Review | Project Hail Mary

Title: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Date Published: May 4th, 2021

Dates Read: July 17-22, 2021

Current Goodreads Rating: 4.56/5

I have a confession to make: I never read The Martian. It's not because I refused to read it (at least not at first) or because I didn't think it would be good; I just never got around to it. Then I saw the Matt Damon movie and never got around to picking it up at my local library. When Artemis came out I read it and thought it was alright, but not to the standard that I had heard The Martian was at. When Project Hail Mary was announced I thought the premise sounded interesting, but I wasn't sure what exactly to expect.

Ok, what happens? The sun is dying. It has been infected by some kind of living organism that is literally sucking the life and the warmth from the star. As the heat of the sun decreases by one degree at a time, the world scrambles into action. Governments across the globe consolidate their brightest minds to construct the Hail Mary, the ship that will take three astronauts on a suicide mission to a far away star where - for some reason - the parasite hasn't been able to infect.

Enter Dr. Ryland Grace. Grace wakes up alone on the Hail Mary with a bad case of amnesia and the dreadful feeling of being alone several light years away from home. As he struggles to remember his mission as well as how he got onto this ship in the first place, Grace comes to realize just how difficult this one-way trip will be and that maybe, just maybe, humans aren't the only living species who are desperate to find an answer.

Ok, so what did I think? I think we're all aware by now that I have an English degree. I purposely put off taking my last science credit in college because I desperately did not want to take it. All of Weir's books lean heavily towards the scientific. He does his best to explain complex scientific experiments and theories so that Arts and Literature brained people like me can understand it. For the most part, he does a pretty good job! I will admit there were occasional sections of the book where my eyes sort of glazed over because I could not track whatever scientific space law Grace was spouting, but, based on context clues, it was pretty easy to get the gist.

The complex science was also a lot easier to comprehend with a character like Dr. Ryland Grace. Though he was selected as the science officer for the Hail Mary, Grace starts the book as a junior high science teacher. As someone who is married to someone who used to be a teacher I can tell you that a sense of humor and a healthy sarcastic wit really helps you keep your sanity and I can really see that in how Weir develops Grace's character. Though Grace wakes up without any idea of who he is or how he got up into space (or even where in space he is), he makes plenty of sarcastic quips about his situation that had me laughing even when I was worried about how he'd survive in space all by himself.

Much like The Martian, much of this story is Grace narrating to the reader, but Weir does a great job of interspersing flashbacks throughout the chapters as flashes of memories returning to our lone scientist in space. As Grace pieces together his past we learn more about what the Astrophage is (the organism eating the sun) and how it got into the system (I'm not spoiling this one - you'll just have to read the book). This also keeps the narrative fresh. It probably would have gotten really tiring to just have Grace's inner thoughts narrated at me while he does complicated science experiments and tries not to go crazy in solitude. By adding these sections we're introduced to the fascinating minds in charge of making the Hail Mary fly and those in charge of keeping the Earth warm enough to survive the slow decline of the sun. Not only do we meet characters from around the world, but we also get to meet Stratt, a woman given un-contested power over every single governing body in the world. She's takes no shit, gets the job done, and isn't afraid to step on any fragile masculine toes in the process and I love her so much. If this book ever becomes a movie I want to see someone like Brie Larson or Emma Thompson to play her.

However, Weir doesn't just develop his human characters, but his alien characters as well. That's right, for the first time in a Weir novel we're introduced to an alien species. Well, one specific alien lovingly named Rocky by our lone spaceman. The scenes where Rocky and Grace get to know each other and learn each other's language were probably some of my favorites. Maybe it's the linguistics course I had to take to complete my English degree coming back to me, but there was something just so fascinating about watching these two different species from thousands of light years away from each other figuring out how to communicate with one another. While I loved learning more about the backstory and seeing Stratt kickass, there was something more uniquely gratifying about the scenes where Rocky and Grace slowly grow more comfortable around each other and form a strong friendship. Honestly, I wish I had my own Rocky to be friends with despite being described as a rock like spider.

"Hey you good? Ok, cool. I'm going to hang out over here, k?" - Dr. Ryland Grace probably

For the majority of the book I was hooked. I stayed up way too late in order to finish it because the last chunk of the book was so tense and fast paced and for the most part I don't regret it. However, I was slightly disappointed in the ending which is why I didn't give this book a 5/5 star rating. Each chapter in the last quarter of the book ended in a cliffhanger that had me thinking to myself, "Well shit, now I've got to read the next one," which - if you know me - that's totally fine. It's great even, but then suddenly the book was over.

Bear with me, I'm going to get into spoiler territory here. After over 300 pages of learning about his past, becoming friends with Rocky, and working with the alien to figure out a way to save both of their planets, Grace finally discovers how to stop the Astrophage and everything sort of careens to a halt. Grace and Rocky say their goodbyes, it's a little heartbreaking because I love that little alien dude, and then you'd think that the book was over.

But it's not.

Weir has one more twist in his sleeve that has you wondering if Grace will make it out alive (spoiler alert - he does) and then you, the reader, come to the same heart stopping realization that Grace does. Rocky is also in trouble. So Grace turns the car around and high tails it back to Rocky's ship. He saves the day, comes to terms that he won't be going back to Earth after all, and then...he lives the rest of his days on Rocky's planet.

It was a very sudden end that I didn't expect and, to be honest, I was a little disappointed in it. There's a small exchange of dialogue between Grace and Rocky in the epilogue that outlines the fate of Earth, but Grace doesn't seem all that pressed to never see the blue and green planet again nor does he seem too excited that his sacrifice actually meant something. While I didn't want him to part ways with Rocky I was hoping Grace would return triumphant to Earth with the answer to the Astrophage problem AND proof of alien intelligence, but Earth seems to be an afterthought in the quickly wrapped up ending. Grace does get to teach children again though, even though they're the children of Rocky's people, so I suppose that's nice.

Long Story Short:

• SPAAAAAAAAAACE

• Give more women power. It's really hot.

• Should Earth be an afterthought to a human? Jeff Bezos says no, but who really cares what he thinks?

My Rating: 4/5