Synopsis -
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?
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?
Review -
In my YA years, my love of reading focused almost exclusively on science fiction, but my favorite titles were really a blend of science fiction and fantasy. In my adult years I began to read books that much more pure science fiction. Over time I slowly drifted into other genres. There were a few brilliant exceptions, but many of titles began to mire me down with heavy science I struggled to understand.
My oldest son recommended Project Hail Mary as a great blend of storytelling, great characters and science offered in a clearer way. He was right. It took me a while to get pulled in because I was fearful every time the science came up. Finally the story took hold and I simply started shallow dive into the science, just enough to keep on track with what was happening in the story line. And I think where the main Ryland Grace was a teacher allowed the writer to offer the science in a way that I found easier to absorb.
What I loved most about Project Hail Mary was the author's great skill at storytelling as well as the well-developed characters and plot concept. The pacing, the slow revelations through flashbacks where we see how things rolled out through Roland Grace's eyes, the personal connection that build with the alien, and even a last minute look into Grace's character all played out for me with just the right timing. The ending blew me away as it was totally unexpected, and the last scene provided a full circle moment taking me right back to where Grace started.
Well done. If you haven't read any science fiction in awhile, this is a great chance to dip your toes in again. Stick with it till the story takes hold of you, and make sure you get to that ending. It's a good one.
Meet the Author -
.jpg "Andy Weir Author")
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