Exactly what I wanted out of a good summer sci-fi read. This may be Weir’s third published novel, but it is a direct spiritual successor to The Martian. Come for the astronaut adventure, stay for barrage of chaos and successive problem solving. It’s the same brand of “show-your-work” sci fi that leads the reader through mountains of calculations in an approachable, almost casual narrative voice.

It’s tough to write a full review without spoilers honestly, because so much of what makes the story stand out are bits that the reader and the protagonist are figuring out together, even the backstory is revealed as a slow stream of flashbacks and revelations. There’s something for everyone: whether you are drawn to the astrophysics, engineering, microbiology, climatology, or interstellar apocalypse. Let’s just say it exists somewhere in the Venn diagram of Ludlum’s Bourne Identity, Crichton’s Andromeda Strain, and Chiang’s Story of your Life (Arrival). Which is why I loved it, obviously.

Okay, so, this was my first Weir book … and I loved it! Definitely gonna go back and read The Martian now. This was a bit of a trek. The pacing felt wonky in a couple places, where it kind of slowed down to a crawl and I felt my attention waning. That being said, though, there were freaking plot twists and I absolutely loved it. The characters felt familiar and easy to root for, and they wormed their way into my heart. There’s a nice balance of science and math for the nerdy readers and explanations of the aforementioned for the less math-inclined (like myself). So it was pretty easy to follow along with, either way. I can’t recommend this one enough! It was fabulous.

I absolutely loved this book. I laughed, I cried. I'm kicking myself for not reading it sooner, but I'll definitely be checking out other books by Andy Weir. I went into this one fairly blind and would recommend doing the same,

My first experience with Andy Weir's work was going with my grandfather Charlie to see THE MARTIAN. Charlie was a troubleshooter on the Viking Project: a brilliant engineer whose heart and mind battled constantly whenever faced with fiction. He could indulge in high fantasy and swashbuckler films, but true hard sci-fi was beyond him. His mind wouldn't accept any suspension of disbelief that required outright rejection of a known fact. Asimov's laws of robotics weren't feasible; a computer can't work that way; AI is unlikely to get that realistic.

Throughout the movie, he'd start to raise these complaints, only to be cut off by the movie itself. "See, he can't do that, it would cause an explosion" — followed immediately by an explosion. After the movie, we asked him for his opinion. "Other than us being ready to send a manned mission to Mars," he said, "everything checked out." I think he saw himself in the movie's heroes: brilliant minds aware of, but not distracted by, the inherent beauty and romance of science. Who could take joy in it while still taking it seriously enough to save a life.

I wish I could have shared PROJECT HAIL MARY with him, seen how he took to the friendship between Dr. Grace and Rocky. If THE MARTIAN took joy in science, PROJECT HAIL MARY sings it a Broadway love song. Reading Weir's books as a person who doesn't understand every process described is like listening to your best friend talk about their favorite thing: you don't need to get every concept, you only need to feel the resulting pride and happiness. Is it brilliant that he's worked out long-distance travel, first contact, and a sun-eating parasite in minute detail? Of course. What's more brilliant is our heroes linked, against all the odds of the universe, by their intellect and drive and excitement.

It's rare for me to find a book that's genuinely worth all the hype it gets, but this is on that extremely short list.

Earth is in serious danger! Ryland Grace is the only survivor of the team that was sent into deep space to find a way to rescue all of the inhabitants of earth. But he cannot remember what his mission is. As his memory begins to return to him little-by-little, time is running out for the inhabitants of earth.

I love this book! MARTIAN was awesome, and this one is as equally remarkable! It is amazing to me how Andy Weir can make a fictional world peopled with fictional characters with fictional dilemmas, seem so real. This book is amazingly fun!

PROJECT HAIL MARY is an unforgettable adventure of nonstop excitement. I highly recommend this book!

4 stars for Rocky!! Make no mistake, every star this book gets, it gets for Rocky-- I was very undecided on this book right up until I met him. But dang was it worth it. A man attempts to recover memories of how he wound up on a last ditch mission to save Earth from an alien microbe in this sci-fi novel. It falls into some of the issues Weir has had before--over explaining his science and not a strong enough editorial hand-- but overall I really enjoyed it. Especially Rocky. All the stars for Rocky.

