Wow. Just Wow.
5 out of 5 stars
I honestly didn’t think a book could wow me as much as The Martian did when I picked it up a couple of years ago. That book literally changed my life. It turned me into a book blogger because it made me fall in love with reading again. Just like before, Weir is able to write a book that absolutely wows me from the opening lines. Project Hail Mary might be one of the most interesting books I’ve ever read. And on top of that, there’s enough science in it that I honestly feel like I’m learning more than I did in any high school or college class I took.
Going into this one, I really had high hopes. I’d heard really good things from everyone I knew and respected. I saw good reviews and I didn’t see many (if any) bad ones. Usually, when I go into a book with that high of a feeling it ends up disappointing me in some way. Project Hail Mary did the opposite. It somehow exceeded all of my expectations of it.
I didn’t expect a book about someone trying to save the Earth to fill me with such emotions. Numerous times, especially once the star of the book, Rocky, is introduced I was filled with lots of emotions. The interaction between the two characters really made this book. I liked Ryland and how he approaches everything (former academic, now a “cool” high school science teacher). His point of view was perfect for this and allowed for some different aspects to be “dumbed” down a bit (there is no shortage of insanely smart science in this book). But the way he approached things was sort of like watching Bill Nye back in the day. Like he made it interesting and made you want to sit down and figure stuff out with him. His high school “cool” teacher vibes really helped with a lot of the different things he ended up having to do and teach. It just made him such a likable character.
Throw in Rocky, who is by far the star of the show, and you have EASILY one of the best books I’ve ever read. I’m lumping it into the top 3 with The Martian and Jurassic Park of books that I could not put down. Every new page and new chapter brought things that I didn’t expect. Every single turn in this book I both saw coming and didn’t. It was fascinating from beginning to end and I took over a week to formulate my thoughts because I liked it that much.
I was so thrilled to see that Ray Porter was the one narrating this one. I’ve listened to quite a few of his titles and I knew that he would knock Weir’s work out of the park. I went into it with high expectations but even those were shattered by Porter’s performance. I could tell that Porter worked with Weir on different aspects of it. The narration flowed so well (and I love seeing the little blurb at the end of the synopsis mentioning it). I already had Ray Porter in my top 5 list, but this book might jump him into the first or second spot.
Book Description:
Number-One Audible and New York Times Audio Best Seller
A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the number-one New York Times best-selling author of The Martian.
Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission – and if he fails, humanity and the Earth itself will perish.
Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.
All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.
His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.
And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.
Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian – while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.
PLEASE NOTE: To accommodate this audio edition, some changes to the original text have been made with the approval of author Andy Weir.
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
Narrator: Ray Porter
Length: 16 hrs and 10 mins
Published by Audible Studios on May 4th 2021
Genres: Science Fiction
Format: Audiobook
Buy from Audible
Also by this author: The Martian, Artemis, Randomize
