I love Andy Weir's writing, it is so easy to fall into his work, even for a non-scientific mind. I imagine that people who have a firmer grasp of some of the scientific concepts would enjoy this book even more than I did! The plot device of having to travel to another solar system to save ours is not unique, but the treatment here certainly is. That same first person perspective that can be so annoying in many cases is just right here, I really wanted to see things through Ryland Grace's eyes and it was so refreshing to be elated when he was, scared when he was, contemplating his demise with him. A few times I was jarred by a jump in the timeline, but the author handled all the time related elements beautifully and I was satisfyingly brought up to speed and enjoyed the scenery on the way. A very unique friendship rounds out the story so well, and adds important layers to the triumphs and setbacks of the mission. The humor in the book is very reminiscent of The Martian, of course, but also to conceive of a totally new life form, and make that life form so non-human and still relatable, is just the best part of speculative science fiction. And the humor between the characters was perfect. "Good. Proud."

Interesting book. Enjoyed the character development. The story just didn’t grab my attention like I thought it would.

Another really engaging, brilliant Andy Weir—he always makes me think about scientific possibilities while making it engaging and compelling as a story on its own!

Andy Weir has a way of capturing readers and making a book feel like a mysterious adventure every time.

Ryland Grace is the one person living still that is living a do-or-die mission: save the Earth or let it all fall. Alas, he doesn't know anything about this or that how much time has passed. He has waken up with nothing but two dead bodies beside him. Memory slowly returning, he sees that he needs to figure out how to solve life as he knows it, alone. Or so he thinks.

I will forever recommend Andy Weir novels to anyone. While this book may be labeled as science fiction, the drama and intense scenes that occur make it read as anything but. Project Hail Mary kept me on the edge of my seat and I cannot wait for what Andy Weir puts out next.

A Fantastic read with great characters. Andy weir can really make what seems to be a goofy and bonkers idea into an amazing story that you believe in. Will definitely recommend this title to my Sci-Fi and adventure loving customers!

I’ve been in a reading slump for months, and this book completely pulled me out of it. Project Hail Mary brought me back to reading The Martian, and reminded me why I love science fiction so much. I really appreciate how Andy Weir’s writing makes even the very sciencey parts understandable. I loved that this book was essentially a buddy adventure and I ended up feeling so much for these two unlikely friends. This will likely be one of my favorite reads of this year.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine for a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I have now loved both of my reads by Andy Weir. He has such a distinct way, for me, to make the science in his books accessible - even though I am most certainly not a big science person. His character work is, however, where he shines - especially so in Project Hail Mary. Funny, moving, and more about the relationships we forge as individuals than anything else - Project Hail Mary has taken its place as one of my favorite Sci-Fi books of all time, and I recommend to anyone, even people who many not be a fan of the genre. Listen - if you love books about friendship, you could not pick a better book to read.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the review copy.

I loved The Martian, and was hopeful that Project Hail Mary would be just as good. Unfortunately it felt like reading The Martian just in a slightly different setting—a spaceship versus alone on a planet. I gave up within 75 pages. I get why some people like that, though. It just wasn’t for me.

I must give mad props to both author Andy Weir, AND his excellent audiobook narrator (and deserving recipient of Audiobook of the Year award for 2021), Ray Porter. This is an educational, and at many turns a detailed and "geeky" treatise of how an extra-terrestrial colony of lifeforms may co-exist with humans, continuously grounded in science. The author, a computer programmer by trade before he embarked on his writing career, appears to embody the role of educator through his main character/middle school science teacher, Ryland Grace. The premise of the book is blurbed on the jacket: Ryland Grace finds himself awake, and alone, on a suicide mission where he and two deceased colleagues were tasked with the endeavor of saving the world (presumably from aliens). The story interweaves flashbacks of Grace's time on earth and how he came to be involved with a prestigious, world-class mission, with real-time episodes of his journey through space, searching for a solution to save humanity, all on his own...until he is not. The discovery of alien life form comes early in the story, yet the surprises continue to come, and in the end, a beautiful story of compassion, care and dedication between markedly different species is told with humor and is a delight to behold.

