Name: Project Hail Mary
Rating: 4.50546875 (1344 reviews)
ISBN: 9780593135204

Andy Weir

The sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission to save both humanity and the earth, Ryland Grace is hurtled into the depths of space when he must conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. 

A Novel

Project Hail Mary

Thierry Schellenbach

Rahma Ali

Zhao Ma

Danny White

Gravity doesn’t just “go away” when you’re in orbit. In fact, the gravity you experience in orbit is pretty much the same as you’d experience on the ground. The weightlessness that astronauts experience while in orbit comes from constantly falling. But the curvature of the Earth makes the ground go away at the same rate you fall. So you just fall forever

It’s a weird feeling, scientific breakthroughs. There’s no Eureka moment. Just a slow, steady progression toward a goal. But man, when you get to that goal it feels good.

And just like that another climate denier is born. See how easy it is? All I have to do is tell you something you don’t want to hear.

For fifty thousand years, right up to the industrial revolution, human civilization was about one thing and one thing only: food. Every culture that existed put most of their time, energy, manpower, and resources into food. Hunting it, gathering it, farming it, ranching it, storing it, distributing it…it was all about food

It’s rare to find a scientist who is also a good administrator

Antarctica used to be a jungle. For millions of years it was as lush as Africa. But continental drift and natural climate change froze it over. All those plants died and decomposed. The gases from that decomposition—most notably methane—got trapped in the ice.”

Tabea

Also bin ich ein Mann Mitte dreißig, der allein in einem kleinen Apartment lebt, ich habe keine Kinder, aber ich mag Kinder sehr. Mir gefällt nicht, wohin das führt... Lehrer! Jetzt erinnere ich mich! Gott sei Dank. Ich bin Lehrer.

»Tja, jetzt bist du nicht mehr allein, Freund«, sage ich. »Wir sind beide nicht mehr allein.«

“I penetrated the outer cell membrane with a nanosyringe.”

“No!” I said. “Well. Yes. But it was a scientific poke with a very scientific stick.”

It’s a simple idea, but also stupid. Thing is, when stupid ideas work, they become genius ideas.

A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 New York Times bestselling 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.

Though I don't love Weir's writing style and I don't love Grace's somewhat dopey, happy-go-lucky character, I still really enjoyed this book. Besides Grace, Rocky was a charming little guy. I wish the book explored his culture more and explored what his mission was like for him, especially the part where he was the only survivor amongst his massively sized crew (compared to the Hail Mary) and what effects that would have on him. The other members of the Hail Mary team - Stratt, DuBois and Shapiro, Yáo and Ilyukhina, Dimitri and Lamai and Lokken - are decently well-rounded characters and enjoyable to read about. The twists at the end, first where Grace discovers he did NOT volunteer for the Hail Mary mission, and where Grace decides to go with Rocky away to Rocky's home world, were fun to read for the first time. The scientific writing involving the space travel, logistics of Earth's survival after the Hail Mary's launch and the taumoeba and Protrova line and whatnot were easily the best parts of the book and my favorite to read. The book's central focus, the friendship between Rocky and Grace, was quite charming. Frankly, if the relationship between Rocket and Grace didn't work, this whole book falls apart so it's a good thing that these two are at least mostly enjoyable and their rapport with each other is humorous and pleasant. Lastly, this book set off a bit of a space kick for me that lasted a few months and that I'm only just coming down from. Overall, I enjoyed my time with Project Hail Mary and appreciate it getting me back into Kerbal Space Program if nothing else.

Beatrice

A lone astronaut. An impossible mission. An ally he never imagined. 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, Ryland realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Hurtling through space on this tiny ship, it's up to him to puzzle out an impossible scientific mystery-and conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And with the clock ticking down and the nearest human being light-years away, he's got to do it all alone. Or does he?

I don't know how many literary heroes we have like Ryland. But it's refreshing to encounter a mediocre hero who hides behind other forms of intellectual discourse because of rejection. He is no Arnold nor Picard. His best weapon is curiosity, which makes him effective. 

Nate

I hoped ryland went to earth, but still what an ending. I love this book

Rudransh

Kenneth LeFebvre

First contact at its finest The American response to the pandemic has taken a toll on my optimism for humanity, but the story of Hail Mary depicts the human spirit I have always hoped was real.

First contact at its finest 

The American response to the pandemic has taken a toll on my optimism for humanity, but the story of Hail Mary depicts the human spirit I have always hoped was real.

