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A review by joyride
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
2.25
The good As someone who grew up with the Martian Chronicles and got into sci-fi in recent years through the Alien franchise, it's safe to say that I've always thought of intelligent life in space = trouble. So the entire process of Grace learning how to communicate with Rocky was really nice. They connected well, it was a well-written process, and having the two of them learn that they weren't so different was very touching.
I really liked Rocky until the end. He was a great companion to Grace and overall a really likable guy.
I don't know how polarizing this opinion is, but I liked the science! The details are what makes things like mystery novels fun, collecting all the needed info and walking the reader through the character's thought process to lead to a satisfying conclusion. It wasn't plodding or off-putting, personally.
It had a nice amount of humor in it.
The people who worked on the sound design for the audiobook did a great job. The sound effects they used for Rocky was a simple, effective and enjoyable way of communicating his language to listeners.
The bad Grace is not a good narrator. I did not like his voice nor personality. Stuck with a man who says things like "oh, fudge!" and "my buddy!" for 400 pages is exasperating. And not only was it annoying, but it felt stilted. It felt like an act. Maybe it was because I heard it through audio, but I also can't imagine reading that in print and feeling immersed. I understand he is a middle school teacher, but ????? do you think teachers talk like that in their daily lives. He talked like a cartoon character.
Neither is Grace a likable character. I can understand his cowardice- how many of us would march bravely into a suicide mission?- but wow, I just didn't like him at all by the ending. His manner towards Rocky is paternalistic and demanding.
The pacing was inconsistent. Sometimes we are guided through painstakingly detail of something inconsequential - leading me to think it was important - while crucial scenes are skipped over clumsily.
The extreme focus on individuals was off-putting. Again, you can tell Weir is a certain type of person. There is very little valuing of collective action, community or just...acknowledging and valuing the fact that more than like, 4 people made the Project viable.
It grates me that this book is so...PG. Like a middle-grade book and not one for adults. It feels so washed of anything complicated, confusing, gross or crass that it feels like it wasn't written by an adult.
The ugly In Andy Weir's wildest imaginations, the galaxy's most special-est boy and savior is a cishet white American man. No more comment needed.
Why did he have to bring in East Asian and Russian caricatures into this? The noble and quiet Chinese man, drunk and 'crazy' Russians. Not to mention the only Black character is barely emotive and completely dedicated to the task at hand (the white supremacist idealization and fetishization of calmness, stoicism.........)
All throughout the novel, the aliens are written as subservient and below Earth people. They are less advanced in tech, Rocky himself venerates Grace's computers and does what the man tells him to (never says no) and barely has autonomy, the characters themselves directly say this over and over, etc. There is very little curiosity on Grace or the book's part about Erid other than the ways it is hostile to human life. Even when we are IN ERID, Grace comments on things like what they do for him. the ways they serve him. the way they admire, protect, discuss and uplift him. We don't get information about Eridians, just that they serve his whims and he's trying to be nice about it. Another instance of Weir's imagination being extremely limited, and actively damaging anything creative he could do with the Eridians. Not to mention the strange colonialist echoes this thread carries.
The ending was shit and lame
Conclusion I tried really hard while reading this book to not focus so much on the negatives. I enjoyed it quite a bit. But more and more problems cropped up as I kept going that I couldn't ignore. And by the end, it had soured for me quite a bit. I doubt I'll touch Weir after this.
I really liked Rocky until the end. He was a great companion to Grace and overall a really likable guy.
I don't know how polarizing this opinion is, but I liked the science! The details are what makes things like mystery novels fun, collecting all the needed info and walking the reader through the character's thought process to lead to a satisfying conclusion. It wasn't plodding or off-putting, personally.
It had a nice amount of humor in it.
The people who worked on the sound design for the audiobook did a great job. The sound effects they used for Rocky was a simple, effective and enjoyable way of communicating his language to listeners.
The bad Grace is not a good narrator. I did not like his voice nor personality. Stuck with a man who says things like "oh, fudge!" and "my buddy!" for 400 pages is exasperating. And not only was it annoying, but it felt stilted. It felt like an act. Maybe it was because I heard it through audio, but I also can't imagine reading that in print and feeling immersed. I understand he is a middle school teacher, but ????? do you think teachers talk like that in their daily lives. He talked like a cartoon character.
Neither is Grace a likable character. I can understand his cowardice- how many of us would march bravely into a suicide mission?- but wow, I just didn't like him at all by the ending. His manner towards Rocky is paternalistic and demanding.
The pacing was inconsistent. Sometimes we are guided through painstakingly detail of something inconsequential - leading me to think it was important - while crucial scenes are skipped over clumsily.
The extreme focus on individuals was off-putting. Again, you can tell Weir is a certain type of person. There is very little valuing of collective action, community or just...acknowledging and valuing the fact that more than like, 4 people made the Project viable.
It grates me that this book is so...PG. Like a middle-grade book and not one for adults. It feels so washed of anything complicated, confusing, gross or crass that it feels like it wasn't written by an adult.
The ugly In Andy Weir's wildest imaginations, the galaxy's most special-est boy and savior is a cishet white American man. No more comment needed.
Why did he have to bring in East Asian and Russian caricatures into this? The noble and quiet Chinese man, drunk and 'crazy' Russians. Not to mention the only Black character is barely emotive and completely dedicated to the task at hand (the white supremacist idealization and fetishization of calmness, stoicism.........)
All throughout the novel, the aliens are written as subservient and below Earth people. They are less advanced in tech, Rocky himself venerates Grace's computers and does what the man tells him to (never says no) and barely has autonomy, the characters themselves directly say this over and over, etc. There is very little curiosity on Grace or the book's part about Erid other than the ways it is hostile to human life. Even when we are IN ERID, Grace comments on things like what they do for him. the ways they serve him. the way they admire, protect, discuss and uplift him. We don't get information about Eridians, just that they serve his whims and he's trying to be nice about it. Another instance of Weir's imagination being extremely limited, and actively damaging anything creative he could do with the Eridians. Not to mention the strange colonialist echoes this thread carries.
The ending was shit and lame
Conclusion I tried really hard while reading this book to not focus so much on the negatives. I enjoyed it quite a bit. But more and more problems cropped up as I kept going that I couldn't ignore. And by the end, it had soured for me quite a bit. I doubt I'll touch Weir after this.