Rave Review: "Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir

Quick Summary

Type: Novel

Genre: Thriller, science fiction

Back Cover: "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?"

Read Time: 4 days

Rating: All-Time Favorite (5 stars)

Review

So I started writing this review less than 10% into the book because I thought the first few chapters were just that great.

So the big revelation at the end of the first chapter is that gravity isn't 9.8 m/s^2, which is a crazy and very unsettling revelation for both the still unnamed main character and the reader.

Then the second chapter presents the big existential threat. In terms of sci-fi, this is one of the existential threats that I actually find threatening. I'm not super worried about asteroids hitting Earth. Governments across the world are building protections for that. But a sudden ice age because the sun is dying? While farfetched, it's something I can find it in me to be scared of.

And...now I'm done. So much for writing this review as I go. But that's because I got so wrapped up in the story that I just forgot to do a play by play as things happen. It was great.

Besides the focus on the science, and the inherent tension of trying to figure out how to save the two planets, what made this book so good was the interaction between Ryland and Rocky. Both are the only surviving members of their crews and the last hope for their people, but they're also incredibly lonely and thus are able to get past the incredible differences between them to forge a friendship. And that's what I loved so much about this book.

And while the ending is fairly American, it was still satisfying. Ryland - who never wanted to leave Earth and has dreamt of returning home since he learned he had a chance of it - sacrifices his only chance of returning to save Rocky and Rocky's home. And as a reward, he finds a new home with possibly the only friend he's ever had, taking up the profession he loved on Earth. It's a great ending.

So that's why I'm calling this book an 'All-Time Favorite' instead of just a 5 star. I just loved it that much.