Delightful in the vein of The Martian, thankfully not in the vein of Artemis which I did not care for - problem-solving science at its best, solid first contact narrative, stakes always clear, double-timeline serves a legitimate purpose.

Had an absolute blast with this! The Martian is one of my all time favorite books so this book has some strong competition. While it may not match that books greatness, it's equal amounts of fun. Lots of characters you love, human and possibly otherwise, great humor and science as is Weir's trademark. Cannot wait to see what he brings next!

Wow what a wild ride! I really enjoyed this one. I didn’t get half of the science stuff but truly enjoyed Grace and Rocky made me laugh a lot.

I received a free digital copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had an amazing plot, but I felt the characters were a bit hard to connect to.

Thank you kindly to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for this review copy.

I was in the minority in thinking that this was a story of far too much convenience, with a hero that felt too self important, and science that didn't quite add up. There's no doubt that Weir does a lot of research, but I really needed it to make sense that Rocky's species was even able to perceive an issue, let alone find the means to get to Ryland's ship and communicate with him. This honestly felt lazy to me, and I think that there was a better opportunity to make the stakes feel higher and the struggle feel greater. I didn't care about Ryland, and honestly, didn't care about Rocky either.

I really didn't think this was worth the hype.

Thank you Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the ARC!

'd like to thank NetGalley and Random House / Ballantine Books for the opportunity to read the ARC of Project Hail Mary. Honestly, I received this book in advance, before it was published, but it got lost in my TBR pile. Boy, did I miss out!! This was truly one of the best science fiction books I've read in the past 5 years. Ryland Grace wakes up in a strange place, alone, cared for by a robot arm, and must figure out where he is, when he is, and why he is there. From there, in a combination of present time and flashback story-telling, Grace experiences the most exciting adventure in the history of mankind, where the only acceptable result is the rescue of our entire species. Very hard to put down, and exceptional science storytelling.

It took me an embarrassing amount of time to finally sit down and read this. And I'm really kicking myself for it! I'm not sure if it's all the science and space discussion that felt so intimidating or what was holding me up from picking Project Hail Mary up, but I'm kicking myself for the hesitation. This is the first Weir book that I've read and I was incredibly impressed with how quick a nearly 500 page book could read! It's truly a nod to the flow of Weir's writing style. While there were moments where I thought Dr. Grace was a little too cheesy, he was a very likable character overall - his cheesiness was the novelty of him. While Weir doesn't write female characters well, the two main MCs (Grace and Rocky) were great together and I loved their relationship. One of my favorite portions were the clever interactions between them and when they were establishing a dictionary together. Overall, this was a great book. Some of the science and space stuff went over my head but it didn't take away from being a fantastic story!

What an incredible story Andy Weir has crafted! While the story sometimes read as "too scientific," it was a deep space adventure that focused on the most unlikely friendship between two beings. Ryland Grace, a high school science teacher, wakes up from a deep sleep with amnesia on a space ship hurtling through space. Told through a series of flashbacks, Ryland pieces his memory back together throughout the story. He eventually makes it to his destination and comes across an alien spaceship. He befriends Rocky and together they set out to save their respective planets. Filled with adventure and humor, this is a journey across space and time that is worth it!

Ryland Grace wakes up and doesn't remember anything. Not his name, not where he is or how he got there. He takes inventory. He's nude and in what appears to be a hospital bed. He has tubes going everywhere. What in the world has happened to him?

He manages to get out of bed and then realizes he isn't alone. There are two other beds but both of those occupants is dead, long dead. He starts to realize; he isn't in a hospital but on a space ship and is awakening from an induced coma. Slowly, in the hours following, he starts to retrieve more memories. He is on a mission. Alien bacteria are eating the sun's energy, cooling Earth at a catastrophic rate. That cooling is happening everywhere in the observed solar system. He has been sent on a mission to a far away star where the bacteria don't seem to be destroying the planet in an attempt to find a solution.

But he's just one man now. Then the impossible happens. Suddenly, there is another ship. Another ship? Aliens! Eventually Grace meets the alien, a spiderlike creature he names Rocky. Rocky is on the same mission, trying to find something that will defeat the bacteria. Slowly, over weeks, the two research the problem and build a relationship. Can they be successful?

This is a book that will appeal to a wide range of readers. Want hard science and math? It's in there. Want a heartwarming story of character relationships and intergalactic cooperation? It's in there. Want a thill a minute adventure story? Weir has you covered. The reader will finish the book excited to have been taken along on such an amazing journey. This book is recommended for science fiction readers.

Profound, compelling, perfectly detailed. I've had a hard time reading books after finishing Project Hail Mary because they simply aren't as incredible. As a person in STEM, I found the science of this book to be fun and the diction is easy to read. It also appealed to emotional and existential facets that made it a well rounded read.

While it took me a long time to get into the book, about half way through I found I just could not put it down. So, even though it had a slow start with a lot of info dumping, I really loved this book in the end.

A lone "lost in space" crew member awakens to find his crew mates dead and no memory of what happened or why he is there. Where is there? Turns out only he can save his planet from destruction, but must he sacrifice himself? A great read from the author of "The Martian." Well-paced and well-constructed. My thanks to the author and NetGalley for a complimentary copy.

