Wow--I was hooked from the first page and the science! I spent a lot of time pondering the possibilities and thinking about all of the math/science connections. As a researcher turned middle school teacher, I was personally connected to the main character. We are both lovers of science, our students, and perpetually curious. The character spoke to my inner sense of adventure. This book is a tribute to the power of questioning, discovery, innovation, and ingenuity. I was so invested in this story; I dreaded turning the last page. However, as I read the last few pages, my heart melted, and I realized these characters would forever remain in my heart. Mr. Weir, thank you for showing the world that science is COOL!

Absolutely love the voice Andy Weir gives his characters. There is only one author I trust for monologues. I can't decide if I loved this more than The Martian. But two of my favorite men from the pen are Ryland Grace and Mark Watney!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Y’all, this book was so far out of my reading comfort zone…like totally opposite of something I’d normally read. It’s sci-fi space realism with a dash of humor. I picked it up because of all the surrounding hype. Additionally, I really enjoyed “The Martian,” (movie) based on book of the same name, also by Andy Weir.

Good news: I THOROUGHLY enjoyed this book. It will definitely make my top 10 for 2021. I’m on a trip with my kids, so I was forced to read this in 5 minute increments, but I found myself aching to get back to it! Who knew space travel and tiny particles of alien life could be so interesting? Apparently millions of people because the book has rocketed to the top of all the notable best seller lists.

Weir has a way of writing about hard core space science in a way that is very easy to follow and understand. I felt impressed with myself for being smart enough to understand the inner workings of astrophysics…then realized it wasn’t me, it was Weir’s phenomenal writing! 😜

If you’re like me and weary of this genre…steam toward. This is a book worth pushing the envelope of your safe zone. I highly recommend this book to space lovers and skeptics alike. Also, anyone that enjoyed “The Martian” should also enjoy this story. Lastly, I’ve talked to several men who REALLY loved this book as a solid summer read.

P.S. My sister-in-law listened to the audio version and said it was very well done.

DESCRIPTION:
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the 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 deliver, 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.

**3/5 Stars**

Let me preface this review by saying I'm not a big fan of Andy Weir's books. I'm a social scientist who dabbles in the hard sciences, and I run a research lab. So this is where I'm coming from.

I read Artemis when it came out and I was glad that it featured a strong female lead with a diverse background, Butttt...I kept feeling like it was written by a man imagining what it would be like to be a strong female lead with a diverse background. I didn't hate it - it just felt off to me.

I don't say this to imply men cannot write great female characters - I just felt like Weir doesn't get what it is like to be in someone else's shoes. My feelings were confirmed with this book (Project Hail Mary) as well.

If I wasn't someone who researches for a living, maybe I'd feel differently. It's sort of like asking me to read a fiction book about archaeology: it is hard not to see faults and problems in a storyline as someone who knows what it is like to work in an academic setting or be on an actual archaeological dig (spoiler alert: it isn't as nearly dangerous or exciting as Indiana Jones :) ).

My frustrations with Project Hail Mary are pretty much the same as those with The Martian: lone male scientist solves big, potentially world-ending problem on his own without the aid of anyone. In the case of Project Hail Mary, the lone scientist is stranded in space (remind you of The Martian at all??) with an alien creature and has to forge communications with it to save the entire universe.

It is this bootstraps narrative that grinds on me as a researcher and someone who understands how scientific knowledge is generated. Yes, there are lots of brilliant people out there who come up with theories and ideas on their own (here's looking at you, Einstein), but most work is done collaboratively. Most work that's replicated and respected is done in a lab with a team of researchers.

Maybe I'd be less annoyed at these narratives he keeps pushing if I knew he wasn't aware of how higher ed works, but he knows better as someone with a science background and someone who has parents who were scientists. I appreciate the fact he includes lots of details about the science of the shuttle or the mechanics of whatever is happening, but I need a bit more of the human element to really get into the story. I am just not that enamored with men flying in space (e.g. Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk come to mind here!). It is a tired narrative. I know Weir can do better because he isn't a bad writer.

Thank you to Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the advanced reader copy!

QUICK TAKE: loved the dark exploration of the lengths the government and scientists would go to in order to ensure the survival of the planet, but I hated all of the space stuff. you lost me after page 200 (it got real rocky...). Weir's scifi is usually extremely grounded, but I just couldn't get onboard with this one (don't get me started on the ending). That being said, I've heard the audiobook is bonkers, so I might just have to get a copy and hate-listen to it, haha.

