Scan barcode
A review by eesh25
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
5.0
So, something weird happened. I read The Martian around the same time as Ready Player One. I really liked both. But the next books both authors put out weren’t very well received. And I kinda put both authors in the One Hit Wonder category (don’t ask me why because I have no clue). So, when this book came out, I didn’t even bother to see what it was about. Until Sanderson of all people posted a glowing review on YouTube. Long story short, it might’ve taken me way longer to get to this amazing book had Sanderson not decided to become a youtuber as well as author.
Why am I telling you this, you ask? Because I felt like it.
Anyway, this book starts with our protagonists not knowing who he is, where he is, how he got where he is, and why he’s there. And we're with him as he slowly starts to figure out, via deduction and memory flashbacks, that his name is Ryland Grace, he’s on a spaceship in another star system, and that he’s there to find a way to save humanity.
And with this, you officially know more about this book than I did going in. Because as soon as I heard that it was great, I avoided any other information about it. It was really fun because I was on the same level as Grace was, and therefore learning everything alongside him. So, I won’t be giving too many plot details because I want you to start the book knowing as little as possible. We can talk about other things though.
Let’s start with Grace. He is a fantastic protagonist. He’s smart, resilient and funny. And I love that Weir gives his protagonists so much life and humour because without them, this book could’ve been bleak and boring.
The setting for most of the book is a spaceship (and space). But a third (maybe more) of the book is flashbacks. And I loved the flashbacks just as much as the present events. They gave us information and we got to meet characters other than Grace. Stratt and Rocky are the two most present and important characters after Grace. I liked Stratt, but I loved Rocky. So much.
One thing I wanted to mention, if you’ve read The Martian and thought it was kinda science-y, well, this one takes it a couple of steps further. You can tell that Weir did a lot of research for this. And if you’re not a fan of getting a lot of details about how things work, then this could become a tad tedious. I myself love details (as long as they’re plot relevant) so this was great. This whole book was great, really, and I highly recommend it. It was fun, fast paced and so interesting. And the ending was absolutely perfect. I couldn’t imagine a better conclusion for the story.
Why am I telling you this, you ask? Because I felt like it.
Anyway, this book starts with our protagonists not knowing who he is, where he is, how he got where he is, and why he’s there. And we're with him as he slowly starts to figure out, via deduction and memory flashbacks, that his name is Ryland Grace, he’s on a spaceship in another star system, and that he’s there to find a way to save humanity.
And with this, you officially know more about this book than I did going in. Because as soon as I heard that it was great, I avoided any other information about it. It was really fun because I was on the same level as Grace was, and therefore learning everything alongside him. So, I won’t be giving too many plot details because I want you to start the book knowing as little as possible. We can talk about other things though.
Let’s start with Grace. He is a fantastic protagonist. He’s smart, resilient and funny. And I love that Weir gives his protagonists so much life and humour because without them, this book could’ve been bleak and boring.
The setting for most of the book is a spaceship (and space). But a third (maybe more) of the book is flashbacks. And I loved the flashbacks just as much as the present events. They gave us information and we got to meet characters other than Grace. Stratt and Rocky are the two most present and important characters after Grace. I liked Stratt, but I loved Rocky. So much.
One thing I wanted to mention, if you’ve read The Martian and thought it was kinda science-y, well, this one takes it a couple of steps further. You can tell that Weir did a lot of research for this. And if you’re not a fan of getting a lot of details about how things work, then this could become a tad tedious. I myself love details (as long as they’re plot relevant) so this was great. This whole book was great, really, and I highly recommend it. It was fun, fast paced and so interesting. And the ending was absolutely perfect. I couldn’t imagine a better conclusion for the story.