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A review by nelsonminar
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
5.0
Just devoured this book in three days, absolutely loved it. Compared to [b:Artemis|34928122|Artemis|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1494273579l/34928122._SY75_.jpg|56402016] this book is much more like [b:The Martian|18007564|The Martian|Andy Weir|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564._SY75_.jpg|21825181], a two fisted tale of a man's survival using science and engineering against the odds. Both Hail Mary and The Martian to me read like a throwback to Boy's Life, or those survival-against-nature stories Reader's Digest used to publish. It's kind of a retro genre, and definitely out of step with the contemporary focus on thoughtful social writing from diverse perspectives. It's also for me a really fun kind of book to read full of page turning excitement and excellent fantasy. And that's OK too!
At first I thought this book was basically going to be The Martian 2. But it solves that story's problem by getting significantly more interesting, complicated, and varied as the narrative goes on. No spoilers but suffice to say the problems our hero has to Science and Engineer his way out of are numerous and varied in their problems. Also there's enough relationships and emotions to give our main character some real shape and meaning, not just be some two dimensional Macgyver expert. It all comes together remarkably well, great read.
At first I thought this book was basically going to be The Martian 2. But it solves that story's problem by getting significantly more interesting, complicated, and varied as the narrative goes on. No spoilers but suffice to say the problems our hero has to Science and Engineer his way out of are numerous and varied in their problems. Also there's enough relationships and emotions to give our main character some real shape and meaning, not just be some two dimensional Macgyver expert. It all comes together remarkably well, great read.