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A review by lucybbookstuff
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Welp. That's over. 💀
Not gonna lie, based on the average rating and the multitude of positive reviews I've seen, I was expecting quite a bit more from this. Or at least something a bit different.
I was not expecting such goofy narration. I was not expecting hundreds of pages of raw science. I was not expecting it to take so long and to be so bored for so much of it.
This was somehow both popcorn fiction and heavy hard sci fi. And that combination felt very weird.
That said, I liked it well enough.Rocky absolutely made this book for me. Their friendship and their banter and Rocky's cute mannerisms were a lot of fun. I enjoyed when they were figuring each other out and doing science together.
I really get why my friends who are either scientists or just science nerds loved this. The general scientific ideas are really smart and interesting, and I can see how the technicalities and the constant use of the scientific method would be so fascinating.
But unfortunately that is just not my brain. I greatly appreciate science and acknowledge the importance of the scientific method. But STEM is so far out of my wheelhouse, I didn't stand a chance of comprehending much of this book. And for someone who likes to comprehend every word when I read, that made this really tough. I had hoped to get through this book much faster than I did, but I could never do too much in one sitting. My ADHD fought the boredom too much.
I also found the main character VERY annoying. The combination of his silly goofy personality and his endless scientific calculations was often grating to read. He also had quite literally no backstory at all. As a character driven reader, that didn't do the book any favors in my estimation.My entire demeanor changed whenever Rocky came back on page, because it instantly became so much more fun. Whenever it was just Grace, I would quickly succumb to boredom and cease caring what would actually happen, as long as SOMETHING would.
I also think that, science or no science, this book used WAY too many words and BY NO MEANS had to be this long. It's almost 500 pages and it could have easily been cut by at least 150 and I, at least, would have gotten the same story out of it, with less boredom.
Damn okay... I was going to give this 3.5 stars, but I think I've talked myself into lowering it. 😅 The more I reflect, the less I enjoyed this. I'm disappointed, because I loved The Martian, and I heard endless positive reviews of this. I really thought I'd love it too. Sigh. For what it's worth, I do think I'll enjoy the movie. It seems better suited to that type of storytelling anyway.
And again, I do get why people love this. But damn, do I wish I was one of them.
Not gonna lie, based on the average rating and the multitude of positive reviews I've seen, I was expecting quite a bit more from this. Or at least something a bit different.
I was not expecting such goofy narration. I was not expecting hundreds of pages of raw science. I was not expecting it to take so long and to be so bored for so much of it.
This was somehow both popcorn fiction and heavy hard sci fi. And that combination felt very weird.
That said, I liked it well enough.
I really get why my friends who are either scientists or just science nerds loved this. The general scientific ideas are really smart and interesting, and I can see how the technicalities and the constant use of the scientific method would be so fascinating.
But unfortunately that is just not my brain. I greatly appreciate science and acknowledge the importance of the scientific method. But STEM is so far out of my wheelhouse, I didn't stand a chance of comprehending much of this book. And for someone who likes to comprehend every word when I read, that made this really tough. I had hoped to get through this book much faster than I did, but I could never do too much in one sitting. My ADHD fought the boredom too much.
I also found the main character VERY annoying. The combination of his silly goofy personality and his endless scientific calculations was often grating to read. He also had quite literally no backstory at all. As a character driven reader, that didn't do the book any favors in my estimation.
I also think that, science or no science, this book used WAY too many words and BY NO MEANS had to be this long. It's almost 500 pages and it could have easily been cut by at least 150 and I, at least, would have gotten the same story out of it, with less boredom.
Damn okay... I was going to give this 3.5 stars, but I think I've talked myself into lowering it. 😅 The more I reflect, the less I enjoyed this. I'm disappointed, because I loved The Martian, and I heard endless positive reviews of this. I really thought I'd love it too. Sigh. For what it's worth, I do think I'll enjoy the movie. It seems better suited to that type of storytelling anyway.
And again, I do get why people love this. But damn, do I wish I was one of them.