Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

An out-of-this-world story about amnesia, unlikely companions and microorganisms that are munching away at the sun.

If you've read or watched Weir's debut triumph 'The Martian', then you'll love Project Hail Mary, a story – to put it simply – which explores what it means to sacrifice yourself for your planet, or – in the main character's case – for science.

The story opens with Ryland Grace, an astrophysics nerd, science scholar, NASA enthusiast and American high school teacher, waking up to forget who he is and why he's lying in a dark, metal-lined room. Or, more importantly, why tubes are protruding from his 'gentlemen's equipment'– or why there are two corpses led beside him. I'll put it simply, and these aren't spoilers: Ryland's on a suicide mission, something he slowly recalls over the first few chapters. He's been travelling in space for three years with the target of finding a way to destroy Astrophage, microorganisms that can eat light and are threatening another Ice Age to occur back on Earth. So, it's high stakes. Oh– and there's an alien that communicates using the sounds of orchestral instruments. That and many other gems that you'll have to discover for yourself.

Weir's voice is immediately recognisable in Project Hail Mary. Diehard fans of his original work will adore the narration, which encompasses lots of hard science fiction (Like real science fiction– the only invented thing being the Astrophage and the alien; although, who's to say these elements don't exist...)

There were certainly moments whilst reading when I found myself getting stuck on a certain scientific idea, such Ryland explaining the pros and cons of zero-g (I don't do well with abstract concepts) and in-depth descriptions of how the ship's sensors work, how it burns Astrophage as fuel, how the alien communicates, how– blah, blah, blah. Weir's books could quite easily train you to become a rocket scientist, but luckily, the scientific spiel is balanced well with action and some truly brilliant dialogue, meaning that we're never left too overwhelmed. Well, almost.

Humour comes and goes in the first few chapters whilst the main character tries to piece together where he is and what's going on, although this fizzles out eventually– not that it impacts the overall setup or driving force of the story. Character's are worth rooting for; after all, how many people do you know that would go on a space trip for four years, knowing that they will die at the end of it? Ryland represents the desperation of humanity in the terrifying expanse of space, while Rocky – his eventual alien companion – serves to remind us about why humanity's worth saving; and, when it comes down to it, we're just a small speck in a vast sea. And weak– weaker than tiny microorganisms that could bring about our demise in under ten years.

So here's my issue with Project Hail Mary. Ryland has amnesia at the beginning of the story. Amnesia. Amnesia is the one where you forget everything, including the basic details of your own identity– the thing that takes years to recover from. (That's if you do recover) And yet Ryland recovers from amnesia in a matter of minutes from waking up. Literally. It goes from 'Who am I and what am I doing here?' to the main character having a flashback from four years ago to him in a cafe – a very detailed cafe, I should add – remembering a 400-word email. Word for word.

I don't know about you– but these sorts of flashbacks (or any flashbacks sometimes– seeing as they can be some of the most illogical storytelling techniques), seem very unlikely. Especially in a novel that's so heavily grounded in REAL science to support its fictional counterparts. And what's worse is that half of the novel is flashbacks– flashbacks of meetings and conversations and so on; not to move on with the story, but to back up Ryland's memory and to support our knowledge of astrophysics. It doesn't help that these flashbacks sections are hugely lacklustre (compared to what's going down on the spaceship) and the tension sags every time one crops up. It's a jarring disappointment for an otherwise brilliant story.

Flashbacks are certainly the downfall of Project Hail Mary, but its protagonist and overarching plot will carry you, eventually, to its emotional climax. Ryland's head will feel much lighter, but yours... well, yours just might feel a tad heavier. I'll leave you to decide if that's a good thing or not. Nonetheless, Weir knows how to keep us engaged, and the ending is just as brilliant as the thread that holds this patchwork of past and present together.

Do you agree with my review? Feel free to give me a like and leave a comment!

Thanks for reading :)