Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! Yes, I’m writing about Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir (published 2021). I read it in 2022 shortly after it came out, and I desperately wish I’d reviewed it before the movie came out, so I could give you my movie-free perspective. After I watched the movie, I did listen to it this time so it gave me a different perspective. This space novel is the epitome of great science fiction (coming from someone who doesn’t read much science fiction, at least).
All I knew going in when I read it 4 years ago was that it was a space novel. I learned what Ryland Grace, our main character, knew as he learned it. It was an amazing awakening experience. To consider that there are spoilers sometimes. For that reason, I don’t want to post too much about the plot: just experience it. But, if you do, indeed, know about the book’s general premise already, keep reading.
Ryland Grace awakes from a supposed coma not remembering anything, not even his name. He doesn’t know where he is and why. He must come to figure it out as flashes of memory return throughout the novel. Pretty quickly he figures out he is a scientist because he remembers science. Soon he learns he’s alone on a spaceship and that he is there to save the world. Thankfully, it turns out he doesn’t have to solve it all on his own. An alien named Rocky is there to help him out.
Science was my only downside to the book. The book has a lot of science and math. When I read it the first time, I skimmed over anything science-y. Upon listening to the book, I found sometimes the science felt a tiny bit boring. BUT it is all explained and anyone who truly knows science will probably appreciate that all the more. Andy Weir knows his science! It wasn’t really overwhelming: just know that you personally don’t have to understand it to enjoy the entire book.
The audiobook was amazing, truly. I read that the narrator, Ray Porter, did not read the entire book before he began recording. Thus, he too was reading it with that sense of surprise that I found as I read it the first time. As a result, the narration is full of emotion and surprise that feels real. The alien speech is really well done in the audio. Since in the beginning Grace does not know what the musical language means, our experience hearing the musical notes likewise feels like hearing a foreign language. The characters are so much more alive and loveable in the book than in the movie, which (in comparison, having reread/listened to the book) was not nearly as rich, interesting, or loving.
In short, whether or not you like science, you’ll probably like Project Hail Mary. It has science, yes, but it has much more. It is a story most of all of friendship. What would you do for your friends?
Get Project Hail Mary at Amazon.
