Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Project Hail Mary

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Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

34 reviews

marissasa's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

This is my first space sci-fi novel and wow was it engrossing! Despite being chock-full of scientific language and challenging concepts to understand, it still felt accessible to anyone who passed high-school chemistry and biology or even just has a basic understanding of space and science. What kept it exciting and engaging was the combo of our main char Grace’s flashbacks/memories of earth recovering over time, his vast knowledge of science, space, and experimentation, and his interactions with Rocky. I grew attached to his alien bestie and found myself wanting so badly for everything to work out for both of them. I enjoyed how past events got gradually revealed over time due to Grace's amnesia, and how it informed both readers and the Grace himself on his actual character and values before he lost his memory. This set up a great character development arc for when he was eventually faced with tough decisions in the present day. I also loved the ending as I found it different than what I expected, but satisfying and touching all the same. I am so curious how this one will be adapted into a movie and I have high expectations after enjoying this book so much!

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kb_sherman's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful informative fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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readbycarina's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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writtenbydnicole's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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prakriti_archit's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging funny hopeful inspiring tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A really awesome book. I was hooked the entire time and the humour was on point. As a relativity theory enthusiast, this book was just down my alley-way, and I loved how Andy mixed real physics and a fantastical story to create a somewhat authentic feeling book. The dialogue was witty despite the huge (multiple galaxy sized) language barrier and you really get invested in both characters and their species. And I guess this is my sign to finally go read The Martian lol.

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columnclub's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

There were a lot of moments in this that felt more like the author showing off his scientific knowledge than part of a story, and ultimately that's what dragged my rating way down. At best this was mildly derailing, and at its worst, chauvinistic - some explanations were given to female characters who had every reason to already know the things the male protagonist was telling them. I had other issues, like the linear flashbacks that interrupted the narrative and very rarely had something meaningful to contribute, and the fact that virtually every character speaks like a teenage boy (and don't even get me started on the Russians). There is one central aspect to the story that's great, though, and while it wasn't always well executed, it was definitely enjoyable.

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kendrama94's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book is has surprise and interest throughout! It immediately draws you in to the characters and the story. It also explains heavy science in an accessible and fascinating way.

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leona's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

For some reason I don't really know what to say about this book. I've realised that a lot of people get into reading slumps when they read 'meh' books for too long without any 'wow' books, but for me I think I'm the opposite. This doesn't really have anything to do with my opinions on this book, I just think that maybe I could have gone all the way and given this 5 stars, and maybe rated The Midnight Library higher if I still wasn't trying to recover from Six of Crows - now that book nearly put me in a slump, despite my love for it.

Anyway, after that little tangent: on to the review! (Also there will probably be a few minor spoilers so... yep.)
Project Hail Mary is definitely a great book, and also a bit out of my comfort zone. I haven't read a great deal of sci-fi other than some YA series and dystopia (if you consider that sci-fi). I also usually prefer the robot and AI side of sci-fi than the alien and space travel side (maybe robots seem more believable to me). This is also one of the most 'science-y' sci-fi books I've read. And I think this is where Weir succeeds so well with this book; he makes sci-fi extremely approachable, even if you know very little science. There were parts where the plot was slow, there were parts where I got a bit bored. But Weir's prose is so digestable, quite chatty / informal in a way, and pretty modern. This makes the more scientific parts land much more successfully, and I would be pretty happy recommending this to most people.

I haven't read the Martian, so I can't offer any thoughts on how this compares, but from what I've heard, Grace swears considerably less (considering he's a teacher this is probably fitting) and apparently he is very similar to the protagonist of the Martian. I think Grace was a pretty likeable character

and Rocky was also very likeable

and I enjoyed seeing his mind work and his memories leading up to the mission. I definitely enjoyed the characters but again, I think I would have liked them even more if not for the excellence of Six of Crows. (I'm sorry, I know, you've had enough of the hype, especially on random book reviews).

My few criticisms were firstly, I kind of wanted their to be a bit more time spent between

Grace and Rocky learning each others language

and I would also have liked some more insight into Grace's Earth relationships. I didn't really like the ending particularly, but I appreciate Weir for doing something that I didn't expect and not doing the obvious.

I also really enjoyed

the realisation that Grace had actually been basically drugged and forced onto the ship. This was completely unexpected to me. I understand Stratt's reasoning to sacrifice three lives for billions, but firstly I thought Grace would choose to go himself, and I also thought that him and Stratt would end up in some sort of relationship or something. I don't know. This is where Grace really grows as a character, he starts his journey a coward, and ends by sacrificing his life for the only thing he actually cares about: his best friend Rocky.

Overall, I think this book was a pretty brilliant, and I definitely recommend it. It achieved it's intention very well in my opinion and my final rating is 4.5 stars.

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keepsleep's review against another edition

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adventurous reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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silver_valkyrie_reads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

2023 Reread: RTC

Original Review:
I agree with other reviewers that it's best to go into this book knowing as little as possible about the story, so this review will mostly be about my reactions, in general terms:

I loved this story! I also loved The Martian and Artemis, so if there was any doubt, Andy Weir is definitely one of my favorite authors of all time. For those who didn't love both his previous books, I'd say this one is a bit closer to The Martian than to Artemis.

One of my pet peeves (I was going to say 'in books', but really also in real life...) is stupid people doing stupid things, so I really enjoy how Andy Weir's books are about intelligent people solving problems through science and logic.

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