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A review by sipping_tea_with_ghosts
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
3.0
The short justification for this rating: The most ambitious Weir novel so far, but his style and ideas don't translate well to an almost 500 page epic. The good is still here though - the character, humor and lofty ideas to ponder shine through.
I wanted to like this much more than I did, because it is a neat premise and overall a good story with only a few damning flaws in my opinion. This might just not click with me however because I'm not a science geek, and a lot of the text within read over as fluff to my physics-illiterate brain. Where I will defend myself in this aspect though is the overabundance of these descriptive sequences. In many chapters, it feels as dry as an instruction manual. This style was present in The Martian and Artemis as well, but it feels much more intrusive in this novel due to the circumstances of the main character. We get flashes back and forth between what happened on Earth before the titular Project Hail Mary and the present day predicament, just like how The Martian was structured, but the main plot feels much slower without dialogue and the increased indulgence in technobabble, which became skim worthy as time went on. It does get much more interesting at around the halfway point, but the status quo returns with a bell and whistle now present.
I also believe this got exasperated for me because this book lacks world building for the most part, hardly even giving descriptions of planets and the intricacies of the ship that drives the plot past the prologue. I don't mind if a book slows down for stuff like that, but again, that's a me problem.
The ending for me didn't click at all. Felt like a kick in the face with how much it leaves uncertain, throwing its hands up in the air and saying "Who knows what happened to _____? Hehe, oh well!" I closed the book with a glare.
If you liked The Martian but want it to be a bit more high concept and out there as apocalyptic stories go, Weir will satisfy. I just didn't like it as much as I wanted, finding his old habits contributing to a glacial pace in my eyes. I'll still look forward to his next release.
I wanted to like this much more than I did, because it is a neat premise and overall a good story with only a few damning flaws in my opinion. This might just not click with me however because I'm not a science geek, and a lot of the text within read over as fluff to my physics-illiterate brain. Where I will defend myself in this aspect though is the overabundance of these descriptive sequences. In many chapters, it feels as dry as an instruction manual. This style was present in The Martian and Artemis as well, but it feels much more intrusive in this novel due to the circumstances of the main character. We get flashes back and forth between what happened on Earth before the titular Project Hail Mary and the present day predicament, just like how The Martian was structured, but the main plot feels much slower without dialogue and the increased indulgence in technobabble, which became skim worthy as time went on. It does get much more interesting at around the halfway point, but the status quo returns with a bell and whistle now present.
I also believe this got exasperated for me because this book lacks world building for the most part, hardly even giving descriptions of planets and the intricacies of the ship that drives the plot past the prologue. I don't mind if a book slows down for stuff like that, but again, that's a me problem.
The ending for me didn't click at all. Felt like a kick in the face with how much it leaves uncertain, throwing its hands up in the air and saying "Who knows what happened to _____? Hehe, oh well!"
Spoiler
Rushing the tough thoughts and possibilities aside for a contrived happy ending. And as someone who found the buildup to Project Hail Mary more interesting than the relationship between Grace and Rocky,If you liked The Martian but want it to be a bit more high concept and out there as apocalyptic stories go, Weir will satisfy. I just didn't like it as much as I wanted, finding his old habits contributing to a glacial pace in my eyes. I'll still look forward to his next release.