Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Project Hail Mary

For those of you who know me, you know that I struggle reading sci-fi (I tend to prefer experiencing sci-fi in visual format), but I had very little trouble reading this. A lot of the time, it felt like I was watching or living it, and I think that makes a difference for me.

This is a fairly well-known book, written by a fairly well-known author, but I'll briefly tell you what it's about anyway. This follows our main protagonist Ryland Grace who wakes up on a space ship in another star system with no memory of who he is or what he's doing. The book is told in two timelines, the current one aboard the Hail Mary, and a past timeline of the events leading up to how he got aboard the Hail Mary and why - it all has to do with saving the sun and in turn the planet. And all kinds of interesting things happen along the way.

As with most books I read, there were parts I really enjoyed and parts I enjoyed less.

The writing, while engaging and immersive, and generally well paced, irritated me at times, for no other reason than the words he chose and at times the dialogue.

The setting/world was well done and seemed well researched. I loved learning about the different planets and species that were being discovered.

The plot was interesting and was the fuel for the story, but it wasn't the main focus the majority of the time. Yes, saving the planet was important and all of their findings and actions directly related to saving the planets, but at it's core it was more about the characters.

Which brings me to the characters. Ryland was an interesting character and I found him relatable and fun to read about. I adored Rocky, who I'm not going to tell you much about, but he's the best and I lived and breathed for his and Ryland's interactions. Stratt was irritating. I liked her at first, but she got old really fast because she felt like she had one personality trait. The other characters were also interesting, the short time we spent with them, but nothing too special overall.

All in all, an enjoyable and fun read. This was my first Weir book, but I don't think it'll be my last.

Content Warnings

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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sabrinainbookland's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious 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

4.75

OMG. THIS WAS SO GOOD.

This is the best book of the year that I have read so far in 2022.

Loved the plot, characters, the FRIENDSHIP!! and of course the writing.

This book was a delight to read. So many funny moments and some very sad.

Loved the concept of this book and the execution was perfect.

Recommend to everyone who likes science fiction, humor, space, aliens in their book.

This was so good!!

Content Warnings

jackelz's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional informative

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

I read The Martian back in 2019 to satisfy a reading challenge prompt — science fiction. I don’t read a ton of sci fi unless it’s a graphic novel, which is weird because I love science, and I’ve enjoyed the ones I’ve read. I picked up Project Hail Mary because it was the Pooches and Pages Book Club pick for January, and I’m glad I did. The chunky size of this novel was intimidating, but I made tabs to motivate me to finish in time. I’m happy to report that I finished early because there were nights that I couldn’t put it down.

I loved the alternating timelines as Dr. Grace gained some of his memories back. I can’t say that the “twist” shocked me, because we got to know Stratt really well in the flashbacks. As the flashbacks got less frequent, I really enjoyed how Dr. Grace occupied his time on the ship and stayed relatively positive the whole time. My favorite, though, was his new found friend Rocky and I didn’t want to see them go their separate ways. I didn’t see that ending coming but it put a huge smile on my face!

Content Warnings

mar's review against another edition

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adventurous funny tense medium-paced

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

4.25

fun :) but also reading a whole paragraph in this 2021 book where the author desperately tries to justify using "he" pronouns for the genderless alien as default was so funny. buddy you're gonna lose it when i tell you about singular they

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skai's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

5.0

This is a brilliant book, in my humble opinion. Not only are the characters well crafted, they are also ones you start to care about. This is definitely a plot driven book, but the characters are what stands out. Some of the scenes had me close to tears because I cared about the characters deeply enough. Just... really well done.

Content Warnings

adaora_ble's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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

5.0

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