Was this as good as The Martian? Probably not.

Do I care? No.

I read Weir's books because of their plots (which are always riveting), the science behind them (which to my untrained eye seems solid) and Weir's voice (which is just the right amount of irreverent). This novel delivers on all fronts.

I am a Spanish speaker who just came to understand what a "Hail Mary pass" is fairly recently. However, he title is more than apt as Ryland's mission depends on good luck or mystical blessings. The result is a book that is hard to put down a readers wonder if the end will be a Hail Mary or a fumble.

I enjoyed this book so much. In fact, I texted my dad at least twice while I was reading to tell him he really needed to get and read this book.
I don't want to say a lot about the plot because it is much more fun for the reader to discover things along with the main character. But what I loved is basically what I loved about the Martian (although these are very different books)
1) Clever use of technology - and I think Andy Weir is very good at making science exciting!
2) Inner dialogue with humor
3) All of the characters working hard in support of a major goal.
4) The drama of things going wrong.

Anyway, this was such a good and exciting book. I thought about it all night after I finished reading.

I got this copy from netgalley to review. But I've also bought the audio and l will for sure be getting another for my Dad.

Weir hits another home run and moves firmly into my top five favorite authors. Hail Mary returns to the vibe of The Martian, as scientific detail, resourcefulness, and on-the-fly innovation are required in order to survive. Masterfully drawn characters endeared themselves to me with personality, grit, and determination. Sarcasm and humor add a delightful new element to Weir's work, I was sad to see this one end. Well, well done.

The geekiest of geekfests. I did not think it was possible to be geekier than The Martian, but apparently I was wrong. This was geekier.

The concept of this book is very imaginative: The book begins with our hero waking up with no idea of who or where he is. He soon discovers he is in a spaceship, and that his crewmates are dead. He's alone and he has to figure out what his mission is. His memories come back little by little, and we learn what he is in space to do just as he does. The book continues, alternating between flashbacks and the present time, with the tension getting ever higher after we realize that the fate of the Earth is depending on his success.

I liked this book a lot, but I will admit that there was a little too much science for me at times. It is clear that the author did a lot of homework to make sure this book was as realistic as he could make it. I appreciated that, but it did make my eyes cross a few times. I also think I liked the character in The Martian better than this guy. These are the only reasons I am not giving it 5 stars. I can't wait to share it with SciFi fans at our library.

Man I wanted to love this book so bad. I was sucked in at the beginning but once it got going the timeline where he was back home learning of what had happened and how he became the one to go to space was boring. It was too much scientific talk for me. I did love the parts where he was in outer space. I was sucked in ever time I was on those parts. But the minute it went back boy did it drag. Though I do think this would make a great book to screen adaptations and I would be there opening night.

Andy Weir's first book, The Martian, was a huge hit about an astronaut stranded on Mars and the effort to rescue him. It resulted in a movie that was also a hit. His second book, Artemis Moon, was a mystery on the moon and didn't get quite the same attention but it was an enjoyable story. Now, with Project Hail Mary, Weir returns to a similar situation as The Martian. The result? A good read that doesn't quite recapture the incessant readability of his first book.

Ryland Grace wakes up to find himself alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he is there. Through trial, error, and patience, he begins to recover his memory and figure out just what is going on. And much to his astonishment, he realizes that he is the only hope of saving Earth from certain doom and he might not be qualified for the task.

Project Hail Mary is told in both the present time and with flashbacks, as Grace's memory returns in fits and spurts. This helps to put his present situation in context and provides Weir the opportunity to make several important reveals that wouldn't have near the impact if the story was told in a straight linear style. There are also several twists and turns that keep the reader guessing as to just how this story will turn out.

Weir has created a relatable character with Ryland Grace. I don't want to reveal too much and spoil it, so I'll just say that the first person narrative and Grace's self-deprecating humor work really well. I felt invested in Grace's struggle to figure out who he is and his quest to save humanity.

The story is also entertaining. There are enough twists to keep things interesting and Weir's writing style carries the reader along. Additionally, I never quite felt sure about how things would turn out and I did not see the ending coming in advance. I appreciate that because many books telegraph the resolution well in advance.

Overall, I enjoyed Project Hail Mary. While not on the level of The Martian, it was still an intriguing story with an interesting premise and protagonist. I would recommend it to fans of Weir's other books.

