Reviews with content warning for Confinement - Project Hail Mary

I almost DNFd one of my most anticipated books of the year. After reading The Martian and Artemis last year, I was so ready for another fun Science-fiction adventure by Andy Weir. Except this one was way more science than fiction, and given that I know absolutely nothing about physics or biology or any scientific stuff, I didn't enjoy this book much. I'm really frustrated because this title keeps cropping up in people's favourite books of the year. I just wish it had been like that for me. The hero felt like a pale copy of The Martian's Mark Watney, like the rest of the book. A lot of the plot twists felt similar, which is regrettable when your opening scene has a (white) man alone in space, except that Ryland Grace, in PHM, has the fate of the world in his hands, not just his own fate. I could see there was a great story unfolding, which I won't spoil you, but it didn't excite me or move me. Aaaargh. I'm frustrated.
Rep: it's never said, but the main character could very well be aro/ace.

Content Warnings

billyjepma's review

Go to review page

adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring tense fast-paced

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

4.5

You know that post that says, "unfollow me now, this is all I'm going to talk about"? Well, that's me after finishing this decadent adventure of a book.

I'm so glad I read this when I did (right after a stressful and exhausting six weeks), where I did (primarily on a beach), and how I did (in several marathon sessions) because it led to one of the best reading experiences I've had in a very long time. Andy Weir is so good at accessible, crowd-pleasing storytelling that it's almost frustrating. Project Hail Mary is Spielbergian in how unwaveringly, heroically optimistic it is, yet it pulls it off without feeling trite, which is quite a feat. Does it mean the book doesn't have much to say? Sure, you could make that claim, but why would I want to when it gave my brain so many sweet, sweet endorphins?

Weir also does an excellent job at giving the science weight and consequence without throwing his audience into the deep end. He provides us with enough education to feel comfortable with the jargon, buy into the premise, and, eventually, let us share in the monumental peaks and valleys of scientific exploration, failure, and discovery. There aren't that many (if any) deep, profound thematics, but I didn't miss them, either. It wouldn't be untrue to say that this book is essentially a beat-for-beat retread of The Martian, either, but in this case, I feel like the "if it ain't broke" adage is appropriate. Sometimes all you need is a rock-solid "man vs. nature" narrative backed up by decent characterization and razor-sharp pacing. This is an old-fashioned book in that way and just one of the many reasons I loved it so much.

I'm a firm believer in the importance of well-written popcorn entertainment, a niche that's becoming increasingly difficult to come by. But Project Hail Mary fits that description wonderfully, and I'll be coasting off the "book high" it gave me for a long while.

Content Warnings

nickel_'s review

Go to review page

adventurous funny medium-paced

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

4.75

Content Warnings

sfbookgirl's review

Go to review page

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective sad 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

5.0

Alllll of the starts for Project Hail Mary (and Rocky)! I loved this book so much. Despite its hefty page count, I couldn’t put this one down and I flew through it in a couple of days. All fans of sci-fi, space, and just literature, in general, are in for a treat. The novel begins with main character Ryland Grace (picture Ryan Gosling) waking up to realize he is all alone in a spaceship. All he knows is that he has been asleep for an incredibly long time and has to relearn everything he has ever known.

I was weirdly afraid this was going to play out like the terrible Passengers movie, but spoiler alert, it didn’t (thank goodness). I am very excited that they are making Project Hail Mary into a movie because wow it’s going to be so good. Yes, like The Martian, there is a lot of math and science, but it’s ok if it all goes over your head. This action-packed, tear-jerking novel is one you don’t want to miss. It even has Obama’s stamp of approval as he put it on his summer 2021 reading list. Go forth and enjoy!

Thank you Random House for a gifted copy!

Content Warnings

madeleineelr's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful informative reflective 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

5.0

Content Warnings

mayday_the_cleric's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

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

3.5

A highly engrossing and entertaining read. There are many times when the story escalates in unexpected directions that keep you on edge and surprised on every turn. The main character’s funny and childish personality balances nicely with the dreadful and tense atmosphere throughout the story and enhances further how devastating his situation is when he goes through one emotional breakdown to another. This book is just so fun to read and will be the right pick for you if you don’t have a lot of time to read and would like something fast-paced and intriguing to keep you going.

Content Warnings

just_one_more_paige's review

Go to review page

adventurous informative mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

It's been a while since we've been able to get ourselves together (2022 has been a busy year so far!), plus the last couple picks I had actually already read: The Invisible Life of Addie LaRue and When the Moon Was Ours (both great choices), so this is my first long-distance-book-club read this year. It is definitely not one that I would have gone for without the group impetus, but for how long it was, it went by so fast once I got into it.

