Reviewing "Project Hail Mary"


 

No spoilers are included in this review


Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is a science fiction novel about the end of the world, and the only way to stop the inevitable doom. The book starts when the main character, Ryland Grace, wakes up from a coma with two dead people at his side, having no idea where he is and what he needs to do. He slowly remembers what his role is. He is in a solar system far away from ours. He is there to try to solve a crisis going on on Earth, global cooling. This is destroying crops and causing global problems. As time moves on, he starts to remember more and more about who he is and what he is doing in a solar system far away from ours. Back on Earth the global cooling is being caused by microbes that are stretching in a line from the sun to Venus. There are so many of the microbes that they are taking a significant amount of energy away from the Sun to make the Earth get colder. Ryland is going to the other solar system because scientists believe that this solar system holds the origin of the microbes, and that possibly there would be natural predators to these microbes. When Ryland arrives at the solar system, he notices something very strange, what looks like him to be a spacecraft similar to his which is emitting the same kind of energy that he does when the engines are on. Ryland decides to navigate closer to the energy signature and finds a living being on that. Also on that spacecraft everyone but him died on the trip to the solar system. He is there for the same reason as Ryland is and over time they start to work together and both become essential to each other. After meeting, they go to the planet that they both suspect to be the planet that holds the answer. There, they fly by it extremely close and dip an atmospheric sampling apparatus into the atmosphere to try to catch anything that would destroy the microbes. After some tests, they soon find exactly what they want. There is bacteria in the atmosphere that kills the microbes. The other living being and Ryland part ways to return to their solar system. Ryland plans to keep an eye on the other beings' space craft to make sure it makes it home safely. While he is doing this, disaster strikes, Ryland loses sight of the other beings spacecraft's energy signal. What will he choose to do now?


I highly recommend this book, and is potentially the best book I have ever read in my entire life. Project Hail Mary is written incredibly well and it is full of exciting moments and cliffhangers, while also including mounds of technical detail.


-Lucas B.

Comments

  1. MateoMarch 25, 2024 at 4:41 PM

    Hey Lucas Braun! I actually was considering reading this book but decided to read another sci-fi classic called 'Dune'. The reason I chose against 'Project Hail Mary' is because many critiques claimed that Weir essentially re-created his hit novel 'The Martian' into another book, and that the characters/Watney are still present in the story but re-named. Do you have any thoughts on this? Which book is better? Are these each unique stories? Or did Weir try to re-create his original novel with a new name? Anyways, great review. I will probably check this book out!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Lucas BraunApril 12, 2024 at 9:27 AM

      Hi Mateo, there are some similarities to the book "The Martian," with them both being sci fi and space related, but in my opinion this was a whole new story and definitely worth checking out.

      Delete
  2. LindenApril 2, 2024 at 1:44 PM

    Hi Lucas, I have also read and reviewed this book and agree very much with your thoughts. Rocky is genuinely one of my favorite characters in the books that I've read. Great review!

    ReplyDelete
  3. WillApril 9, 2024 at 9:23 AM

    This review makes me really want to read this book, great review. I'll have to look into this book at some point.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AnthonyApril 11, 2024 at 3:53 PM

    Hello Lucas Braun, great blog! This made me realize that I haven't read any sci-fi books for a long time now (maybe a couple years?). I might read this, Dune, or The Martian next, or maybe all three :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. Yuto InoueApril 12, 2024 at 5:24 AM

    Hello Lucas. As someone who enjoyed Martian, I believe I will enjoy this book as well (unless it is a recreation of Martian as Mateo said). As I was reading this post, I was shocked about things such as Ryland waking up next to two dead people and Earth's global cooling crisis, which makes me want to read this book as well. Great post!

    ReplyDelete

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