The book on its own would have been an excellent offering but the addition of a charismatic narrator with perfect comic timing and ability to voice different beings in a credible way made this not just a great sci-fi, educational read but a fun experience all around. 5 out of 5 stars for this backlist book that deserved all the praise it received.

Many (belated) thanks to #AndyWeir, #NetGalley, and #BallantineBooks for the opportunity to read an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Yes, yes, yes, THIS is the book I have been waiting for from Weir! After the disappointment from Artemis, I had super high (but hesitant hopes) for this one and I am thrilled that Weir 100% delivered on this one. Back is the witty main character that has to use his scientific prowess to get himself out of many difficult situations. To some it may feel redundant to The Martian but the story was vastly different even though the MC felt similar. The addition of an adorable space alien rock crab thing made this book one of my hands-down favorite reads of 2021. More please, Mr. Weir!

I love how Andy Weir gets into the nitty gritty science. I loved The Martian, and I loved Project Hail Mary. The story was thrilling and made me want to keep reading. Weir is quickly becoming a must read author for me.

The book is very comparable to the Martian book, even if it is very different. So much better than the Artemis.
It is true science fiction with amazingly detailed world building and lots of adventure and twists and turns. I enjoyed it thoroughly. I think Andy Weir redeemed himself with this book big time, and I hope to read more from him in the future.

Hard to put down, just as detailed as The Martian. Wonderful, interesting sci-fi. Loved the timeline switches to reveal more information about how Dr. Grace came to be on the Hail Mary.

This is the third novel by author Andy Weir https://andyweirauthor.com. Project Hail Mary was published in 2021. It is my 68th book to complete in 2022.

Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own! I categorize this novel as G. When High School science teacher Ryland Grace wakes up, he can’t remember who he is or why he is aboard the spacecraft. All he knows is that he has been asleep for a very long time and the other two crew members are dead.

As time passes, his memory begins to slowly return though it is very fuzzy. Slowly the Earth’s sun began to dim. The mission is the culmination of a planet-wide project to send a spacecraft and crew millions of miles in a last-ditch attempt to save humanity. The only hope is that the solution to the problem can be discovered at Tau Ceti. As Grace progresses, he encounters several problems. He is able to overcome them through his understanding of basic science.

Grace is faced with more than one life-threatening situation that he must overcome. He is shocked when his full memory finally returns, and he remembers his last few hours on Earth. As he does his research, he finds assistance and friendship from a very unexpected source. With the clock ticking on Earth’s survival, will he be able to find an answer in time to save humanity? And what will happen to him?

I enjoyed the 13.5 hours I spent reading this 482-page science fiction novel. I have been fortunate to have read all three of Mr. Weir’s novels. I have found them to be exceptional. The others that I have read are Artemis and The Martian. Grace uses a wide range of math and science to solve problems. This would make this a great novel to use in a STEM project. I like the chosen cover art. I give this novel a rating of 5 out of 5.

You can access more of my book reviews on my Blog ( https://johnpurvis.wordpress.com/blog/).

My book reviews are also published on Goodreads (https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/31181778-john-purvis).

'Project Hail Mary' by Andy Weir is a book about an all or nothing mission and a lone survivor who has to find the solution.

When Ryland Grace wakes up, he doesn't know who he is. He is also in a space ship and the two other people on board are dead. Through flashbacks, he remembers who he is and why he is on board this ship.

I loved the science and problem solving of 'The Martian' and it's all here again, but it is a different story and the addition of a character named Rocky made all the difference. I loved it!

