Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Book Review

Andy Weir outdid himself on this one. This interstellar adventure story is unlike anything I’ve ever read. 🤯

Huge shoutout to NetGalley and Random House for allowing me the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this highly anticipated sci-fi novel, which is set to release on May 4th.

You may recognize Andy Weir as the author of the highly successful book, The Martian, which he self-published and then was later picked up by a mainstream publisher and adapted into the Matt Damon movie with the same name. Full disclosure, I did not read The Martian, but I absolutely loved the movie. Due to my love of The Martian and my burgeoning interest in sci-fi literature, I had high hopes for this book and it did not disappoint.

Project Hail Mary begins with Dr. Ryland Grace waking up on a spaceship with amnesia and two dead crew mates. While he struggles to recall his identity, Dr. Grace is flooded with memories - through a series of flashbacks - that inform him (and the reader) of how and why he ended up in outer space on a mission to save earth. As Dr. Grace attempts to save humanity from extinction by using science to solve a problem of apocalyptic proportions, he finds an unlikely companion… one that might just help him save a planet (or two).

I absolutely loved this book - all the unique twists and turns made it impossible to guess what would happen next and the ending was truly to die-for. However, despite the fantastic storyline, this book will not appeal to all readers, as it does include a HUGE amount of science. If you’ve read any of Weir’s previous books, I’m sure this will come as no surprise, but for first-timers (like myself), the sheer amount of scientific discussion will likely prove challenging. Nevertheless, if you’re a fan of sci-fi adventure stories and you can accept the fact that you won’t understand the majority of the science discussed in the book, you should definitely pick this one up.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

Also, some exciting news I discovered while trying to google if Weir is a straight-up scientific genius or just incredible at writing fiction (jury is still out)… MGM is already adapting the book into a film with Ryan Gosling set to star. 😍