I received a preview copy of this book from Random House Publishing - Ballantine and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Project Hail Mary was amazing. I read it until I fell asleep and picked it back up when I woke up in the morning. A book I wanted to read as fast as I could, but didn't want it to end. Ryland Grace wakes up alone, in an unfamiliar place, with wires and tubes attached in some sort of medical facility. He has now idea where his is or why he might be there or even who he is. As he gets his wits back, he realizes that he is on a spaceship, leaving him even more puzzled. Through flashbacks as he regains his memory, we find out what his mission is and how he ended up here. Now he just needs to figure out how to save Earth. There was just so much, but it is all spoilers. So all I can say is Read This Book!

This was my first Andy Weir book, and I am a fan! I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down, I didn’t want it to end. I loved the characters, the story and the tone. It’s like sci-fi with a heart.
It’s a little heavy on the science, but it wasn’t critical to the story for me to understand it all. All the stars for this one. A fave of the year for sure.
Thanks to net galley and Random House/Ballantine Books for the arc.

(I received a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review)

I wasn't sure what to expect going into Project Hail Mary. I enjoyed The Martian, but Artemis was more uneven, and the narrator seemed way to similar in mannerisms to that of The Martian despite having entirely different backgrounds. Then I start this and the narrator...also talks like Mark Watney (who also presumably talks and thinks like Andy Weir). The story structure, though, is completely different from both previous Weir outings and goes to places I was definitely not expecting. The result is a triumph that surpasses even the heights of The Martian.

The protagonist, whose name we don't learn until a few chapters in, wakes up from a coma and is remembering how he got there while at the same time solving problems and dealing with the current-day situation. I'm being purposefully vague, because the book summary does not reveal much of the plot, and I think it's worth going in completely blind. There are a number of major spoilery twists as the book goes on, and the less you know about what's coming the more enjoyable it is.

Normally in my reviews I will do some spoiler-tagged nitpicking about various plot points or characters motivations, and there are certainly things that felt a little too pat or glossed over, but if sacrifices were made in the name of story or readability, they were well worth it. Like The Martian, the story is immensely compelling and hard to put down. I would highly recommend it to anyone who likes hard sci-fi, even if you don't fully understand all the science and engineering details, as Weir's writing style is as approachable as anything out there this side of John Scalzi.

Get ready for space because there's a lot of it and it's non-stop. I'm going to try and do this without giving away spoilers, but heed my warning. Much of this book is reveal after reveal especially in the situations where Ryland has no idea how to proceed forward. I'll try to keep mum about bigger stuff, but I'm going to share smaller details.

I think the biggest thing people will do with this book is compare it to <em>The Martian</em>. And while both books carry some similar themes, they're starkly different. First off, Ryland is not stuck on Mars. In fact, he's not even in our solar system. Second, there's no one coming to rescue him. So Ryland's mission is to figure out how to save earth and then never return to the world he belongs to.

And this is where most of my anxiety came from. Of course I didn't think about it while he was on his adventures or through the memories he slowly remembers. It was in every single conversation he had with himself about how he won't survive this. It's in the way he talks about how alone he is, how he misses his kids (he's a middle school science teacher), how what he's looking at isn't even our sun, and even if he were to return to earth, 26 years would have passed on earth.

Some of these conversations were so honest and human and they were ones that needed to be had. If Ryland was on this space adventure and didn't think about the very real reality for him, I don't think I would have bought the book as much as I did.

It's not considered an Andy Weir book without science and math and this book discusses it a lot. Specifically, it dives into relative physics; how energy is mass and the speed of light to the 2nd power. You may know the formula E=MC². Well, this becomes super relevant in this story and it's really interesting how it's deployed. It also discusses our technology and how far we've come in comparison to other lifeforms in the universe. I loved this juxtaposition of our technology vs. alien technology. I've always thought aliens (if they exist) would be leagues more intelligent than us and have the technology to boot. However, this book tackles those preconceived notions and also shares some interesting theories I never would have guessed.

I thought it was interesting to see this alternating timeline for Ryland. There's a little about what's happening in the present and then a recall to the past with more info he's remembering. I found myself wanting to know more about the present than revisiting the past, but I also understand how this is Ryland and his memories are slowly coming back to him. I think the perspective is the best especially since Ryland was his own person and despite being a middle school science teacher, he was smart, inquisitive, and instinctual.