Project Hail Mary is my favorite book of the year and one of my top favorite books of all time. Andy Weir write amazing characters. The dynamic between Rocky and Ryland was amazing. Who knew these two could have such chemistry together from being from literally two ends of the spectrum but Andy Weir does it. I was crying by the end of the book. I did not want it to end. Please make this into a movie!

“I’d have to do the math to know for sure but — I can’t help it, I want to do the math right now.”

Love love love this book! Thanks to Net Galley and Andy Weir for an ARC in exchange for my review!

Science teacher Ryland Grace is an astronaut with the task to save Earth from algae that are destroying the sun. While only knowing like 30% of what Ryland was talking about at any given time, it's hard not to get wrapped up in his enthusiastic discussions about science. This is a compelling an entertaining read that can get quite dark in places, but I loved the unexpected friendship and ending.

Exactly what I wanted out of a good summer sci-fi read. This may be Weir’s third published novel, but it is a direct spiritual successor to The Martian. Come for the astronaut adventure, stay for barrage of chaos and successive problem solving. It’s the same brand of “show-your-work” sci fi that leads the reader through mountains of calculations in an approachable, almost casual narrative voice.

It’s tough to write a full review without spoilers honestly, because so much of what makes the story stand out are bits that the reader and the protagonist are figuring out together, even the backstory is revealed as a slow stream of flashbacks and revelations. There’s something for everyone: whether you are drawn to the astrophysics, engineering, microbiology, climatology, or interstellar apocalypse. Let’s just say it exists somewhere in the Venn diagram of Ludlum’s Bourne Identity, Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, and Chiang’s Story of your Life (Arrival). Which is why I loved it, obviously.

Okay, so, this was my first Weir book … and I loved it! Definitely gonna go back and read The Martian now. This was a bit of a trek. The pacing felt wonky in a couple places, where it kind of slowed down to a crawl and I felt my attention waning. That being said, though, there were freaking plot twists and I absolutely loved it. The characters felt familiar and easy to root for, and they wormed their way into my heart. There’s a nice balance of science and math for the nerdy readers and explanations of the aforementioned for the less math-inclined (like myself). So it was pretty easy to follow along with, either way. I can’t recommend this one enough! It was fabulous.

I absolutely loved this book. I laughed, I cried. I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner, but I'll definitely be checking out other books by Andy Weir. I went into this one fairly blind and would recommend doing the same,

My first experience with Andy Weir's work was going with my grandfather Charlie to see THE MARTIAN. Charlie was a troubleshooter on the Viking Project: a brilliant engineer whose heart and mind battled constantly whenever faced with fiction. He could indulge in high fantasy and swashbuckler films, but true hard sci-fi was beyond him. His mind wouldn't accept any suspension of disbelief that required outright rejection of a known fact. Asimov's laws of robotics weren't feasible; a computer can't work that way; AI is unlikely to get that realistic.

Throughout the movie, he'd start to raise these complaints, only to be cut off by the movie itself. "See, he can't do that, it would cause an explosion" — followed immediately by an explosion. After the movie, we asked him for his opinion. "Other than us being ready to send a manned mission to Mars," he said, "everything checked out." I think he saw himself in the movie's heroes: brilliant minds aware of, but not distracted by, the inherent beauty and romance of science. Who could take joy in it while still taking it seriously enough to save a life.

I wish I could have shared PROJECT HAIL MARY with him, seen how he took to the friendship between Dr. Grace and Rocky. If THE MARTIAN took joy in science, PROJECT HAIL MARY sings it a Broadway love song. Reading Weir's books as a person who doesn't understand every process described is like listening to your best friend talk about their favorite thing: you don't need to get every concept, you only need to feel the resulting pride and happiness. Is it brilliant that he's worked out long-distance travel, first contact, and a sun-eating parasite in minute detail? Of course. What's more brilliant is our heroes linked, against all the odds of the universe, by their intellect and drive and excitement.

It's rare for me to find a book that's genuinely worth all the hype it gets, but this is on that extremely short list.

Earth is in serious danger! Ryland Grace is the only survivor of the team that was sent into deep space to find a way to rescue all of the inhabitants of earth. But he cannot remember what his mission is. As his memory begins to return to him little-by-little, time is running out for the inhabitants of earth.

I love this book! MARTIAN was awesome, and this one is as equally remarkable! It is amazing to me how Andy Weir can make a fictional world peopled with fictional characters with fictional dilemmas, seem so real. This book is amazingly fun!

PROJECT HAIL MARY is an unforgettable adventure of nonstop excitement. I highly recommend this book!

4 stars for Rocky!! Make no mistake, every star this book gets, it gets for Rocky-- I was very undecided on this book right up until I met him. But dang was it worth it. A man attempts to recover memories of how he wound up on a last ditch mission to save Earth from an alien microbe in this sci-fi novel. It falls into some of the issues Weir has had before--over explaining his science and not a strong enough editorial hand-- but overall I really enjoyed it. Especially Rocky. All the stars for Rocky.