You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
liukis 's review for:
Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Project Hail Mary has a very well knitted plot, unveiled at a very smooth pace. The two timelines revealing how everything got started, and what is going on, are both interesting and well paced. When I started reading the book, I thought the emotional input was going to be the fate of Earth and humanity, but it turned out to come from a much more personal source. The front of the book describes it as a story about "redemption, discovery, and cool speculative Sci-Fi". That summarises it pretty perfectly, I would just add "friendship" in the list.
This is a heavy book, written lightly. It doesn't dwell in the immense desperation of the circumstance, nor the negative emotions bound to flare up due to what happens in the course of the book. But it doesn't deny them either. These things don't enter Ryland Grace's internal monologue when he's doing things that matter, as there are more important things at hand. Like scientific competence and task prioritisation. And what is prioritized to be written about is the times when something interesting is happening. What does enter his internal monologue, however, feels very real to me. Maybe because it reminds me specifically of a couple science-minded, curious, and enthusiastic people who would definitely do back-of-the-hand maths to figure out exact answers to approximate questions, and who I'm happy to have in my life. Ryland Grace is a protagonist written with a voice I believe to be a real person.
The one fault I see in the book is the characterisation of the other scientists. It is a little caricaturish, and perhaps at times unnecessary.DuBois and Shapiro's socially unaware oversharing and the beetle engineer's strangeness came across as a little too un-humanlike behaviour, specifically. On the other hand, tidbits about Stratt's reasoning and background, as well as Leclercs breakdown have very human moments for the two of them... However, the characterisation of the friendship between Rocky and Grace was quite the opposite of a caricature. They may have gotten a little snarky at one another towards the end, but it was heart-wrenching to end a chapter thinking Rocky was dead. Twice! And it was also heart-wrenching to read their goodbyes.
I laughed, and I almost cried when reading. And I found the meticulous problem solving extremely satisfying. This book made me think, and it made me feel, and that means it transcend beyond the reach of the objective. It affected me more than any (new) book has in years, and while I'm happy to discuss the faults in the space science that those friends that the main character reminds me of are bound to point out to me once I convince them to read this, and while I can freely admit the faults in characterising the background people, this goes into the rare category of my most treasured reading experiences.
This is a heavy book, written lightly. It doesn't dwell in the immense desperation of the circumstance, nor the negative emotions bound to flare up due to what happens in the course of the book. But it doesn't deny them either. These things don't enter Ryland Grace's internal monologue when he's doing things that matter, as there are more important things at hand. Like scientific competence and task prioritisation. And what is prioritized to be written about is the times when something interesting is happening. What does enter his internal monologue, however, feels very real to me. Maybe because it reminds me specifically of a couple science-minded, curious, and enthusiastic people who would definitely do back-of-the-hand maths to figure out exact answers to approximate questions, and who I'm happy to have in my life. Ryland Grace is a protagonist written with a voice I believe to be a real person.
The one fault I see in the book is the characterisation of the other scientists. It is a little caricaturish, and perhaps at times unnecessary.
I laughed, and I almost cried when reading. And I found the meticulous problem solving extremely satisfying. This book made me think, and it made me feel, and that means it transcend beyond the reach of the objective. It affected me more than any (new) book has in years, and while I'm happy to discuss the faults in the space science that those friends that the main character reminds me of are bound to point out to me once I convince them to read this, and while I can freely admit the faults in characterising the background people, this goes into the rare category of my most treasured reading experiences.