crichton (Jurassic Park) had an amazing talent for dumbing-down the science of what he was trying to explain in ways that genuinely made sense (most of the time). Not everyone has this talent, and I would say Andy Weir falls squarely in between. He's certainly better than Jim Lovell, but not quite as good as Crichton. But then again, outside of a science textbook, I haven't really read anything with quite as MUCH science as Project Hail Mary. So maybe he's just as good, but he just puts more science into his books than Crichton, maybe that's it...? Either way, be prepared for a lot of astonishingly interesting science within the pages of this novel...and I DO mean a LOT. I don't say this to make you wary or steer you away...on the contrary, Andy Weir has a special talent for making hard science truly entertaining. The book opens with an absolutely amazing and frightening premise: an astronaut awakes from an induced coma to find the only other two people on board have died at some point along their journey...but it gets worse. He has no idea who he is, or why he's on the ship, and oh yeah, they look to be a long way from home. A really, REALLY long way from home. In fact, the sun he sees isn't actually OUR sun at all. He's managed to leave our solar system entirely. And he has no idea why. ((Minor Spoilers)) The book goes through some clever flash-backs, which set the stage for why the mission happens, and slowly, carefully explains how they managed to get so far away from earth in such a short amount of time. Basically, earth's sun seems to be dying. At the rate of decay, we have maybe 19 years left before the gradual cooling has catastrophic consequences resulting in the death of billions (best guess). Why the sun is dimming is quite the conundrum in the first place. Turns out it really isn't dying, it's being killed by an outside source...which turns out to be easily the greatest find in history. It's alien life, and they are using the sun for food, essentially. It's alien life, but not intelligent life. But still, wow! ALIENS, right??? After this monumental discovery, and some tremendous research done by the most improbable scientist, the investigation into what is happening and why and what to do about it expands exponentially to other nations in order to pool all the resources possible to hopefully save the sun, and by extension, the human race as well. They learn. A LOT. A plan is put together, and with the help of the newly discovered microscopic alien life, which can also double as a power source (along with a few other nifty surprises), they begin to create one last, Hail Mary that could very well be the last chance we might have to save earth. It's audacious. It's dangerous, and it is absolutely critical that it succeed. As our astronaut's memory slowly unravels, so does his identity: Ryland Grace. He's a teacher on earth. Just a science teacher. Not even a college professor. He's amazingly smart, though. But he's no astronaut...and certainly not one who would volunteer to go on a one-way mission to another solar system to "try" and save humanity. Yet here he is. Alone. light years from earth, trying to solve the biggest riddle in all of human history. Ryland accepts his situation, such as it is, with relative indifference (for the most part). It doesn't matter HOW he got here. He's here now and he may as well use that time to be as productive as possible, right? Along the way, he unravels even more information regarding the microscopic alien life which is slowly dimming our sun during some additional flashbacks. The aliens, dubbed, "Astrophage" are quite the galactic plague as it turns out. Stars all over the galaxy are also losing their light, all due to the little buggers. All that is, except one particular star named, Tau Ceti. Now why would that one star be unaffected by Astrophage, when every single star around it has been affected to some degree. The plan is to go there and figure it out and send the information back, hopefully in time to save the sun before the damage to earth is beyond repair. There is an incredible amount of stuff going on. The story switches from Tau Ceti to flashbacks of how the whole mission was planned and implemented (which is VERY entertaining, especially Director Stratt, who may actually be my favorite character in the entire novel). Weir is becoming quite adept at building tension, and abruptly switching the story from Tau Ceti back to earth and building more of the backstory then switching back to Tau Ceti. Keeping it all in check and most importantly, interesting all while mixing in a healthy dose of science, which I am to understand is pretty much all genuine, is quite the juggling act. I have long known science can be astronomically entertaining (see what I did there?) when done right...but unfortunately very few people in a position to teach science actually know the best way to create that interest in others. I can say without reservation, Andy Weir definitely knows how to do it...at least in written form. There is so much I want to say more regarding this truly phenomenal story, but I simply cannot without ruining a lot of the fun and surprises revealed along the way...and it is killing me to keep it locked in. Though I labeled a spoiler warning earlier, I don't think it gave away any more than what the author himself has revealed in interviews he has done regarding the book, and what you can glean from reading the summary here and just a couple other reviews. Tying all of that science together is truly astonishing to me. The creativity to put it into a novel that is remarkably exciting to read is nothing more than incredible talent. Kudo's to Andy Weir for not just hitting a home run, Project Hail Mary is a Grand Slam all the way. I truly did not want this story to end. By the way, I enjoyed the ending quite a bit. I don't know if everyone will. But it was fine for me. I think the ending screams "sequel" at some point too. A lot was left open-ended (IMO) and I wouldn't mind reading a follow-up to this. It doesn't HAVE to happen, but there are a lot of ways where the story could go if Andy chose to do it. Just sayin'. Just run out and buy this book.