VERDICT: A jaw-dropping tale of survival and discovery. Clever science, humor, suspense: the great Andy Weir is back!
Like some other readers, awed by The Martian, I was very disappointed by Andy Weir’s next novel: Artemis.
Still, remembering my pleasure reading his previous scifi novel, I decided to give him another chance and requested Project Hail Mary.
I was still a bit hesitant though, as I didn’t know the expression included in the title and was afraid it would be dealing with religion. But for all of you knowledgeable in American football, the reference is obvious.
Anyway, forget all hesitations, this is again the fruit of a great writer!
And don’t let the number of pages discourage you, you will go through them at the speed of light 😉

The book opens when Ryland wakes up. Things are not going well for him. He has a hard time talking, moving, and cannot remember a thing. Not even his name nor his job. He can’t even identify the place he is in.
Little by little, he realizes he must be somewhere in space, living thanks to resources provided by a super computer. His two colleagues were not that lucky.

Little by little, by observing things around him, by regaining his memory progressively, he realizes he is the only chance left for our planet. But he was sent on a very dangerous last chance mission (hence the title), and really all the odds are against his success, or against his going back to Earth safely.

Like in The Martian, there are a lot of scientific details (and some stars data are real). Fascinating, but maybe too much in some parts. However, I still gave 5 stars to the book, as all the details turned out to be so cleverly thought out, and they made the book sound so realistic.
If you wonder let’s say about space elevator or panspermia theory, yes these are also important scientific fields.

Plus, the plot is just fabulous.
The book gets even more fascinating at Chapter 7 (26% of the book), with a very special discovery. Which then brings on all kinds of fascinating new themes.
Of course, I can’t give you any details about this surprise, just that you really need to read this book. It contains so many layers and themes, both related to Earth and to space.
It has so many unexpected twists, including to the very end, with a fabulous last chapter, that may or may not point to a sequel.

The narrative is going back and forth between Ryland’s current situation, and what happened on Earth to send him and his crew on this mission. This alternation definitely added to the tension in the suspense!
I loved all the descriptions of the characters, all very complex people.

And I can’t wait to see it made into a movie, because it has to become a movie!
Andy, looking forward to your next novel, bring it on!

The review on my blog contains a quotation

I loved this book so so much! Every other chapter had my jaw-dropping! So incredibly well told, suspenseful but hilarious at the same time. You know it's going to be insane but you can't help but laugh along with the main protagonist.

I LOVE books set in space (as a big astronomy geek) but they aren't always done well. They can be confusing to the point of perplexion and even though Weir tackles some very complex content in the book, it not only makes sense but I feel like I GET IT! I'm not just skimming through the technical stuff, I am FULLY engrossed in it!

I love the way Andy Weir builds his stories, I always look forward to his books and I am so thrilled at how this one turned out! Absolutely wonderful!

P.S. The ending had me thinking for days!

***eArc provided by NetGalley and Ballantine Books in exchange for an honest review***

I think about Andy Weir's first novel, The Martian, more often than I ever thought I would when I picked it up. Weir has built his writing career on heavy, and accurate, science along with humor and a vibrant human touch. Which, of course, he's done again with his third book Project Hail Mary.

When scientist Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship, without his memory, he has to piece together the events that led to the deaths of his crewmates, why he's in a different galaxy all together, and (eventually) how to save humanity and Earth as we know it.

Filled with really well crafted comedy and drama, Weir utilizes one of my favorite tropes of first contact (which happens to be the biggest question of them all): how do we communicate. And because the communication is set up so well, and so early on, he really allows the two leads of the novel to shine. Plus, the ending absolutely rules.

I didn't think that I could like an Andy Weir book more than The Martian....I was wrong! What a fun journey he takes us on in Project Hail Mary. Ryland Grace is the only astronaut to survive a Hail Mary trip to space to save Earth. What he does to solve problems and protect earth are both amazing and hysterical! Highly recommend.

Andy Weir's written three books and I've read them all. That might seem odd until you think about how few science-fiction books I read. But Weir hooked me with his debut, The Martian, and he gave me more than enough in Artemis to keep me reading his work.

Weir doesn't need to worry about what I think about this book; it's already a bestseller and is being made into a movie starring Ryan Gosling. But maybe he should because I'm not alone in feeling that this book had so much potential but just missed the mark so many times.

Perhaps a different editor would have said "hey, this book is 100 pages too long," or "you've got this really sexist stuff in here that won't play well with a good part of your readers" or "there are a couple of gaping holes in this story." Weir's developed a bit of a formula now and part of that requires coming up with a lot of problems that his very clever lead character needs to solve. It seems to mean that some things that shouldn't need to become problems do just so that the lead character can solve them. If you've read or seen The Martian, you'll see the pattern.

Don't get me wrong, I love the clever character who has to use all of his (or her) wits to survive. And I'm not opposed to reading a whole lot of science stuff to get there. And since I don't know a whole lot about science and this is largely speculative fiction, I don't really care if the science is even right (except that even I know that if you're going to move into zero g, you'd better have your seatbelt on; Ryland Grace doesn't seem to know that). And I enjoyed the back and forth between Ryland trying to survive and Ryland gradually remembering what happened that got him where he is. As much as I liked Ryland (and I did, even when I wanted to slap him for being stupid), he was not my favorite character. Rocky is by far and away my favorite character. Unlike any character I've ever seen in a book, Rocky is an insatiable learner, highly creative and intelligent, a great friend, and surprisingly emotionally sensitive.

