2.26.2022

finished reading

I liked that the hero is an everyman-type.  He's a middle school science teacher.  As with Weir's debut novel, The Martian, this book is heavy with science.  But once I got used to the language of science, I got caught up in the human side of the story.   Piecing Ryland  Grace's story together through flashbacks almost detracted from the flow because the structure was a bit jarring at times.  I'm not sure how else the backstory would have been fleshed out, though.  

I highly recommend the audio version.  Ray Porter as the narrator is absolutely fantastic.

From the publisher:
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, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that's been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it's up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, 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.





1 comment:

Me, Myself, and I said...

I'm a big Andy Weir fan, and I liked this one a lot. Read it on the plane to Boston last year.