Dr. Ryland Grace is a junior high science teacher that somehow ends up the sole survivor on a space ship on a mission to save earth due to the sun dying. This was honestly such a fun audiobook. I’m sure the physical is excellent as well, but I’m begging you, if you can find the audio, read it that way. Despite the fact that science has consistently been my worst subject in school, Weir manages to make it comprehensible AND exciting. There was no point where I felt the need to yada yada through the scientific explanations. A novel managing to be high stakes and filled with tension while being hilarious is something I have not encountered before. The tone of the main character makes the pacing really enjoyable and kept me engaged the entire time.

The only reason this is not a full 5 stars is because throughout the story, I found myself wishing we had gotten a few more glimpses of earth while this is all happening. I would’ve loved to know how society has changed in the face of this catastrophe. We are inside Dr. Grace’s head, and he is committed to his mission, which means we don’t see much outside of that. I would’ve loved even just an interlude or epilogue of how earth was faring. That’s a very small nitpick, though. Overall, this was fantastic, and I’m mad I left it on my tbr for so long.

Summary:
Astropage (Alien Micro-Organism) are attracted towards the sun and are eating its energy which will eventually lead to Earth freezing in few years if these Astrophage are not stopped. So to save the earth, a suicide space mission is planned consisting of 3 Astronauts who are not really Astronauts. Dr. Ryland Grace, our potential saviour, is the only survivor out of the 3 but when he wakes up from sleep and meets us, the readers, he doesn't even remember his own name or why is he in space.

From here on the journey to save our galaxy starts with Dr. Grace gradually discovering what happened in his past along with what lies ahead of him in future while doing some crazy adventures and lots of science stuff in present with a brother (not really) from another mother - earth (I mean planet).

What I Liked:
1) Dr. Grace - The Protagonist: While Mark Watney from the Martian and Dr. Grace from PHM could be long lost brothers, I can't blame the author to take the safer route and choose what worked best for him before. Dr. Grace is funny, courageous in right amount, smart and relatable.
2) Rocky - Rocky is definitely the star of the show! From his look to his mannerism to his habits, the author has done a commendable job of making us fall in love with this alien. The interactions between Dr. Grace and Rocky are handled beautifully.
3) Science Porn - I am not a huge fan of authors digging deep into technicalities while explaining the scientific reasoning behind a particular experiment or an event. The author has done exactly the same in this book but the way it has been done does not feel jarring. It actually feels quite smooth and definitely adds to the overall experience.
4) Humour - The story is filled with just the right amount of Humour. It doesn't take anything away from the importance of the mission yet it ensures that the reader doesn't take the book too seriously and makes it a fun read.
5) Ending - I really loved the ending. It's not the most creative one out there. But I wouldn't have this book end any other way.

What I didn't like:
1) Earth Storyline - The starting was fine when we discover who our protagonist is and how he signed up for the mission. But once that part was over the rest of it felt bit of a filler compared to what was happening elsewhere.

Conclusion:
Even though the premise of the story and the characteristics of our main protagonist are quite similar to The Martian, the different route that Project Hail Mary takes from that premise is worth experiencing once at least. Someone said that it's a decent mixture of Interstellar + Martian + Arrival and I completely agree with it. These 3 are spectacular sci-fi movies. So you can guess how good the book must be.

Genuinely one of the best books I’ve read in a long time. It was adventurous but also a look into how humans think and interact. The twists and turns kept it interesting from the beginning. Will be re-reading this when I forget enough of the plot.

I haven't read or watched The Martian, Weir's most well known work and its movie, but I did listen to Artemis. From that experience, I came to Project Hail Mary hoping for fun science exploration and nerd talk and fearing simplistic characters.
In I way, I got exactly what I expected, but also, I got much more from it than from reading Artemis.
PHM puts us in the mind of a man waking from a coma, alone, in a spaceship, amnesiac and far from earth. From there, a tale of scientific investigation and experimentation with the highest of stakes is told. The central character - Ryland Grace - is, predictably, a funny nerd, overexcited with a lot of what he discovers, but as his past is "revealed" he's given some layering and it's in this that the novel veers from the expected and safe. The exploration of the idea of self, of how our personality can be a reflection of our experiences and changeable with what we live through (or forget we've lived through), to the point of thinking of ourselves as capable and smart or incompetent, as heroic or cowardly, as intrepid explorers or blundering fools, permeates PHM, if superficially, interspersed with the hard sci-fi lingo and ideas.

There are two other characters that merit reference here, but speaking of them is unavoidably spoilery: Rocky and Stratt. The idea of Stratt is better than the execution, her position as a believable wallfacer - yes, one often thinks of Three Body Problem, although the books are so very different - is interesting, but the strong woman with no scruples turns to an unidimensional boss up until the last second and even then. Rocky is fun. Rocky is actually very fun. But he is also too human and young cool dude archetype to honor his place as a proper first alien contact representative, even if his spidery and mineral descriptions do try to alienate him from us. He's a sidekick if I ever read one. Serves all those functions so predictably well that I almost started looking for the comic book vignettes. Anyway, as a sidekick he works well, some of his moments with the main character had me smiling.
While on spoilers, the ending was bittersweet and, if quite unbelievable - if one's suspension of disbelieve survived the atmosphere fishing -, still appropriate for the main character. I found myself liking it despite my own instincts.

Weir's prose, excepting the hard science moments, is simple, as is his dialogue. The plot is well structured and serves the story well, as does the analeptic telling of the origin of PHM and Grace's participation in it.
Weir's book ends up working well. Its simplicity isn't a shortcoming if what the readers takes from it is fun, some science brain-poking and comforting problem-solving. Personally, I'd have liked to believe more and to see some depth in specific points, but I had a great time listening to Ray Porter and devoured it in a few days. I'd read more from Andy Weir, but would rather it be something in a different setting. 

I am not a science fiction girly at all - but this was SO GOOD. It was hilarious, moving, and had me at the edge of my seat. I feel like I could recommend this to anyone and they would enjoy it.

Jazz hands. Very amaze. Major fist bump.

A generational sci-fi literature.

Amaze.

I loved this so much. The characters were so fun and refreshing to read about in the face of such a perilous situation. This book will stay with me for a long time, for its end of world threat, for its demonstration of kindness in the face of fear and for its creation of a hero from a man who never thought he could be one.

Strongly suggest listening to the audiobook, the narrator makes this such a fun ride. For the first 2 hrs, i was convinced it was Tom Hanks!

Great story, really fun, but hugely science based. I personally think if i’d read the book, i may have gotten lost. Loved it though.

I absolutely adored this from start to finish, one of the best books I have ever read. You would think the concept would be boring with one man in a spaceship but Andy Weir has a way of writing Grace's monologue that feels conversational, like speaking to someone you know.

Amazing book, couldn't recommend more.

The Martian was great, and I don't think I need anything else from this guy

Andy Weir, in my opinion, has never really found a standard-novel-format voice/narration style that suits him - Martian avoided the need substantially with its format; Artemis was fairly boring in all respects, but inoffensive; this is way "richer" in terms of plot, characters And voice, but the last was annoying enough ("witty" and "irreverent" are words I imagine people that enjoyed it would use) that I dropped it 2/3rds of the way in.

such a cute, quirky, sweet read. a look into what it means to be human and how friendship comes from many places. fun science bits as well that make this a fun sci fi read

Good science, but the science becomes a bit dull when the plot line is just - life finds a way, and another one, and another one.....and another.....boy this is getting a bit old.

Would have like to see a tragic plotline that stuck for more than a few chapters at least :////

I understand that Mr. Weir wants the book to be accessible, but the writing is very elementary and deteriorates from the reading experience.

Very good

The book is very much written like a script and is quite predictable.

Good book entertaning, nothing special, good math

An absolute masterclass in storytelling.

This is probably my book of the year. Absolutely perfect.

Very good, a nice plot twist, got me emotionally invested in the characters whilst doing the normal Andy Weir play of nerdy details throughout, enjoyed it very much.

Such an amazing book to read. Loved every bit of it.

This book reminds me a lot of The Martian. Not the story, but the goofy, self-narrative that is almost half of the book, not that I mind about it. It gives Ryland Grace, the main character, a little bit of humbleness and humanness that we can't all be scientific and serious at the same time. We can be stupid, telling ourselves stupid jokes and think that we can get away with it, when we're ALONE. Yes, he's alone. In Space. Familiar? Ryland Grace woke up in a spaceship all alone (although he didn't reveal much in the start, but there's a chart of a spaceship on the beginning of the book and that you know the book is about space, so not much clue wasted there) and he had no clue where he was going or how he ended up there. But he gained his memory little by little and what he remembers will shock you! HAHA, enough with the clickbait, get on reading...