I'm crossing my fingers that when they wrote the screenplay, they winnowed out the parts that didn't make sense or that seemed over the top and left moviegoers with more than enough action and a terrific story. Because there really is a great story here and it did have me racing along, even as I shook my head. Weir has included some things that, literally, made me gasp in surprise and that's always a good thing, right? I Here's where I hope the movie hews to the book - the ending is surprising and unique and I'm afraid that Hollywood will do what Hollywood so often does and ruin the movie by changing the ending.

In the end, I'm glad I read this one, even as frustrating as I so often found it.

Project Hail Mary is the story of Ryland Grace, a high school science teacher who, through some weird twist of fate, becomes Earth's last hope of survival when he finds himself the lone survivor on a ship in the darkest reaches of space on a last ditch mission to save the Earth from a catastrophic event. Misery loves company when an unexpected ally turns up who just happens to be dealing with a similar catastrophic event. Can the two of them find a way to pull their resources and minds together to defeat the odds? The story is told in chapters that alternate between the past and the present times which enables the reader to get the appropriate backstory to fill in the blanks. It also prevented readers from getting too bored with reading chapter after chapter that only featured Ryland as the character. The first half of the book moved pretty well for me, but the second half seemed to drag, especially when Ryland begins working with his newfound colleague. Similar to Andy Weir's other books, there is a good dose of scientific creativity, action, and drama. Some readers may find the science in this one a bit intimidating compared to his other works. Regardless, I recommend this book for those who are fans of Andy Weir and who appreciate an author who isn't afraid to take risks when it comes to utilizing scientific creativity to tell a story.

Wow! I could hardly put the book down! It was just the thing I needed to mix up my reading genres. I was instantly sucked in! There was a lot of science in this, more than I understood, but it was always explained after the fact in more plain English so that made it accessible. The concept of this book was very creative and the plot was entertaining and interesting, but what I loved most of all was the relationship between Ryland Grace and Rocky! It was great reading as they learned to communicate with each other and I loved their banter.

Fast-paced but lacking the same magic as The Martian. Weir’s focus on the intricacies of science are interesting at first, but feel like page fillers after a while. The plot itself is interesting with some good twists but the author doesn’t seem to trust the reader to remember key character traits and moments and ends up repeating them. Good summer fluff, but still a ways to go to capturing that spark that made his debut so memorable.

Lots of fun science more in keeping with The Martian, and some unexpected twists and turns - Weir did well with the back and forth between the Now and the How-We-Got-to-the-Now.

I will read a grocery list written by Andy Weir. I love him humor and he is the only author I will read in the science fiction genre.

Another amazing, immersive read by Andy Weir. Every time I read one of Andy's books, I'm blown away by how scientific his science fiction is. I love reading fiction where everything could be true, especially when the story is literally out of this world.

While it took me a bit to get into the story, Project Hail Mary was deeply imaginative, moving, and an ultimately optimistic read. I had trouble putting it down once I got into the second half of the book!

I also truly loved Grace and Rocky's relationship - so pure, sweet, and such a beautiful example of what the first human/alien encounter could be like.

I enjoyed reading this, although I don't think it's as good as the Martian. I must admit that I skimmed some of the math and science bits. Parts of the plot were even more farfetched than the Martian, so one must be willing to suspend disbelief and just enjoy the ride.

I could not put this down! The sun is dimming and an international team is put together to find out why. Dr. Grace, former disgruntled brilliant researcher turned middle school science teacher, is brought on the team due to a long ago published controversial paper. He ends up going on a suicide mission into space to save humanity. Most of the science in this book was way beyond me but the story itself was so engaging that I kept going. Despite the impending apocalypse, it was even very funny ! Great beach read!

Andy Weir did a wonderful job with this book. The narrator was funny and had me laughing out loud at parts. Although it was a bit scientific for the reader, the author did a good job keeping it readable and enjoyable. I am normally not a fan of science fiction, but after reading his book The Martian I was excited for this one as well. The writing style and the plot set up over more than one timeline was fun and allowed the reader to learn information as the protagonist did. The book did not disappoint and I would recommend this book for any reader, not just fans of science fiction.

Project Hail Mary is the latest science fiction offering by Andy Weir. Earth seems to be losing the strength from the sun that it needs in order to keep functioning. In order to save the planet an elite team of astronauts and scientists is created to determine what the next steps need to be in order to keep humans alive. Ryland Grace is a science teacher who unwillingly becomes a passenger on a spaceship sent to gather the necessary information in order to save Earth. Ryland eventually encounters a character named Rocky. These two develop a relationship that is a delight for readers. Plenty of action and science move this plot right along. Read and enjoy!