A man wakes up in a sterile room with questions asked by a feminine voice; his mouth can’t move, his eyes feel lazy, and he can’t move anything. As his eyes woke up, the questions were asked by a robot, and the other people in this room were dead. He can’t remember anything, not even his own name, but he soon finds out that he’s part of this mission to save humanity called “Project Hail Mary.”
“Project Hail Mary,” written by Andy Weir, the author of “The Martian,” is undoubtedly a great read, being a 4 out of 5 stars in my opinion for its interesting plot, relatable characters, and realistic world-building.
The plot revolves around these microorganisms called “Astrophage,” an interstellar organism that traveled from the Tau Ceti system, eating up the Sun’s energy as food. The Sun’s brightness decreases, causing a last-ditch effort from humanity to save the world.
However, the only one who survives the trip, Dr. Ryland Grace, can’t even remember his own name.
Making friends with an unlikely ally, information from his Earth experiences returns gradually as he tries to figure out a solution for this invasive species affecting both his world and another.
It’s this alien relationship that serves as a primary highlight for the book. Throughout their many scenes together, you feel the comedy and heartbreak between Grace and “Rocky”, his unlikely ally. One of my favorite scenes altogether comes from when Grace and Rocky try to understand each other, one with their clocks, showcasing the brilliance of Weir’s worldbuilding.
Despite being restricted to realistic logic, the story feels so magical when compared to many other science fiction books. Specifically, his “alien-building” is so realistic despite us never seeing one. The characteristics of Rocky’s home planet, “Threeworld,” cause the alien to look so different from us humans, yet similar in personality. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for human characters.
The people from Earth range from shallow personalities to borderline unrealistic. A major aspect of this is the major character Eva Stratt, the leader of the “Petrova Taskforce.” Outside of one short pushback, she gains favors from many without any sort of opposition or defiance.
This is a problem because it feels as if the stakes get resolved easily. It should feel like a struggle to get the world united instead of this quick, unrealistic resolve into conflicts. Fortunately, past this hurdle, this is still a top book in many metrics.
“Project Hail Mary” is an absolute blast to read for those looking into their first foray into the “Hard Science Fiction” genre, sci-fi restricted to realistic logic. Its grandiose worldbuilding and characterizations of the main characters excel throughout this entire book.
As the film adaptation of “Project Hail Mary” starring Ryan Gosling is set to release everywhere in cinemas on March 19, I anticipate it being faithful to the book while also improving on the story itself. Hearing from early reviews, it seems as if it can live up to the book itself.
