Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Book title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Science fiction
Published: May 4, 2021
476 pages
My rating: 5/5

“I penetrated the outer cell membrane with a nanosyringe.”
“You poked it with a stick?”
“No!” I said. “Well. Yes. But it was a scientific poke with a very scientific stick.”

Ryland Grace wakes up from coma on board of a spaceship and finds out his other crewmates have died during the voyage to a different solar system. As his memory slowly comes back, he realizes he’s on a desperate mission to save the Earth from star-eating microbes called astrophage. And he has to do it alone… or does he?

Project Hail Mary is a science fiction novel by Andy Weir. I had previously seen the movie version of The Martian, which is based on Weir’s debut novel, but I had not read Weir’s novels before. Science fiction can get technical and difficult to understand, but Weir’s writing is very accessible. You can easily follow the plot even without deep knowledge of all things astrophysics and microbiology.

This was a fun, banter-filled ride. Ryland makes first contact with another alien species suffering from the same problem, and together with his new alien buddy Rocky he has to save their respective solar systems. I especially loved how the two learned to communicate in each other’s very different languages. That was the part where the book turned from good to awesome. Which isn't surprising, considering my favorite sci-fi movie is Arrival, another story about humans learning to communicate with aliens.

There was a lot going on in this book, but it still felt rather slow-paced. I think there were three reasons for it: first, the book was quite long. Secondly, there was a lot of scientific language which slowed down my reading pace. And thirdly, it took Ryland a long time to start working on his main mission, aka saving the world. Ryland needed to first regain his memory, arrive at his destination, and meet and learn how to communicate with Rocky. It took two thirds of the book before the characters began solving the problem and figuring out how to get rid of the astrophage infestation. But as the events were so interesting, I didn’t find it a huge problem.

I have to say that the characters in this book are rather one-dimensional. If you’re looking for a book that has fully developed three-dimensional characters and character development and is overall more character-driven than plot-driven, you probably won’t enjoy this book much. Also, if you hate math, this book probably isn’t for you. But if you want a fun sci-fi adventure where the hero saves the Earth and possibly more, I think you’ll love this. I gave it five stars.