Ryland Grace is on a suicide mission. He has been sent to the far reaches of space to find a solution to the Petrova Problem, a single-celled extraterrestrial life form named Astrophage that is feeding off the sun. The Astrophage is killing the sun and that will result in the death of all life on Earth. The Earth's only hope is the distant star Tau Ceti. Despite living amongst a cluster of infected stars it somehow is unaffected by the Astrophage. If Ryland can find out why Tau Ceti is unaffected then perhaps there is a hope for Earth. He and two other scientists have been sent on this one way mission and are Earth's only hope, they are a Hail Mary. The problem is when he awakes from the voyage he is suffering from amnesia and his two crewmates are dead, nothing but desiccated husks. He has no idea who he is, where he is, or what he's supposed to be doing. His memory slowly starts to return but he can't quite reconcile that he somehow went from being a teacher to being an astronaut who still doesn't remember his own name. Before Ryland became a teacher he wrote a research paper about extraterrestrial life that could exist without water. He was laughed out of academia and yet that is exactly what Astrophage is. Before he knows what's happening he's one of the top people in the Petrova Taskforce. And yet this remembered information isn't going to help him when his ship is barreling towards an unknown sun. He is barely able to keep himself alive so how is he supposed to save humanity? The plus side, he's remembered his name. And he might have just discovered intelligent alien life! Because there's another ship out there. Another ship with only one survivor. Another ship that was sent to save it's planet because it too is at the mercy of Astropphage. Maybe together they can save two worlds and make their deaths mean something?

Aside from the amnesia, this has a fairly similar setup to The Martian; man, alone, stuck in space with no way home. So I figured it would go along similar lines. Man would, through his ingenuity, find out how to survive his situation. There might be potatoes. And then it didn't because aliens. That's right folks, Andy Weir wrote about freakin' aliens and I loved it! Yes, he occasionally falls into the trap of being almost too technical with his science, which he somehow avoided in The Martian, and here I would zone out for a minute or two, but then Rocky. Every flaw this book has, and there aren't many, are solved by, but then Rocky. I don't know if I've ever felt such genuine love for a character in my entire life. I realize that some people actually love E.T. for inexplicable reasons, but if they felt for that extraterrestrial what I feel for Rocky, I can kind of understand. I mean just the feeling, in no way can I understand you and your unholy love of that Spielberg monstrosity. My love for Rocky was pure, I wanted to take care of him and make sure nothing bad ever happened to him. Rocky has this childlike wonder, this enthusiasm for life, an insatiable yearning to understand. He balances the more dour and pragmatic Ryland and spurs him on. The two of them become a dynamic duo. They show that problem solving works so much better with two than one. I honestly don't know what this book would have been without Rocky. He is so integral to everything. Not just the plot, but the whole feeling of the book. Oddly enough I think this book hits even stronger because it was released during the Pandemic. Earth is fucked and somewhere, out there, is a friend who can help. Someone who completes you. Someone you never expected. Rocky's optimism and ingenuity is the can-do attitude that every single one of us needed mainlined into out veins after such a long struggle. We all needed Rocky and thank the powers that be that Andy Weir gave him to us.

Despite this taking me nearly two years (I originally received an ARC via NetGalley) and around five attempts to read, I did love this!

The writing style was right up my alley and I really enjoyed the explanation of all things scientific. It captivated my attention so much more than higher sci-fi typically does and I cared a LOT about the characters and what was happening throughout. The multiple attempts to read it really aren't a reflection of the book itself, but more my not being in the mood for it specifically. Once I finally got into it, though, I finished it in about a day. I think the ending was... an odd choice and not one I would've favored, but I can still respect it! Overall, this was a fantastic book and I can't recommend it enough!

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for an advanced copy. All thoughts and opinions are, as always, my very own.

What I like most about Andy Weir's books is his sense of humor and the way he develops his characters. That he manages to do this while also giving his readers a great adventure is an achievement. Project Hail Mary was enjoyable from start to finish. My only quibble is that I would get bogged down by all the science stuff at points but I would recommend this title for all kinds of readers.

I was first introduced to Weir’s writing through The Martian. His latest novel is a wild tale about a high school science teacher who wakes up in a different star system with no memory of how he got there. The rest of the story is all about how he uses science and engineering to save the day. I truly enjoyed the story and looking forward to more from this author. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.