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A review by irenevh
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
My journey with Project Hail Mary started a long time ago. After reading the Martian I was interested in reading more by Andy Weir, but as someone suffering from Claustrophobia the prompt of someone waking up alone in a spaceship set off a lot of alarmbells. A friend of mine however loved the book and at some point decided to lend it to me. So after over at least a year of pushing it off and him telling me how much he loved it, I finally read this book.
Did I feel claustrophobic while reading this? No.
Do I like it as much as I loved the Martian? Also, no.
Still there is a lot of good stuff in this book. Andy Weird has a way of making mundane science stuff seem exciting, which is a great skill for a science fiction writer.
The premise of the book seems, as usual in his books, not impossible and the reactions and actions seem plausible enough. So the set up and the writing overall is well done.
Ryland Grace, our main character is easy to like, though at times coming off very close to being a Mark Watney copy/knock off.
I think where this book fall short for me comes down to 3 points:
1) I am not entirely on board with the ending. Not a bad one just not what I had hoped
2) There are a few plotholes in this story that had me feeling like the people in this story were dumb
3) There is one decision made by a character that rubbed me the wrong way, and I feel the book doesn't deal with it enough throughout the story.
Does this ruin the book? No. Because Andy Weird is a good writer, his characters are well written, the premise is interesting and he makes science seem fun and exciting in a way I am sure most high school teachers would be jealous of. But if I ever want to re-read a good sci fi novel I am way more likely to reach for The Martian, than I will be for this one.
Did I feel claustrophobic while reading this? No.
Do I like it as much as I loved the Martian? Also, no.
Still there is a lot of good stuff in this book. Andy Weird has a way of making mundane science stuff seem exciting, which is a great skill for a science fiction writer.
The premise of the book seems, as usual in his books, not impossible and the reactions and actions seem plausible enough. So the set up and the writing overall is well done.
Ryland Grace, our main character is easy to like, though at times coming off very close to being a Mark Watney copy/knock off.
I think where this book fall short for me comes down to 3 points:
1) I am not entirely on board with the ending. Not a bad one just not what I had hoped
2) There are a few plotholes in this story that had me feeling like the people in this story were dumb
3) There is one decision made by a character that rubbed me the wrong way, and I feel the book doesn't deal with it enough throughout the story.
Does this ruin the book? No. Because Andy Weird is a good writer, his characters are well written, the premise is interesting and he makes science seem fun and exciting in a way I am sure most high school teachers would be jealous of. But if I ever want to re-read a good sci fi novel I am way more likely to reach for The Martian, than I will be for this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement