... the modern sci-fi master sends a lone astronaut on an intergalactic mission with existential stakes and a winning sense of humor ... a complex, science-filled story that’s also about empathy and friendship found in the most unlikely of places ... Weir’s parallel story line structure mostly works ... The beginning backstory and later revelations about the days leading up to launch are essential and clever bits of character development, though in the middle of the book, the past sometimes disrupts the momentum of Ryland and Rocky’s team-building exercises and bonding as ride-or-die science bros ... if you dug Weir’s original self-published hit or the Oscar-nominated Matt Damon film, get ready to enjoy this, too. Weir’s well-crafted book is an epic story of redemption, discovery and cool speculative sci-fi made all the better with a couple of perfect strangers turned BFFs.
Weir’s writing emphasizes what it feels like to be a human body navigating an inhuman environment ... Project Hail Mary is an elegant inversion of The Martian: Instead of humanity working to save the life of one person, here is one person working to save all of humanity ... Weir is a master of the narrative splice, and Project Hail Mary cuts between Grace’s memories of Earth and his present in space. The effect serves not only to keep the story propulsive; it also suggests a fundamental continuity between terrestrial realities and cosmic ones.
... a sensible course correction that supersizes the strategies of his most successful book ... In fiction, an unambiguous technological crisis can be oddly comforting, and the novel works best as we piece together the situation alongside Grace, whose memory loss is less an essential plot point — apart from a passing revelation toward the end, this isn’t a story that treats amnesia as a source of surprises — than a device for parceling out information. The main character’s isolation, which was so crucial in The Martian, is a similarly convenient excuse for Weir to downplay messy human issues in favor of a cleverly organized series of challenges that Grace himself compares to 'a video game' ... For readers who can forgive its shortcomings, the result is an engaging space odyssey. While Mark Watney confronted a succession of escalating obstacles, Grace tends to resolve each setback almost immediately, and his relentless quips read like the output of an algorithm that was fed nothing but Joss Whedon scripts ... Weir’s default voice allows for the painless delivery of facts, but it limits the emotions available to our hero, whose usual reaction to astounding events is to nerd out briefly at their awesomeness ... demands to be judged by the standards of hard science fiction, and it honors the laws of physics to an extent that makes comparable novels seem like playing tennis without a net. At its best, the genre is a delightful game indeed, and many literary virtues can be sacrificed to its potential pleasures, which include awe, strangeness and other effects that Weir never really achieves. For a sense of wonder, we can wait for the movie, which may even touch on the unspoken dread — implicit in the myth of the competent man — that Watney once expressed in a rare moment of doubt: 'No more getting my hopes up, no more self-delusion and no more problem-solving.'
Project Hail Mary is every bit as entertaining, inspiring, and satisfying as The Martian ... The book tells two stories: Ryland’s present, as he solves the many scientific puzzles required for him to survive and fulfill his mission, and his past, as he slowly remembers the events that led to his presence there in the first place. Both stories are equally entertaining, and the backstory revelations nicely intertwine with the present action ... Weir’s infectious love of science sizzles on every page, saving the day time and time again Apollo-13-style, full of stand-up-and-cheer moments. The concept of the alien life known as Astrophage is brilliantly unique and drives most of the problems and most of the creative solutions of the story ... If Project Hail Mary has any weaknesses, it is the handful of plot elements that stretch belief, but these are so entertaining that it’s hard to consider them false steps ... Nobody writes optimistic science adventure as well as Andy Weir.
It’s a bit artificial, as is the cutting back and forth between the events Grace remembers from his life on Earth and what’s happening now on board the spaceship (which he shares with an alien he calls Rocky), but once you get started it’s a hard book to put down. And even educational.
The engineer-turned-author...ventur[es] deeper into space than in his previous offerings...while still maintaining the distinctive wonkiness that renders his work so idiosyncratically enjoyable ... a story of isolation, friendship and the looming specter of incomprehensible loss—all refracted through a prism of well-researched and joyful nerdery. And of course, the science is sound (and in more ways than one) ... Weir’s done his homework and then some. He’s obviously passionate about the technical minutiae, but where he excels is in his ability to translate that passion to the page. He finds ways to go on at length about this idea or that one while still framing it within the context of the story. One could argue that he perhaps gets into the weeds a bit, but that’s the thing—that’s where he wants to be. He gets there not by accident, but with intent ... a ton of fun, a deep space adventure with room for technical specs and plenty of tension, with a self-deprecatingly sarcastic-yet-capable hero thrown into the mix (as well as some buddy comedy vibes from a most unexpected source along the way). All of it driven by that same delicious blend of curiosity and fear that keeps us looking to the skies in the first place. If you’ve liked what Andy Weir has given you in the past, you’ll love this one.
