Project Hail Mary - Review

The Golden Standard for Sci-Fi

Mar 27, 2023

Synopsis:

"Project Hail Mary" by Andy Weir is an American science fiction novel set in the not-so-distant future. The story follows Ryland Grace, a junior high biology teacher turned astronaut, who wakes up from a coma with amnesia. Over time he gradually regains his memory and remembers why he is floating in the middle of the Tau Ceti system. He remembers the alien lifeform known as Astrophage is slowly draining the Sun of its energy, which is directly affecting the Earth. His main goal is to find a way to eliminate Astrophage to save the earth. The problem is that they only have around 30 years to do so, and Astrophage is seemingly unstoppable. Along the way to Tau Ceti, Ryland comes across an alien whom he names Rocky (he looks like a rock). Rocky is an Eridian whose planet is also affected by Astrophage. The two have to overcome many obstacles and work together to find a way to save both their planets in the short time they have, all while forming a bond, unlike anything they had at home.

Character Overview:

Ryland Grace: The main protagonist, a former molecular biologist, was booted out for proposing that alien life doesn't need H2O to survive. He later became a junior high biology teacher with love for his kids (students) before being recruited by Eva Stratt to save the world. He is the sole survivor of the Hail Mary trip.

Eva Stratt: Arguably the second protagonist, she is a dutch woman who was previously an administrator for the European Space Agency. Stratt was given nearly absolute authority over everyone on earth for her to save the planet. An example of this power was her quickly blowing up a portion of Antarctica to buy the world more time. Her main goal was to research and figure out how to stop Astrophage, which led to her leading Project Hail Mary.

Rocky: Rylands soon-to-be best friend, Rocky, is an Eridian engineer from the 40 Eridani system whose planet is also being slowly destroyed by Astrophage. Rocky manages to be the sole survivor of his ship (Blip A), made from an alien metal known as Xenonite. Rocky is a five-limbed alien with a rough, rock-like exterior. Like all Eridians, Rocky has a photographic memory and communicates using precise musical tones and chords.

Other Key Figures:

Yáo Li-Jie: Commander of Hail Mary's crew who dies during the trip to Tau Ceti.

Olesya Ilyukhina: Engineer and EVA specialist of Hail Mary's crew, who dies during the journey to Tau Ceti.

Martin DuBois: Original science advisor for the Hail Mary mission. He dies in an explosion nine days before launch.

Annie Shapiro: The original backup science advisor on the Hail Mary mission. She dies with Martin in the same blast, which leads to Ryland's adventure aboard the Hail Mary.

Dr. Lokken: A Norwegian scientist who helps design the Hail Mary and its rotational gravity.

Dimitri Komorov: A Russian scientist who develops the Astrophage-based propulsion system (fuel system) for the Hail Mary.

Robert Redell: Develops a method to breed Astrophage rapidly.

Steve Hatch: Developer of the Beetle probes used to transport any data and findings back to earth. There are four beetles, John, Paul, George, and Ringo.

François Leclerc: Climatologist who helps to blow up the Antarctic ice sheets. Using fusion bombs in a last-ditch effort, they are able to slow down the rapid climate changes caused by the Astrophage.

Review:

One of the things that Weir did a fantastic job with was the fluidness between Ryland in the present and the past. Every memory he had regained contributed to the story at the right time, and it never felt like filler, leading to the main story progressing smoother than most others. Not only did it make the story move along smoothly, but it also supplied multiple major plot twists that transformed the entire story and how you viewed Ryland.

One major storyline which made me even more invested in the story is the relationship between Ryland and Rocky. Ryland is a human, and Rocky is an Eridian, and he speaks using musical tones but has no eyes. But somehow, they become best friends, to the point where Rocky attempts to sacrifice his own life to save Rylands. This brings up the matter of Rocky's selflessness and loyalty to his entire planet and Ryland. This clashes with Ryland's selfishness, but Ryland's personality grows on the Hail Mary, and he slowly becomes more like Rocky as they spend so much time together.

The realism used in Project Hail Mary is known as Hard Science Fiction, which makes this book unique compared to typical science fiction books. Weir does extensive research to ensure everything in his novels is scientifically accurate. It can be argued that this novel's vast amount of mathematics and science is filler, but everything has a meaning that advances the story and is all explained in depth.

Conclusion:

The mixture of mystery with action and science makes this novel not just one of the best sci-fi novels but one of the best sci-fi stories I have ever experienced. Weir did a fantastic job blending his story with accurate scientific facts that'll make you feel like a scientist and know exactly what's going on, even if you struggle with science. He put a spin on what alien life could be with his unique interpretations of alien life. Project Hail Mary is a captivating novel about rescuing the world from a realistic problem in a practical way. The story is full of plot twists and other storylines that will make you lose track of time while reading it. But the story isn't all about plot twists and sci-fi. It is about the friendship between Rocky and Ryland. I would give Project Hail Mary five stars and make it a must-read for any sci-fi lover.