Gaston Tonietti

OMG! Without doubt, muh kind of sci-fi. Straight to my favourites shelf.

Another great book from Weir, I did watch the film before the book so it was interesting to spot the details that didn't make it into the film but both are enjoyable in their own way.

Carlos Orozco

Never did I think a book could make me feel all the things a movie could, if I’m totally honest.

However, this is an absolute blast of an adventure. It’s got enough heart and spirit to really ignite something within, and the depth of detail from the author is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. 

The relationship between Grace and Rocky steals the show, but the layering of storytelling between the events on Earth and at Tau-Ceti are done impeccably well. Every sentence feels important.

Never did I think a book could make me feel all the things a movie could, if I’m totally honest.

However, this is an absolute blast of an adventure. It’s got enough heart and spirit to really ignite something within, and the depth of detail from the author is unlike anything I’ve ever seen. 

The relationship between Grace and Rocky steals the show, but the layering of storytelling between the events on Earth and at Tau-Ceti are done impeccably well. Every sentence feels important.

I really loved this one.

Laughed, cried, clenched my butt. 10/10 Andy Weir thank you for giving us platonic soulmates

toni

Sophie

Emily O’Donnell

A fun book(with a lot of emotions). The stakes are high and you can feel them at times, still it manages to maintain it's fun nature. The emotions are natural and you feel them in midst of all those galaxy-level threats and that's what makes it such a good read. Rocky is the best friend one could think of to rely on. I wish Grace met Stratt again after it was all over.

Abhishek Sharma

Saw the movie first so I wasn’t sure how I would like the book …absolutely loved it. Would recommend a million times over. Everyone should read this! 

Connie Pietranico 

it was good, I feel like there was some awkward sentence structure - but the story was super compelling and SO GOOD. Rocky Grace save stars, statement. 

Taylor Giba

Project Hail Mary absolutely blew my mind. As someone who loves space, physics and astrophysics, this book felt like pure candy for my brain. Andy Weir has a way of taking complex scientific ideas and making them exciting, understandable, and genuinely fun to follow. I found myself completely absorbed in the problem solving, the discoveries, and the sheer scale of what was happening. Unpopular opinion maybe, but this might be one of the best books ever written. Its officially going on my favorites shelf. What surprised me the most was how emotional the story became. Beneath all the science and space exploration, there's a really special heart to the story about friendship, sacrifice and hope. By the end, I was honestly in awe A brilliant, mind blowing and surprisingly touching journey through space that made me fall even more in love with science/physics/astrophysics and the endless possibilities of the universe

I adored this audiobook, it has so much charm and fun, and the overall plot is very engaging. 

Molli

Summer Simons

I loooved this book! I was so excited to pick it up every time, and even though it was a lot of science, the most important bits to understand were easily explained and comprehensible. It was funny and touching at the same time. I’m obsessed! 🚀☄️

Sadie Hoffman

papercube

in the beginning, i honestly found it a little tedious to get on with reading this. i wasn’t a big fan of the prose (apparently a common criticism) especially because i’m not used to reading in first person. powering through with the mindset of “that’s just how grace thinks” was worth it though!

rocky and grace’s relationship was the cornerstone of the book for me. i can’t even remember how many times my heart fell to my ass when i thought something would happen to the little space friend. the science portions, of course, were also commendable (though i unfortunately cannot verify). worth noting: this came at a time when i was thoroughly inspired by the artemis launch, so i’m dreamily reconsidering my position on a stem career.

i’m off to finally watch the film adaptation. amaze amaze amaze!

rini

in the beginning, i honestly found it a little tedious to get on with reading this. i wasn’t a big fan of the prose (apparently a common criticism) especially because i’m not used to reading in first person. powering through with the mindset of “that’s just how grace thinks” was worth it though!

rocky and grace’s relationship was the cornerstone of the book for me. i can’t even remember how many times my heart fell to my ass when i thought something would happen to the little space friend. the science portions, of course, were also commendable (though i unfortunately cannot verify). worth noting: this came at a time when i was thoroughly inspired by the artemis launch, so i’m dreamily reconsidering my position on a stem career.

i’m off to finally watch the film adaptation. amaze amaze amaze!

A very enjoyable detour into science fiction. I ❤️ Rocky. Can’t wait to see the movie. A tad too long, so -1 star. 

Kaitlyn Wendler

love love looove 👎👎👎 amaze amaze amazeb

Project Hail Mary A Novel

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