Project Hail Mary

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Manufacturer: Andy Weir
Brand: Science Fiction
Brew: Ebook
Steeping Time: 482 pages (print length)
Tea Service: Book Club
Strength:

Synopsis: A lone astronaut.

An impossible mission.

An ally he never imagined.

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?

Well, Andy Weir, ya did it. You made me like sci-fi. I didn’t think it could be done, but here I am, happy and teary-eyed.

I’ve never been a fan of science fiction. I don’t have a problem with it, it’s just not my cup of tea. I’m into historical fiction and ghost stories, both a far cry from futuristic space travel. And then there was Seveneves. Yes, Hayley, I’m bringing it up again! My good friend Hayley, who runs the book club that I’m a member of, desperately wanted to read Seveneves again. She’d already read it, and I think one other member of our club had as well. So, even though I had zero interest, I chose to read it because that’s what book club is all about. And you know what? I hated it. HATED. IT.

For months, I would search out the moon and then sigh with relief when I found it, thinking, ‘thank God you’re still there’. I saw a shooting star a few weeks after finishing Seveneves and had a mild panic instead of joy at seeing it. Thanks, Seveneves. You’re the worst.

So when Project Hail Mary popped up as a recommendation, I was overly reluctant to join in. I went ahead and got on the waiting list for the ebook from the library and then put off reading it until the last minute. Soon after I started reading it, I fired off a message to the book club saying, ‘First you take the moon from me, and now you’re taking the sun? What will I have left?!” Obviously, I wasn’t handling it too well. But a few chapters in, I started to really enjoy it. Until the end of chapter six, where I sort of lost interest for a second. Not to worry, though, because I was 100% back in the game by chapter eight.

This book is the first science fiction novel I’ve ever read that I enjoyed.

Not only enjoyed but loved. I love the two main characters, Grace and Rocky, and their dynamic together is perfection. Y’all. For real. Rocky and Grace for life. I love them so much! They make the perfect pair.

The flow of this book was so easy to go with. When Ryland Grace wakes up on his ship, he doesn’t remember much, not even his own name. As he remembers people and events, we flashback with him into those memories. For the entire story, we’re just as in the dark as he is. When the timeline comes back to his present-day, we get to process those memories with him. The way the book is written puts you right there with Grace, feeling all of the pressure and emotions that he does.

Project Hail Mary is not short on suspense. I can’t count how many times I held my breath while reading because I wasn’t sure if Grace and Rocky could pull themselves out of another tight spot. Their journey is a roller coaster of we’re-okay to we-re-definitely-not-okay and back again, over and over. There was never a dull moment, even if the moments were quieter at times. I was fully engaged for the entire book.

Another thing I appreciate is that this book didn’t make me feel stupid.

I’m not a scientist. I was never particularly great at science in school. I find it an interesting subject, but it’s one that I’m not well-versed in. When I read sci-fi, I’m left feeling like a dummy half the time. There’s usually a lot of scientific jargon that I don’t understand, and while half the time it isn’t pertinent to the storyline, I still feel like I’m reading a different language. I didn’t get that with Project Hail Mary. Grace is a middle school science teacher, so most of his science talk is said in a way for non-experts to understand. Even if he gives a long, drawn-out explanation, there is usually a laymen’s terms follow-up. Andy Weir did a phenomenal job when writing Grace as a relatable character. He was easy to bond with and I liked him a lot.

I don’t want to say too much about Rocky, but I will say that, again, Andy Weir nailed it. He created a character that is easy to love and want to know more about. Rocky is just so, so, so loveable! He is hands-down one of my favorite fictional characters I’ve ever encountered. I could rave about him for days!

If you enjoy science fiction, I think Project Hail Mary will be an easy home run for you. If you don’t like science fiction, read Project Hail Mary anyway. I really think it might surprise you and may even, dare I say it, make you love a sci-fi novel.

Have you read Project Hail Mary? Leave a comment and let me know what you thought about it! Want to read it for yourself? Click here to get a copy of your own.
Cheers,
Lydia