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Project Hail Mary: A Novel
Ryland Grace wakes up millions of miles from Earth with no memory of who he is, why he’s there, or why his crewmates are dead. As fragments of his past slowly return, he discovers that he’s the sole survivor of a desperate mission—and the fate of humanity may depend on him. Trapped aboard a tiny spacecraft and facing an extinction-level threat, Ryland must unravel an impossible scientific mystery with no one to turn to. But as he searches for answers, he may discover that he isn’t as alone as he thought.
- Release Date
- 2021
- Length
- 496 pages
- Publisher
- Ballantine Books
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Our Review
About the book
Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spacecraft with no memory of who he is or how he got there. As his memories return, he realizes he is on a desperate mission to save Earth from an extinction-level threat, and that he may not be as alone in the cosmos as he thought.
Our review
For us, Andy Weir’s best book: a science puzzle, a buddy comedy and a love letter to problem-solving, all in one spaceship.
Weir refines everything that worked in The Martian. The amnesia setup turns exposition into mystery, with each recovered memory adding stakes, and the science is woven into the plot as a series of satisfying puzzles. Then the book introduces an element we won’t spoil that transforms it from survival story into something warmer and funnier, giving it a heart that genuinely surprises.
Weir’s prose is functional, and Ryland’s jokey voice can grate for readers who found Mark Watney too glib. The flashback structure occasionally interrupts momentum, and supporting characters on Earth are sketched more than developed, serving the plot more than themselves. None of that matters much once the central relationship takes hold; few science-fiction novels are this much pure, uncomplicated fun, and fewer still leave you this hopeful about what people can do together.
What we loved
- Ingenious, accessible science problem-solving
- An unexpectedly moving central friendship
- Amnesia structure keeps revelations coming
Keep in mind
- Prose is plain and humor can feel sophomoric
- Earth-side characters are thin
Read it if you like
The Martian, The Long Way to a Small Angry Planet, readers who love hopeful hard sci-fi
The verdict
A thrilling, big-hearted space adventure that makes science feel heroic, and, in our view, Weir’s most rewarding novel yet.
