Source: Goodreads

Book Review: Project Hail Mary

I am a nerd. When I was a little boy, it felt like every kid wanted to be an astronaut, me included. I imagined that being an astronaut must feel truly out of this world (pun intended). So naturally, when a movie about an astronaut stranded on Mars starring Matt Damon came out, the nerd in me was in the front seat of the theater. And when I heard that the same author wrote another story about another unfortunate astronaut, the nerd in me bought the book in a heartbeat.

Ryland Grace woke up in a pristine white room. In the room with him are two corpses of a man and a woman he does not recognize. He peeks out a window and sees the sun. This suggests he is in a spacecraft. But on closer inspection, this star does not look quite like our sun. So he is in another solar system. As you might imagine, waking up and finding that you are not in the solar system you were born in, with two mummies and no knowledge of why you are there, is confusing, to say the least.

Like Grace, I think the readers should approach this book without prior knowledge. Over the course of the story, Grace slowly remembers who he is and why he is there, and the discovery process is deeply engaging. Nerds like me will especially enjoy this book, since many science-heavy ideas and problem-solving moments are woven directly into the plot. And in this book is one of my favorite character in any books, a small guy with a big personality and even bigger heart(s?). This is impressize, since this book is short and he only appears halfway through, yet his dialog and mannerisms are very charming. I won’t spoil even the name; let us just call him Captain Boulder for now.

What I dislike about this book is that the disasters Grace faces feel too convenient, and sometimes feel like obvious plot devices. Whenever he makes progress, there is always another problem that threatens the mission, multiple times. However, I still think it is tolerable, and this does not undermine the overall enjoyment of the story.

Lastly, Ryan Gosling is playing Ryland Grace in the upcoming adaptation movie. Like The Martian, the nerd in me will be in the front row for this too, watching him and Captain Boulder take on the space once more.

4.5/5