Weir says that he sets out to develop more nuanced protagonists which each new book...In this, he definitely succeeds. Far from the gung-ho, super-motivated type, Grace is very much a reluctant hero, one with real vulnerabilities which help humanize him and add shades of grey. Yet the strongest character in the book is arguable Rocky, Grace’s alien counterpart. Creating a compelling literary alien can be challenging, but Weir gives us a memorable character who soon endears himself to the reader ... a well-constructed alien race ... There’s a lot of science in this book, which is by no means a bad thing, but it will require some readers to go over several passages carefully and perhaps repeatedly. I found myself going over some of the concepts several times, making sure I really understood the science lesson that Andy Weir was teaching me through the voice of Ryland Grace. Weir is a writer who always does his homework, and there’s a lot to unpack here, especially if your understanding of physics isn’t the best (as this reviewer’s isn’t). That shouldn’t scare off potential readers, however; the book never stoops to lecturing, and the exposition is kept to what’s necessary to advance the plot. Thanks to a unique structure in which the novel moves forward from two different starting points and alternates between them, the plot is constantly moving forward, and each reveal leaves the reader wanting to know what’s coming next, until culminating in a very satisfying final chapter that makes the whole journey worthwhile ... In many ways, Project Hail Mary feels like something that Clarke, Asimov, or Heinlein might have written ... Weir manages to work these themes into the book in a subtle enough manner that they are clear to see, but without being intrusive ... While there are no space battles or alien invasions, Project Hail Mary is no less a gripping journey for that. Andy Weir has turned in a smart, unpredictable novel that makes for highly recommended summer reading.
... if you haven’t read the book, I recommend you go into it with as rasa a tabula as possible, because this sucker is so crammed with plot twists and reversals that the less you know the more fun it’s going to be ... To be clear, they’re not gratuitous plot twists. Much as he did in The Martian, Weir sets up a couple base problems and then works through them, inexorably. Sometime there are solutions, sometimes not, and sometimes the solutions breed new problems that need to be dealt with. You can practically hear him backing his main character, Ryland Grace, into new and more difficult corners, then asking, 'OK, how do I get him out of this?' This is the fun of the book ... becomes three or four different books over the course of its plot. While it suffers from some clunky sections, and more exposition than it needs, it’s also an engaging thriller with some genuine heart and emotional heft. If you enjoyed The Martian and/or Artemis I think you’ll love it.
Mr. Weir’s confidence in science never falters. For every problem, there’s a solution, and even the Astrophages, handled properly, are a blessing not a threat. That’s the basic faith of sci-fi. The novel ends with a great punchline, just to make the point.
... has a propulsive story line and is filled with the cool science and witty banter you expect from Weir ... It’s a fun idea, and Weir knows how to ratchet up the excitement, but the novel seems written to be a movie (and in fact is being made into one, starring Ryan Gosling). Perhaps just wait for that? ... A friend of mine, who teaches scriptwriting, talks about 'refrigerator logic' — elements that don’t bother you until after a movie is over and you go to the refrigerator and say, 'hey . . . wait a minute.' Refrigerator logic is even worse in a novel — you have a lot more time to sit with the book in real time and scratch your head about the plot points and characterizations that don’t quite make sense, even in speculative fiction...There’s lots of 'refrigerator logic' in Project Hail Mary ... Even if the amnesia is a bit of a cliche, it’s still fun to watch Grace figure everything out, and he’s clever, too. But his cleverness is also the weakness of this novel, because there are so many parts of the narrative that seem to exist only to show off that quality ... weird plot holes abound ... There are plenty of things to love about this book. Grace’s enthusiasm for science is infectious. Watching him get excited about an idea and chase it down is a delight. Rocky, when you meet him, is a beautifully constructed alien ... But the book could have been so much better. Its central tension — will Grace figure things out? — should have been based on a real problem, instead of a series of incidents that could have been solved with checklists and simple common sense. That said, you’ll probably enjoy it anyway, at least until you reach the refrigerator.
If you love reading about someone using science to solve problems in space, you’ll probably love Project Hail Mary ... nerdy as hell and a wild page-turner if you love weird science stuff.