When Ryland Grace wakes up in what appears to be a long-term medical lab facility with no memory of who he is, how he got there, or any sight of another (at least not another living) human being present, he is, understandably, very confused. But as the days go by, his memories (and his innate knowledge of science and ability to logic through clues around him), he realizes he's essentially on a last-chance mission to save the Earth, and all of humanity, from certain doom. No pressure. As he begins to work through the impossible task facing him, the daunting prospect becomes ever more hopeful as he finds a (very unexpected) ally with the exact same goal. Together, they just might be able to solve this interstellar ticking time bomb of a scientific mystery (and themselves, in the process).

This is a very, what I would consider, typical/traditional sci-fi thriller type story. I know it won the Goodreads Choice Award for SciFi last year, and I can see why. It's very grounded in the world we know, sci-fi in a speculative sense (environmentally and scientifically) with a human MC and Earth-centered plot, not necessarily in the world-building/space opera style of sci-fi (which is my personal preference). So, while there is quite a bit that is not the normal, everyday human reality, everything that happens is adjacent to or compared to that recognizable reality in some way, making it much more widely accessible topically. It also has a very linear plotline, clearly delineated science and parameters, and a plot that has a major drama/thriller build that does keep the reader turning pages. All that being said, while it felt really solid and kept my interest (I did truly want to know how things played out, how the story would be wrapped up, and how our MC found alone himself in space as humanity's last hope to save the Earth), I was never really blown away by it at any point.

Let me give you a little more of what I liked about this novel. It was smoothly written; nothing spectacular in the writing, but nothing cringe-y either. And Grace's internal (and at times external) dialogue had a nice touch of humor to it, which was necessary to help cut what would otherwise have been an (only) incredibly tense and likely quite depressing story. Similarly, the back in forth from Grace's flashbacks as his memories of his pre-spaceship days return and his present-day race to find answers to Earth's alien dilemma helps give more movement to what would otherwise have been a very dull story (like, being alone on a ship doing science experiments and getting one's memory back seems exciting, but in reality gets quite repetitive as far as "telling" about it goes). As we did get more and more of Grace's history, and actually the "reveal" at the end about how he ended up as part of this elite crew in the first place, I appreciated how human and real he was, the recognizability that came with some of his uglier self-realizations and recollections. It helped keep the story grounded (pun intended!). The alien lifeforms we were introduced to were creative, and very scientifically grounded. In fact, all the science was very real. Now, I am not at all a science person, but from biology to mathematics to physics to chemistry to astronomy, this novel felt incredibly well researched on that front. In fact, I cannot lie to you, there were a few points (especially towards the last third) where I definitely skimmed some of the science aspects. I don't feel like they were actually ever too much, I just got to the point where I wanted to know how the story ended and I was just fine taking the science for granted as I got there. Personal preference, but I want to be transparent about it.

Finally: the ending. I was really happy with it. It did not end at all like I had expected and honestly I was into that. It was unexpectedly sweet and poignant, while still being as realistic as it could be, by which I mean not too perfect or with too much closure under the circumstances. While maybe that was an easy out for the author, as far as not having to give the reader all the details, I was still happy with it because I felt like any more and it would have bridged into either the unbelievable or the "right" ending, which no one would have wanted to read (it would not, should not, have been an "all wrapped up in a nice happy bow" situation). Sort of along these lines, I liked that the ending included Earth NOT finding out too much (re: Grace's extracurricular discoveries while in space), because there’s no way we would handle that knowledge well; humans as a species suck too much for that. However, the interactions and decisions of our one MC are much more understandable and believable in an individual sense. So, while that’s vague, I know, it felt right.

A few things that felt less right included some of the borderline commentary from our MC that has some uncomfortable judgmental implications. I mean, I know I said I liked that he was messy/human, but still, when his first reaction to realizing he had lived in a bachelor-style apartment was that he must have been single or gay (like gay people can’t be clean or decorate or live together), just came across a little iffy. There was also some uneven pacing that kind of made it hard to get a real feel for the timing of the plot and also had me skimming more or less in varying patterns. Though overall things happened at a fast enough clip to keep me mostly invested. And, of course, there was the overall feeling that while this was a good book, it never tipped over into really good, great, or spectacular…it was creative, but never inspired, at least for me.

All that being said, I was definitely entertained by this story. And I am excited to discuss with my book club, because I think there are some very interesting concepts raised, especially about questions pertaining to morality versus survival and priorities as a species. I’m curious to hear what the others thought!

“When the alternative is death to your entire species, things are very easy. No moral dilemmas, no weighing what's best for whom. Just a single-minded focus on getting this project working.”

Content Warnings

kassidyreads's review

Go to review page

adventurous funny hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

More...