This month’s book recommendation, titled Project Hail Mary, is the perfect book if you’re looking for a true escape — something that will take you so far out of your normal everyday world that you’ll end up in outer space. This is the first science fiction novel I’ve ever read, and I was hesitant to pick it up. But after watching re-runs of the movie “The Martian” (starring Matt Damon), I wanted to see what the writer of that book was going to do next. Plus, Project Hail Mary is coming to movie theatres next year as a major blockbuster starring Ryan Gosling (a perfect fit for this character), so I wanted to read it before I see it. I’m SO GLAD I did because it is easily one of my favorite books now. I listened to the audio version, and the narrator is incredible.
Don’t be worried that you won’t understand the technical aspects of the science. You don’t need to, and I certainly didn’t. It just helps you understand how the main character’s mind works. Trust me, this book is such a fun ride, and you won’t walk away disappointed.
Book title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Genre: Suspense Thriller / Science Fiction Adventure
What it’s about (without spoilers):
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?
An irresistible interstellar adventure as only Andy Weir could deliver, 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.
Why we like it: The majority of this book is spent inside the mind of the main character, Ryland Grace. Even though he’s crazy smart and thinks a lot about complex science, he’s also really funny. He’s humble. He loves kids. He’s a good friend. And he’s such an unapologetic nerd about science that you will find yourself loving it simply because he loves it, too. He doesn’t do science to show off. He does it because he can’t wait to figure out the next answer to the scientific problem in front of him.
This truly is an edge-of-your-seat book that’s hard to put down. My outdoor walking step-count was crazy-high the month I read this book because I walked extra miles just to keep on listening to the Audible version. Even though this might not be the type of book you typically read, take a chance on this one. I bet you’re going to love it, too.
What other people say: This book was released on May 4, 2021, and it has more than 174,000 reviews with a 4.7 out of 5-star rating. Here are a few more quotes from professional reviewers:
“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.”—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
“Funny, well plotted, and full of surprises.”—The Guardian
“Thrilling doesn’t even begin to describe Project Hail Mary, which is undisputedly the best book I’ve read in a very, very long time . . . I cheered, I laughed (a lot), I cried, and when the twist arrived and the book revealed its true target, my jaw hit the floor. Mark my words: Project Hail Mary is destined to become a classic.”—Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Recursion and Dark Matter
About the author: Andy Weir built a two-decade career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full-time.
He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of such subjects as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail. He lives in California.
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