This book is one that is typically out of my comfort zone so I am shocked at how fast I finished this. I literally devoured this book in one sitting, no joke. I remember seeing the popularity of this book over the past few years but was truly never drawn to it so I am thankful a movie is coming out as I knew my husband will want to watch it but I couldn’t go until I had read the book, or at least tried to.
“Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.”
Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
About The Book
Author: Andy Weir
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Published Date: May 4th, 2021
Page Count: 476 Pages
Main Genre: Science FIction
GoodReads Rating: 4.50
Format: Audio Book
“Usually you not stupid. Why stupid, question?”
Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
Synopsis
A LONE ASTRONAUT.
AN IMPOSSIBLE MISSION.
AN ALLY HE NEVER IMAGINED.
RYLAND GRACE is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and Earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it’s up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery—and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he’s got to do it all alone.
Or does he?
An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could imagine it, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
Synopsis From GoodReads
“Once again I’m struck by melancholy. I want to spend the rest of my life studying Eridian biology! But I have to save humanity first. Stupid humanity. Getting in the way of my hobbies.”
Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
Rating
Review
To start this review I would like to tell you that the audio book is fantastic and I would highly recommend reading this book via that format. I have heard that the Audible version is the preferred Audio book platform for this book though so keep that in mind.
* Mild spoilers may be ahead *
As this audio book started playing I wasn’t convinced that this book was for me. I struggled to connect to our main character for the first chapter or two. But as the book progressed and we got a peak into his background I quickly fell in love with the story. Our main character was unreliable because frankly he couldn’t remember a single thing. I thought this was a really interesting way to discover who this man was and his motives for being in this situation he has found himself in.
Rocky was my favorite addition to this book. Him being added made this story really touch my heart and at times made me shed some tears. The relationship built between these two characters was really touching and I loved the way that it built over time. The fact that they learned how to communicate with one another was not only impressive but built by a desperation for the need of survival.
Just the fact that this man got to be the first person to ever confirm alien life and then grow a relationship with said life made me so giddy! I really adored how excited both parties were to get to know about one another and their cultures. I could read an entire second book if one was published just based on the ending of the story that we got.
I was honestly shocked at how quickly I fell in love with this story and how connected I felt to the characters by the end. The ending made me cry uncontrollably and I am actually very happy for that. I couldn’t imagine this book ending any other way than how it did. The last sentence alone was *chef’s Kiss*.
I think if I would have read this physically I probably would have DNF’d the book due to all the sciencey talk that is like a foreign language to me. The Audio book production made all that talk sound interesting and actually convinced me I might have a slight understanding as to what is happening.
I can not wait for the movie to come out. I have high hopes so it better be as good as I am thinking or else I might be crushed!
“Well, you’re not alone anymore, buddy,” I say. “Neither of us are.”
Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
QOTD: Would you ever want to visit space?
World of Bai 