Reviews with content warning for Suicide - Project Hail Mary

After finishing Project Hail Mary, I can confidently say: man, I love Andy Weir.

I've been waiting (not so) patiently for this book ever since it was announced and then struggled to get it at my local bookshops so it took me a while to get around to reading it. The wait was 100% worth it.

I like beginning with things that irk me, so I'll start with exactly that (although I can't say there was much that really irked me and instead some things that struck me as odd):

I was taken aback by how much more this book felt like fantasy science-fiction instead of the solid sci-fi I was used to from Weir's other works. When I read the blurb I expected Ryland to receive help from AI or something similar. I was not expecting an honest to god alien and it took me a moment to get used to the idea.
I had a hard time connecting to Ryland's emotions sometimes. I like to believe that it's a by-product of Ryland himself not really being able to connect to his own emotions but it sometimes took me out of the story nevertheless. His grief over losing his two crew members felt less real than I would have liked, especially at the later stages where his memories are already returning.

But onto the things I enjoyed - and man, there is a lot:

What has always drawn me to Andy Weir's writing is his ability to write authentic protagonists (because even though I didn't really like Artemis' Jazz all that much, she still was a compelling main character to follow!). Following Ryland on his journey has definitely made me appreciate that certain writing skill even more. Our hero isn't superhuman. He doesn't believe himself to be the smartest person, he isn't the chosen one. He's - as Stratt puts it - "a coward [who] avoid[s] risk like the plague" which has to be the most relatable thing I've ever read. He wasn't the first choice and he didn't even want to go. Just from those facts, Ryland should have been a pretty unlikable character to root for. But there's a simple reason to why I did like him, why I rooted for him from approximately page 10
and why his eventual sacrifice made me tear up on the train:
: he's painfully, honestly human. In my opinion Ryland (like Mark in The Martian) captures the best and worst parts of the human experiences: our optimism, our drive to innovation, our love of learning but also our cowardice, our selfishness, our limited world-view. It makes it so much easier to relate to him despite the fact that none of us will ever be in his situation.
And it's not just Ryland. I could write an entire chapter about Stratt and why she works as well for her role as she does. All the other characters felt fleshed-out and real, no matter how small their part.
The science!!! I'm not very good at science and most of the time I had to re-read the passages about one complicated biological process or the other until I thought I had grasped it, but Weir has the very unique ability to make science quite accessible for a non-expert audience, which in my opinion is pretty impressive. I loved experiencing Ryland's excitement over his experiments, I was awed by the things that worked out and frustrated if they didn't. It felt like watching Mark plant his potatoes and make water for the first time, all over again, and I loved every moment of it.
Rocky.
That's it. That's the paragraph.
(But in all seriousness, what a refreshing take on extra-terrestial life! I love Star Trek, I love Star Wars, I love anything science-fiction and alien and first contact, but this was the first time that I thought "man okay that's something I think could actually maybe happen!" and it was amazing)
Rocky's language. What a genius idea to have him communicate in music. My little linguist-musician brain was going brrrrr the entire time while reading.
The ending. I'm sure other people have their own thoughts on the ending of this book but for me it was the perfect conclusion to Ryland's story. What better way to drive home the essence of his character (that I think he himself never really understood either) than have him realise he could go home with relative ease, return and be hailed a hero, but instead give it all up for his new best friend and his species? I loved it. I loved his and Rocky's reunion. I loved every word of it and it made me cry on a train.

All in all, this book was a wonderful love letter to the optimism of the human race - just like The Martian, but different still. I think it'll live on my shelf as one of my favourite reads for a long time.

Also, justice for high school teachers. They really are the true heroes of today's society.

Content Warnings

sopbee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Content Warnings

kumaio's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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

4.0

Content Warnings

marippe's review against another edition

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4.5

I thought this was a fun read. The relationship developed between Ryland and Rocky was really sweet, and I came to really like Rocky (even though he's described looking like a spider...)
Even though the book is very scientific and has a lot of the jargon that I don't really understand, I wasn't too lost. I think that goes down to Weir's ability to simplify it.

I really liked Stratt- everything she does feels consistent in her character.

Content Warnings