I’m 75 years old and started reading science fiction when I was eight or nine years old. I read many of the early famous writers as they were publishing their books. I don’t know exactly, but my best guess is that I’ve read 20 to 30 or more books per year. In recent years, I’ve branched out into fantasy, because it seems there’s been less hard science fiction worth reading. Andy, we reminds me why I first got interested in science fiction. In the Martian and Hail Mary he created great science fiction. Interesting characters, great plots, and science that’s plausible enough to tie the whole thing together. That’s the reason that the movies based on the books are interesting to watch even after you’ve read the books. My suggestion would be read the book, then watch the movie. Or, if you’ve already seen the movie, read the book anyway I sure hope Andy Weir has more stories coming our way.

This was a book club pick. Honestly, I wouldn't have chosen to read this myself, but I'm glad that I did. I would have missed out on an incredible story. I've been reading a lot of thriller and fantasy books lately, that I forgot how much I enjoy sci-fi. This brought it back for me. There's a lot of science-heavy discussions in the book and I loved it! When I got to a subject or term I didn't know, I would go online and learn more about it. I feel that Grace is a dork like me because he wouldn't curse. He had little anecdotes he uses in place of swearing. Something I definitely do myself! A lot of the book is the MMC talking to himself. Surprisingly, it worked. There's so much humor that it kept the story going. There was not a lull. Usually I dislike info-dumping as an introduction to get all the background story told, but I didn't mind it at all. Maybe I'm being biased because I love science talk. **SPOILERS AHEAD** What makes the whole plot engaging is the fact that the plot doesn't seem too fantastical. It's something that could happen. There's a lot of ethics and morals involved in determining what should be done. I would hate to be in a position where I have to chose what's best for everyone. That's why Stratt is a necessary character. I hated some of her decisions and how she operated, but you need someone who's focused on the general welfare of humanity. I would be too focused on myself, my family, etc. As much as it hurts to admit, I'm selfish (and a coward) like Grace. I wouldn't want to die. But was it right for Stratt to force him on the mission? This could also be taken religiously. If God has a plan and things happen for a reason, is it our right to deter what's going to happen? God wiped out the world many times because of humanity's sins, what if this was God's doing? So many questions and debates on right vs wrong, ethics vs morals, and religion vs humanity made for a incredible book club discussion. I love how this book ended. I wish I could continue reading about Rocky and Grace's adventures, it's that fascinating. However, I think Grace staying on Erid was the best outcome. If the roles were reversed, I don't think Rocky would have the same welcome. I feel that those in charge would have dissected and kept Rocky hostage, all in the name of science. Just as the Astrophage were first introduced, the first things the scientists did was poke and probe. Essentially torturing the Astrophage to see what makes them tick. I think Rocky would have the same fate. Oh, and my favorite part is the relationship between Rocky and Grace. I cried so many times when I was reading. Scared that something bad was going to happen to either of them. Especially in the scene where Rocky busted out of his tunnel to save Grace. I got upset and told the book that 'if Rocky dies, I swear, this is the worst book ever!' And the scene where Rocky learns about radiation poisoning. How he slowly becomes aware of what happened to his crew, his friends. I was a mess. This book is definitely one that I could go back and reread. I did watch the movie afterwards. There's a lot of differences to adapt the story to screen, but it was okay. They got the humor down pat, but I didn't get the direness of the whole situation nor the special bond that both MCs had.