It makes sense that he returned to this winning format in his third novel, even if the similarities sometimes feel like Weir plagiarized from his own material ... Weir going full weird is the standout aspect of Project Hail Mary. Space is sci-fi’s favorite frontier and many missions end up on the same trajectory. Where Weir succeeds is his willingness to take a giant leap and get wildly speculative. A Green Planet is discovered, Africa gets covered in solar panels, and Earth is nearly doomed due to microbial poop. Weir’s inventive twists are the fuel that keep this nearly 500-page thriller zipping along at a relatively speedy clip. There’s just one major snag that keeps stalling the momentum. For every new concept and obstacle that’s introduced, Weir has a spreadsheet full of formulas on hand to help explain it to the point that you’ll be wishing you could get excused from class ... The issue with Project Hail Mary is that Weir seems convinced that his imagination must never go beyond what he can ground in hard science. Nearly every page has a unit of measurement, calculation, and/or factoid that, though interesting, adds unnecessary clutter...As the problems level up to outlandish extremes, so do the mental math gymnastics Weir outlines to solve them until, frankly, readers without a scientific background may start feeling lightheaded and a little lost in space themselves ... still a suspenseful space yarn that zigs and zags — sometimes literally — in ingenious directions. Only Weir could intersperse rocket science with dad jokes and create a memorable space MacGyver in Grace, who can science his way out of any situation ... This is a crowd-pleaser on the grandest scale, sure to satisfy fans of he Martian and add new members to the church of Weir. It’s likely not long before it gets adapted into a science textbook, too. If only it didn’t so often read like one already.
Cut off from their home worlds, Grace and Rocky have to use their ingenuity to learn how to communicate, in laborious trial-and-error fashion, at the same time as working out how to save the sun from impending doom. Their relationship lends this book much of its charm ... For me, there is perhaps a little too much Martian-style detail about how Grace solves the many engineering problems on his mission, but that didn’t stop me enjoying the tale.
Weir returns with gusto ... Weir’s scientific and technical savvy lends the proceedings an air of authenticity, and his portrayal of an ordinary man full of fear and self-doubt thrust into the role of humanity’s last hope strikes just the right note ... In Artemis, it seemed like Weir was trying too hard, but here his writing flows naturally, and his characters and dialogue crackle with energy. Weir is no longer the self-published wunderkind of The Martian; with this novel, he takes place as a genuine star in the mainstream sf world.
The book’s witty narrator, hard science, and flashbacks all blend into a high-stakes adventure of galactic proportions, while presenting some exciting twists and strong themes of collaboration and friendship ... Weir brings back the pace, intelligence, and humor of The Martian and increases it exponentially. Scientific mysteries and survival instincts abound in this compelling and exciting novel.
... not everyone’s cup of Tau. (That’s not a misprint; you’ll have to read the book — which I hope you do — to get the pun.) In fact, its author, Andy Weir, has many detractors who point out that his writing style leaves much to be desired, his humor is borderline juvenile, and he can be politically preachy...All of this is somewhat true, but it’s beside the point. As he proved in his breakout novel, The Martian, Weir can spin a yarn and make a reader think ... not your typical 'let’s all go to the barn and save the Earth' sci-fi novel. It’s a story of courage and friendship and discovering oneself ... Still, the book is not perfect. Again, the writing is often clumsy. The novel is also too long... while Weir explains how Grace figures a lot of things out, he does depend on some shortcuts, mostly by using technology and elements that do not currently exist. Apparently, poetic license increases exponentially the further one gets from Earth.
... a page-turning interstellar thrill ride ... Although hard scientific speculation fuels the storyline, the real power lies in the many jaw-dropping plot twists, the relentless tension, and the extraordinary dynamic between Ryland and the alien (whom he nicknames Rocky because of its carapace of oxidized minerals and metallic alloy bones). Readers may find themselves consuming this emotionally intense and thematically profound novel in one stay-up-all-night-until-your-eyes-bleed sitting ... An unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship—nothing short of a science-fiction masterwork.
Weir delivers a suspenseful portrait of human ingenuity and resilience in this powerful narrative of a desperate effort to save Earth ... Weir cleverly doles out pieces of Grace’s backstory and information about the mission that landed him in space, tossing in curveballs and judiciously using humor to break the tension as the story builds to an unexpectedly moving ending. This is a winner.
