Project Hail Mary – Andy Weir
100-Word (or Less) Synopsis: A mysterious microbe is sucking power from the sun and threatening Earth. Project Hail Mary is our last hope to stop the impending ice age, but the crew’s experiences in space will be anything but easy — or ordinary.
Expectation: A science fiction snooze-fest.
Reality: A surprisingly funny and touching story about second chances and building community.
Recommended For: In general, this is a crowd pleaser.
Why I Read It: I needed to read a book not set on Earth to complete a reading challenge and this seemed like the best bet.
My Take:
A mysterious microbe is absorbing the sun’s energy, which will usher in a new ice age within decades, essentially decimating life on Earth. Our last hope is to place trust in the power of science, and the hive of white coat and military leaders attempting to do the impossible — a manned mission to a different solar system — to find a solution.
Some people might salivate at that premise. I’m not one of those people.
While I enjoyed Andy Weir’s “The Martian,” I also found the overwhelming science of it tedious. As one of my first audiobooks, it was the perfect example of how the format can help you slog through the more inaccessible sections of a story. Ultimately, I was entertained by that novel, but even more so by the fantastic film adaptation.
Still, I didn’t want to read this book.
The genre and premise were two solid strikes against it, but this book had three things going for it: 1) I needed to read a book not set on Earth to complete my local library’s annual reading challenge; 2) A friend whose reviews I trust raved about it; and 3) My sister-in-law made it available in her Audible library.
So, imagine my surprise when I was sending out “OMG, this is so good!” texts to family and friends by the time I reached the halfway point.
The humor, characters and emotional anchors of second chances and overcoming differences were all landing perfectly, and for a while I thought this could be my favorite read published in 2021.
Then, the second half happened, and Weir got up to his old tricks.
All the elements that made the first half work perfectly were destroyed in the second half by an insane amount of science talk that a lay person cannot even begin to understand. Then our main character, Ryland Grace, became so MacGyverish with his problem solving and melancholy it almost became a MacGruber parody.
Weir did nail the ending, which helped pull this out of overdone plot device territory, so it is still a story I would highly recommend to fellow science fiction detractors looking for a change, with the caveat that it’s about 100-pages too long.
What I Loved
First, the humor is laugh out loud funny at various points. If you love high-brow sarcasm, then you’ll love this. For as depressing as the premise is, Weir was able to channel the catharsis of laughter perfectly.
Second, Grace’s relationships with Rocky — especially — and Eva Stratt, head of the UN task force leading Project Hail Mary, were ultimately the saving grace of the story. These characters are presented as foils to Grace, but they help prevent him from becoming too inaccessible.
Third, Weir makes some not-so-subtle digs at science detractors, which gives the story — along with its climate change plot points — added importance. He was likely finishing this novel during the onset of COVID-19, and he adds enough science-on-a-compressed-timeline-that-still-works-and-will-save-humanity details that will hopefully open eyes. (Who am I kidding, people that don’t believe in science won’t read this book.)
Fourth, the last act big reveal. I’m not going to spoil it here, but it made me reconsider everything that had happened up to that point. Usually plot points like that can fall flat or feel cheap, but this one felt organic and added to the story.
Finally, Rocky. [minor spoilers ahead] As someone who usually dislikes science fiction, the idea that an extraterrestrial was going to feature so prominently in this novel was a big red flag. But, again, Weir showed he’s astute at social commentary and took our culturally issues and gave us a road map to solve them through Grace and Rocky’s relationship. Humor, patience, and shared beliefs help these two aliens relate to one another and work together to solve problems bigger than them. It was one of the best relationships I’ve read this year.
What I Disliked
There’s a fair amount of “The Martian” déjà vu, both with Grace’s personality and problem-solving ability, and the cast of supporting characters that often come across as stock with a few unique traits. I don’t blame Weir for sticking with a formula that works, but the similarities were so great, this could’ve been a continuation of Mark Watney’s experiences in space.
We get it, Andy, you’re smart. Even more so because you can take dense scientific information and make it (mostly) digestible with humor. But know your audience! Most people that read your novels are not PhDs in chemistry, we’re regular people that barely passed biology in high school so our tolerance for your intellectual flourishes will only go so far.
This was a solid step forward in storytelling for Weir, but I hope he doesn’t go the way of Stephen King and not let a talented editor do their job to tighten the narrative and remind him that not everyone needs a refresher on the properties of nearly every gas found in our solar system to appreciate the story.
I’m going to make a bold statement here — this may be the best audiobook of 2021. Ray Porter did an award worthy job of embodying every single character and giving voice to languages known and unknown. It was a joy having him take me on this journey, and I think it’s the only way to experience “Project Hail Mary.”
Rating (story): 4.5/5 stars
Rating (narration): 5/5 stars
Formats: Audiobook (SIL’s library)
Dates read: November 21 - 25, 2021
Multi-tasking: Good to go. I mostly prepped for Thanksgiving dinner while listening.
