Reviews with content warning for Fire/Fire injury - Project Hail Mary

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

athryn's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted tense fast-paced

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

3.5

This is a pretty fun and mostly lighthearted book. Weir's writing is a little annoying at first, but once things get going it's an entertaining read. I felt the end was a bit of a cop out, though.

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nickel_'s review against another edition

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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

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revengesrose's review against another edition

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adventurous funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

5.0

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sharebear431's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense fast-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? No

4.75

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hallowlm's review against another edition

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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? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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leahrosiee's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Holy shit, I feel so smart now.

Actually this is very accessible as Sci-fi and was a pretty good introduction to the genre for me! Am I immediately going to start reading more about space? Absolutely not. That was enough for a few years maybe.

It took me a while to get going but I’m so damn emotional now. It does have a happy ending ❤️

My favorite quote was an alien saying “fist me!”
Ok I digress

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