February 6, 2025
This is one of the best science fiction books that I’ve read. It's heavy on detail and heavy on the science, so it may not appeal to all readers, but it worked for me. It's an intellectual adventure, brilliantly plotted, the twists and turns in the story are unpredictable, and it is impossible to stop reading once you get into it.
While this is a book with huge, overarching themes, the story starts small, with the protagonist, Dr Ryland Grace, waking up after being in a coma for a long time. He has no idea who he is or where he is. He gets out of bed, takes a look around, and realises that he’s in a spaceship millions of miles away from earth, and he’s all alone because his crewmates are all dead.
He remembers things slowly. So, we learn things as he does, a bit at a time. This is an excellent narrative device because we’re right there with him, feeling the shock and the surprise, the fear and the wonder as each new detail is revealed to him and to us. As more of his memories come back to him, Dr Grace remembers what the space mission was about, and what he and his crewmates were there to do...what he has to now do alone. Only, he’s not alone for long.
Project Hail Mary is based on a couple of classic science fiction tropes, a threat to life on earth, and first contact with an alien species. The threat here is extinction, the how and why of it is ingenious. But the real heart of the book, is Andy Weir's imagining of an intelligent alien species, and his account of how this human and alien learn to communicate and to get along, how they come to rely on each other, and become friends. First contact is a theme that never gets boring because it provides so much scope for imagination and every writer can take it a completely different direction. Weir delivers a unique and thoroughly refreshing take on it.
This review is a bit short on detail because I’m trying not to give out any spoilers. One of the things that makes this book such an experience to read is the slow reveal of what it's all about. Some readers might find it a bit too slow, but it's worth staying with the book because all that build up does pay off in the end.
Written in the first person, we see everything through the eyes of the protagonist. This brings an immediacy to the narrative that makes it even more immersive. Ryland Grace is intelligent, ingenious, and funny, but he’s also self-centered, cocky and annoying. This can be a bit off-putting, but it's worth looking past it because the other main character who only appears when you’re well into the book, is utterly charming, and the interactions between the two, human and alien are wonderful to read.