A review by genny
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

adventurous emotional funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I went into this expecting the same level of nerdiness that I enjoyed in The Martian, and I got it. What I didn't expect was for this to turn into a buddy adventure of sorts! It's difficult to talk about this character without spoiling a major plot point, but let me just say that I would die for Rocky. Grace was a pure cinnamon roll of a protagonist and I loved him as well. The kind of info he spouts off the top of his head is...moderately believable? The biology stuff is simple enough, but the constants for various calculations and other specific tidbits...I don't know. He is a teacher and a published researcher, so I guess that excuses it, haha. The moments that struck me the most were the conversations between him and Stratt about the large-scale impact of a mass extinction threat, as well his own musings on mortality. These heavier themes were balanced well within a fun space romp. The very last part of the epilogue made my heart clench.

The audiobook was wonderfully narrated! I have to admit that I zoned out during some of the math monologues (damningly easy to do when I'm listening instead of reading), and I felt that Weir sometimes over-explained things for the sake of "teaching" the reader...but overall, I enjoyed this very much.
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