Book Review: I Finally Read “Project Hail Mary” And Here’s Why Andy Weir Might Have Written the Most Addictive Sci-Fi Book of the Decade

Continuing my mission to aggressively attack my physical TBR this year, I picked up Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. I may be the last person to finally read this book, but I’m so glad I did. it had me cackling. Yes, he’s on a one way mission to save Earth, so there are some serious moments and tragedies. BUT the humor in this book was so incredibly funny. If you love physics, space, and the idea of tackling impossible problems, you will probably love this book too. I know some people are put off by the amount of scientific language in this book, thinking they might find it too intimidating. However, the main character is a teacher, and the way he explains things definitely has a teacher lens, so while there are incredibly complex topics, they’re explained in a way that’s easy to understand—even if you don’t get the finer bits of it. Plus, have I mentioned how funny it is? I did, didn’t I? But seriously, this book was hilarious. Probably a lot of that comes from the phenomenal job of the narrator, Ray Porter. The various voices, intonations, and comedic timing were genius. I would absolutely recommend this book to anyone interested in sci-fi that wants something fast paced and slightly unhinged.

Things to Know:

• Sci-fi

• Climate story

• Save the Planet

• ET life

• Found family

• Physics

• Humorous

Ryland wakes up alone in a spaceship not knowing who he is or where he is. Terrifying, right? Slowly memories start seeping back in and he realizes he’s on a one-way mission to save planet Earth. I was trying to decide how spoilery to be in this review, and I do think it’s best going into this book as blind as possible, so I’m going to keep things…vague.

I absolutely love the banter and humor in this book. There were so many times where the audiobook had be laughing out loud. We alternate between flashbacks of his time on earth finding out about the impending doom and prepping for the mission, and his current location on the Hail Mary spaceship. At first I found this a bit jarring, but eventually, I enjoyed the back and forth. We learn bits and pieces of his life, and how he came to be where he is. There are, of course, some reveals that may or may not be surprising.

I absolutely LOVED Rocky. I can’t really say more, because…spoilers…but I guarantee you will too.

Does this book require you to suspend disbelief? Yeah, for sure. But it’s a fun adventure, and there wasn’t a dull moment throughout the entire book. I’m super excited to watch the movie now and see how they brought this story to life.

As mentioned above, and I think everyone I’ve seen who’s read this and talked about it—the audiobook is a must! I did an immersive read with my physical hardcover and the audiobook, and this narrator was so perfect for this book. I would highly, highly recommend it. You can find the audiobook on Audible or Libro.fm (ProTips: Audible is 99 cents/mo for three months right now AND you can get two free audiobooks on Libro.fm with the code SWITCH right now).

Quotes:

“It’s a dark and depressing feeling to have all your closest colleagues get together and decide you should die.”

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