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A review by liviajelliot
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
An incredible, original hard sci-fi that is both fun and scientifically entertaining, with compelling and endearing characters, and an incredible audiobook narration.
This book follows Ryland Grace as he awakens in the Hail Mary, amnesiac, and on a suicide mission to save earth. Therefore, it is narrated in first person from Grace's perspective... and all his humor, sarcasm, and unfiltered thoughts get passed through the narrator. This gives the book quite a realistic view, since Grace is not always pitch-perfect, and has all the messy, always-changing attitudes of a scientists.
Something to note is that this book is hard sci-fi. There is a lot of science going on, and it literally enables the plot. However, Weir managed to explain it in a very entertaining way that is fun, down-to-earth, and easy to follow. There is no jargon (if that worries you) but the concepts are, ultimately, fundamental to the plot.
If you want to dip your toes into hard sci-fi and have an enjoyable experience—this is the book to get. Especially if you like humour.
What follows below are my thoughts on one of the key points of the book, but given it is somewhat a revelation, I will keep all of that under spoilers.
When I started, I was so not expecting to find Rocky—an alien Ryland encounters in his mission in outer space. Rocky is, by far, the best alien character that I have read in sci-fi, and it reminded me a lot of Babel in the sense that aliens are actually aliens and not "humans in a costume". What do I mean by this?
Rocky is neither anthropomorphised nor based on an animal; granted, he's described as a "spidery" but that's Grace's approximation to visually Rocky. It does not mean anything about Rocky's culture... and that's the best part! In sci-fi, it's generally either: (a) aliens are super advanced, or (b) they are predator-like, or (c) they're indigenous-like. This is neither, and it's a refreshing take—which is exactly what reminded me of Babel-17.
Through the book we see the cultural exchange, the mutual scientific interest between species, their philosophical-scientific banter about their similarities and differences... and it's both endearing (it's one of the best friendship dynamics I have read in sci-fi) and also sensible and sound.
The entire scene of how they figure out language, and how both Grace and Rocky had that innate curiosity of scientists and people making a first contact... and it's not the traditional first contact either (there is a joke about Vulkans within the book). That originality was what I loved the most—nevermind that everything about Rocky seems technically feasible as well, and also well explained.
This book follows Ryland Grace as he awakens in the Hail Mary, amnesiac, and on a suicide mission to save earth. Therefore, it is narrated in first person from Grace's perspective... and all his humor, sarcasm, and unfiltered thoughts get passed through the narrator. This gives the book quite a realistic view, since Grace is not always pitch-perfect, and has all the messy, always-changing attitudes of a scientists.
Something to note is that this book is hard sci-fi. There is a lot of science going on, and it literally enables the plot. However, Weir managed to explain it in a very entertaining way that is fun, down-to-earth, and easy to follow. There is no jargon (if that worries you) but the concepts are, ultimately, fundamental to the plot.
If you want to dip your toes into hard sci-fi and have an enjoyable experience—this is the book to get. Especially if you like humour.
What follows below are my thoughts on one of the key points of the book, but given it is somewhat a revelation, I will keep all of that under spoilers.
Rocky is neither anthropomorphised nor based on an animal; granted, he's described as a "spidery" but that's Grace's approximation to visually Rocky. It does not mean anything about Rocky's culture... and that's the best part! In sci-fi, it's generally either: (a) aliens are super advanced, or (b) they are predator-like, or (c) they're indigenous-like. This is neither, and it's a refreshing take—which is exactly what reminded me of Babel-17.
Through the book we see the cultural exchange, the mutual scientific interest between species, their philosophical-scientific banter about their similarities and differences... and it's both endearing (it's one of the best friendship dynamics I have read in sci-fi) and also sensible and sound.
The entire scene of how they figure out language, and how both Grace and Rocky had that innate curiosity of scientists and people making a first contact... and it's not the traditional first contact either (there is a joke about Vulkans within the book). That originality was what I loved the most—nevermind that everything about Rocky seems technically feasible as well, and also well explained.