Probably one of the top 3 books I have ever read. Andy Weir is beyond an author, he straight transports you into the book the second you open it.
This book was so good that I purchased it for my family, and a few of my friends, who love sci-fi.
Perfect in every single way.

Project Hail Mary is an awesome book! The characters were awesome, I loved the plot, and like the Martian, the humor was spot on. Definitely a big fan of Weir’s writing!

I first read Weir when The Martian came out. His latest novel is a wild tale about a high school science teacher who wakes up in a different star system with no memory of how he got there. The rest of the story is all about how he uses science and engineering to save the day. It’s a great book, fun read, Everything I've read by him has been great so far.

This book was OUTSTANDING. I absolutely loved it!!! Totally pulled me in on Page 1, and I could not put it down. Imagination, cleverness and emotion all wrapped into one story that transcends time and space. I enjoyed the enthusiastic writing and creative plot about an astronaut who wakes up and has not only forgot his name, but also what mission he is supposed to be on. Everyone should read this amazing book! Do not miss this one!!

This books length was intimidating, but even with that and all the science lingo, I was hooked. I was excited each time I got to pick up this book. I loved how the author wove in humor throughout the story, just as he did in THE MARTIAN. I loved the comical relationship between the main character and rocky. The science made sense, even though I am not someone with a science degree. I do wish we had a little more at the end, because I feel like it wrapped up quickly for such a long book. I enjoyed it and look forward to reading his future books!

Andy Weir does it again! While the first half of this book was slow moving, I thought the sections with Rocky were great and I loved where the story went.

I really enjoyed Mr. Weir's first book and was so excited to get this copy to read. Unfortunately, for me it just didn't have the same pull as his first book. I read the whole book, hoping that at some point I would fall into the story. It never happened. I felt the story was a bit disjointed, which kept kicking me out the world he was trying to show the reader, and I couldn't empathize with any of the characters, much less the protagonist.

I hate writing negative reviews but this book was not what I was hoping for from Mr. Weir.

I have read and loved Weir's previous titles, so I had high expectations for this book. It didn't disappoint. I love space and sci-fi, and the cover first drew me in, but the spectacular story and stellar writing kept me reading way too late into the night! Weir is now on my auto buy list.

I always read books from this author. Project Hail Mary is a wonderful book. Part sci-fi and part about relationships. The twist was amazing and unexpected. I definitely would recommend.

Dr. Grace gets involved in a project to save the planet and goes from Teacher to astronaut. Engaging read with lots of science. ARC from NetGalley.

I haven't read The Martian yet, but if it is anything like Project Hail Mary, I think I would enjoy it. Even though Ryland is mostly the only character through most of the book, his memories of events on Earth and how he interacts with the ship is entertaining.

Absolutely loved this one. I blew through it on vacation and included it on my 2021 Summer Reading Guide.

(2021) Full disclaimer: I am a sucker for a good sci fi adventure! But those can be pretty heavy on scientific boring details, right? Well, if you feel in the mood for a wild intergalactic survival story of epic proportions, Project Hail Mary is IT, and the best news? The science part is freaking awesome.

The Sun is being eaten by a newly discovered threat and we are running out of time to figure out how to stop the tiny black dots from consuming the one thing essential to Earth’s survival. To do that, we need to send a crew to a whole other side of space. To do THAT, they need to be put in a coma. And only a handful of people have the gene allowing them to survive years-long coma. Only 3 people can be on the ship. Only 1 person will actually survive the trip. Oh, and did I mention that it’s a one-way journey? Can it get worse?! Sure can!!

OK, so everyone drop what you’re doing and go read this book now, because it’s phenomenal! I laughed, I Cried, I felt elated and in awe of Weir’s storytelling skills. He hits all the right notes with this book. It’s epic and it’s wholesome and it’s just so freaking entertaining!

Thank you for the advanced copy of this book! I will be posting my review on social media, to include Instagram, Amazon, Goodreads, and Instagram!