Overall, this was such a great read. I loved traveling through space with Ryland and his friend, seeing what happens to Project Hail Mary and earth, and seeing what happens to Ryland. The ending was a bit bittersweet and a really wild ending, but it's been such a magical journey so far that you'll definitely be happy with it.

This book is hard to rate. It took me awhile to get into the book but in the end, I really enjoyed the story (even though the beginning reminded me of The Martian). I loved Rocky but thought Grace with his PG cusses, annoying. But my biggest problem was the writing (which once again reminded me of The Martian). Yes science is fascinating. But tone it down with all the overly complex science and math. Half the book is him explaining which made me feel more dumb. Seriously, am I the only one that didn't understand any of it and got bored?

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine and Andy Weir for a copy of "Project Hail Mary" in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this was a great book with a lot of plot twists and it was so hard to put down ! There were some really cool ideas in the book with tons of plot twists that made you keep guessing. I loved the humor that was sprinkled in and while it was very science heavy, I thought it was well explained so you weren’t really lost. will say that I felt that I wanted more with the ending.

I loved Project Hail Mary the way I loved The Martian. (I also loved Artemis, but it sometimes appears I'm in a minority win that sense.)

I love the premise of the lone astronaut, tasked with protecting the world, all while dealing with his own memory loss. Sure, it harkens back to The Martian in many ways, but it is its own story with its own complexities. And I loved every minute of it! I would highly recommend to any science fiction lover.

Andy Weir’s newest novel is an exciting thrill ride! I loved it so much that I read it straight through and then immediately purchased and started listening to the audiobook. Our main character is a high school science teacher who gets pulled in when something is discovered that might end life on earth as we know it. This book has humor, exciting thrills, deep emotions and a fantastic friendship. I received this arc for free from NetGalley for an honest review it as I mentioned previously I loved it so much I purchased the audiobook AND a copy of the book for my personal library. I definitely recommend this novel!

So, I have attempted to write this review a few times. I may have the very unpopular opinion in not loving this novel. Which is on par as I seem to be one of the few who didn’t heavily dislike Andy Weir’s last novel, Artemis. Saying I did not love it does not mean that I did not enjoy it, however. There are things I liked about this book and some things I did not. It’s about 50/50, therefore the right in the middle 3 star rating. I will say a very high 3 star, but not enough for me to give it a 4. The beginning was a little slow going, but I enjoyed the plot twist that’s at about a third of the way in. It was a pleasant surprise with one of my favorite troupes. Andy Weir does a really good job making the hard science stuff easy to understand in his writing which makes the prose flow quickly and keeps the narrative from getting bogged down with too many facts. There are times, though, when he can dumb it down to such a point that it feels condescending. He also tends to rephrase things multiple times to the point it feels redundant. There are also some characteristic revelations towards the end that I did not care for and changed how I felt about our main character slightly. All in all, though I enjoyed the story and felt that the ending was very satisfying. I will probably continue to read Andy Weir’s works as he publishes them.

Once again, Andy Weir brings the goods with Project Hail Mary, his latest novel featuring an inventive astronaut and a thorny science problem. Ryland Grace wakes up on a spaceship far from home, unsure how he got there, who he is, and what he is supposed to do. Grace’s slowly recovering memory reveals that the earth’s sun is dimming due to a microscopic life form that is draining its energy. He is the only surviving member of a crew which has been sent to a nearby star to find the cause and hopefully discover a solution.
The narrative jumps between Grace’s present situation in the nearby galaxy and the past leading up to the trip which has brought him there. Each time we learn a little bit more about who Grace, a middle school science teacher, is and how he became involved in the project that ultimately sent him into space. The memory fog helps us learn about Grace as he learns more about himself with recollections that come back bit by bit.

Grace needs to find a way to complete a mission that was originally designed for three people and solve the problem in time to save Earth. Nothing is ever a straight line in a Weir novel and a series of obstacles and human error have to be overcome to complete the mission. It takes cleverness, some luck, and some science to come up with a solution. Lots and lots of science. Weir has a gift for making the science both digestible and fun. He even manages to make materials science a lot of fun in this story!

Weir creates characters that find their inner strength and ingenuity, are warm, colorful, and funny. He also describes a multinational group that pulls together for one objective, albeit led by one strong-willed, ruthless character and as they are facing planetwide extinction. The story is full of tension but also heart-warming, funny, and full of fascinating science.

Project Hail Mary is an entertaining ride that will carry you from the first page to the ending that is both unexpected and surprisingly touching. Get in on the ground floor because everyone is going to be talking about this book and you will not regret a moment spent reading it. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher.