I just finished Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, and it’s one of the few book-to-film adaptations where I’m genuinely torn on which version I prefer. The book has a more serious, grounded tone overall compared to the movie, which leans a bit more into humor and pacing. Both are excellent in their own ways. As someone who thoroughly enjoyed both the book and the film adaptation of The Martian, I went into this expecting a similar balance of clever science, problem-solving, and witty narration. Weir delivers on the first two in spades—Ryland Grace’s journey to save Earth (and his own skin) is packed with inventive hard sci-fi that feels meticulously researched. However, there were stretches where the scientific explanations became way too dense and technical for my taste. I found myself mentally slogging through some sections, which led to many late nights over the 23 days it took me to finish. That said, the story, characters, and stakes are incredibly compelling, and the payoff is absolutely worth it. It’s smart, hopeful, and emotionally resonant in ways that stuck with me. I’ll probably need a break from heavy science-heavy reads for a little while after this one, but I still highly recommend Project Hail Mary to fans of smart, high-concept sci-fi.

Love/hate this book! Love the characters, love the story, and the science behind the story. Love the humor!!! It's not the shortest read, at just under 500 pages, but it's a short read - it's snacking food! It's the kind of book that keeps you up at night - just can't get enough. It's all about a threat to mankind, and a introverted mad-scientist/ school-teacher who saves not just mankind, but discovers and saves an alien race as well. Andy Weir well done!! But I need more that snacking food - build me a space opera. I need something to really chow down on. BTW love Rocky!

Fantástica novela de aventuras y ciencia ficción hardcore. Vaya por delante que me encantó The Martian y que disfruté con Artemis, a pesar de no estar a la altura de la primera. El estilo del autor, muy divulgativo, lleno de chistes y juegos de palabras, autocrítica humorística y optimismo en general hace que disfrute tanto del qué como del cómo. (Recomiendo, por cierto, el relato cortísimo de El huevo, del autor. 5 minutos de lectura interesante). En esta ocasión, a mí me parece que además el autor se supera a la hora de construir el armazón del relato y también a la hora de elegir cómo nos lo va desvelando. La novela empieza con nuestro protagonista despertando en una cama de hospital en un lugar desconocido, sin recordar ni siquiera cómo se llama. A su lado hay dos cadáveres. Y solo sabe que tiene una vaga sensación de que tiene que salvar el mundo. A partir de ahí se intercalan las historias de lo que está pasando y de lo que ha pasado para llegar a ese punto. Me parece que el autor lo hace muy bien. A los que leímos el Marciano y Artemisa nos sonará el estilo de la historia y del protagonista, pero creo sinceramente que en esta ocasión el autor se ha superado y ha construido una historia que es por momentos muy épica, que tiene una componente científica espectacular (el autor inventa la biología de dos mundos de manera convincente, para empezar a hablar) y que da para una peli épica (presiento que en un par de años o tres volveré a esta crítica y añadiré un "yo ya lo dije"). Por supuesto, tenemos un surtido de chistes y conatos de chistes marca de la casa (algunos están ocultos bajo etiqueta spoiler por si acaso, otros no los pongo porque desvelan demasiado, pero son muchísimos): Cuando el protagonista aún no sabe quién es ni qué hace ahí: Ten- foot ladder. I think in imperial units. That’s a clue. I’m probably an American. Or English. Or maybe Canadian. Canadians use feet and inches for short distances. I ask myself: How far is it from L.A. to New York? My gut answer: 3,000 miles. A Canadian would have used kilometers. So I’m English or American. Or I’m from Liberia. I know Liberia uses imperial units but I don’t know my own name. That’s irritating. Besides, if I had a nickel for every time I wanted to smack a kid’s parents for not teaching them even the most basic things… well… I’d have enough nickels to put in a sock and smack those parents with it. He disfrutado como un enano, lo reconozco. Tres días duros de trabajo con solo un rato por las noches para leer que he aprovechado hasta el último minuto para leer las 500 páginas. Es exactamente lo que le pido a una novela de aventuras.

I loved this story so much! It was the perfect story for me. Easy to read, great pacing, relatable character (for me), amazing story about overcoming, courage, friendship, adventure and awesome science. Highly recommend.

I was not crying at the end of last the book, im sure there were ninjas cutting onions close to me. Seriously, I loved this story. Sometimes it gets a bit too technical, but it's a masterpiece if you like this type of story The Martian took me 3 days to read, this one I finished in one week mainly because I have a toddler, otherwise I would be done in 4 days for sure.

Great book finish reading 4 times, and decided to support the author with a hardcover copy, recieved in great condition in a nice little amazon box.