Extremely solid follow up to The Martian.

Years ago, I picked up his first book after hearing about how good it was, and I read it in about a day. His second book, while good, wasn't nearly on the same level as The Martian.
Project Hail Mary is in every way the follow up that The Martian deserved. Very exciting, unpredictable, and surprisingly good characters', especially the relationship between Grace and his... friend.

Can't recommend enough.

This is a fun space romp, as can be expected from Andy Weir. This novel follows Dr. Grace through the traumas of finding out about the incoming extinction of the sun by an alien organism and then to the subsequent research and travel to attempt to take care of the problem. Seriously this book is really enjoyable. The science is there and explained, but it never felt like too much. The pace is great. The characters are AMAZING. I highly recommend this book and am super thankful to the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to review it.

Ryland Grace wakes up in an unfamiliar bed with a robot caring for him, not remembering his name, not remembering how he got here, not even remembering what 'here' is. Over the next several days, weeks, and months, his memory gradually comes back to him, but for now, he very soon he realizes he is in Space approaching the sun. But on closer look at the sun (and a lot of math calculations), he realizes this isn't the sun but rather a completely different system. A brief panic ensues and in the process he vaguely recalls that Earth was headed towards doom and he is on a mission to find a way to save Earth. Now, if he could only remember what doom that was and what his mission in, then he could very well get on with it.

Having loved Andy Weirs' The Martian and enjoyed Artemis, albeit a little less, I've been looking forward to reading Project Hail Mary. The premise seemed to promise a return to everything I liked about The Martian and now that I've finished the book, I'll say that it is way too similar to The Martian. Ryland Grace is mostly the same character as Mart Watney - overly confident and extremely sarcastic, with an apparent knowledge of almost all scientific facts and trivia (the author's reasoning this time is that junior high school science teachers know a lot of things about everything). The plot also follows a very similar trajectory - starting from a point of impending doom, followed by several opportunities to use science in innovative and household ways to solve difficult problems, and then a curveball at the end.

So yeah, if you don't mind reading The Martian again with almost-the-same protagonist and the same arc, but with a different mission and problems, then you will enjoy Project Hail Mary.

I did enjoy it. Everything I said above bothered me but the plot was extremely engaging that it didn't matter.

As with The Martian, what I enjoyed the most is Grace's ability to solve big problems with simple answers. Even if you don't get all the science-talk, and some of it went over my head too, despite my science background, I couldn't help appreciate the problem-solving abilities on display here. It's exciting to see that happen - all within a spaceship that does see its fair share of disasters. It can take you on an appreciation of all things nerdy.

That said, this book is an extremely alpha-male, cisgendered oriented fiction, probably worse than The Martian was. As Earth slowly begins to learn about the upcoming apocalypse, a grandiose project is put together to help save humanity. Using the rationale that this is a save-the-earth mission, no expense is spared and no concessions are made for any purpose. And so, there is no good diversity representation among the characters. I would have sighed annoyingly and moved on if this wasn't actually made fun of in the book. Every region and character is stereotyped to the hilt and the head of the project (yes, this is a woman) goes on to say she was not in favor of representation, because she wants the best of the best, which, in her opinion, are usually white males. Research has shown that the reason women are not represented well at the top is not due to a lack of talent or intelligence but several social and economic factors. So other than making fun of this problem, the book does nothing to explore that idea. And that is what frustrated me. Why introduce a theme and then not dive into it? Especially one that does need a lot of context shared.

The writing in Project Hail Mary is also somewhat immature - our protagonist exclaims and sighs and panics a lot and the writing over-expresses this. But reading it as a thriller, it didn't matter. Ultimately, this was a very exciting, somewhat poorly written, poorly represented thriller with a great plot.

There is a HUGE spoiler in the book though - I don't know how much of it has come out. When that actually happened, I couldn't put the book down and wanted to see where it went. I have so much to write about this spoiler because it actually is almost three-quarters of the book. I am glad it took that direction, especially since I was reading this book after months of watching Star Trek episodes every evening. But if you plan to read the book and haven't heard of the spoiler yet, I don't want to spoil it for you. All I'll say is, Rocky is the best. (Now, don't you google that.)

Brilliantly written, Project Hail Mary is the follow up that Artemis should have been. Witty dialogue, ingenious plot and Weir's own brand of humor make this another must read for fans of The Martian.