Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

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Title: Project Hail Mary
Author: Andy Weir
Published by: Audible Studios
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Format: Audiobook
Narrator: Ray Porter
Length: 16 hours and 10 minutes
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Audible
Reading Challenges: Lenoreo's 2021 Audiobook Challenge, Lenoreo's 2021 COYER Summer
Find it: Goodreads ✩ Amazon ✩ iTunes
My rating:

Blurb:

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 crew-mates 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.

My Review:

4.5 stars —  Wow.  Best bromance in the history of bromances.

This book had so many surprises.  And it’s going to be so hard to review because I don’t want to give ANYTHING away…and yet, so much of what I loved is spoilery.

There was LOTS of science.  Like, LOTS of science.  And a good chunk went right over my head, but I didn’t find that I was lost.  I just probably didn’t get as much out of it as someone well versed in science would…it’s like a bonus for science-y people, but not a detriment for non-science-y people.

The cool thing about Ryland Grace as a hero is that he wasn’t perfect…he exhibited a lot of realities of humanity that we often don’t see in books because we only read about the exceptional folks.  And while he was exceptional from a science-y perspective, there were other aspects of him that were less exceptional.  And I can’t say more than that.  It was hard to listen to, but it lent a different feel to the story in some ways.

Hubby and I spent a LOT of time throwing out theories and talking about different things happening.  It’s funny, but we usually figured stuff out before Grace did…but that’s okay.  It was fun that way.  I LOVED listening with him because I could ask him all the science-y questions.  AND I even had some theories that ended up being pretty close!  It was a perfect buddy listen.  And if he ever writes his review (*hint*), I will link it.

ETA: The hint worked!!  Check out his infinitely more eloquently written thoughts here.

I 100% recommend listening to it if you enjoy audiobooks AT ALL.  There was so much from a sound perspective that I just cannot fathom how it was presented in written form.  And Mr. Porter was an amazing narrator, with so much emotion and inflection and dry humour and good pacing and…and…  I loved the choices the audiobook creators made, and I kind of hope that they factor that into the movie adaptation.  Seriously, LISTEN to it.

And I just can’t say more than that.  I don’t know if it will be everyone’s thing, but I can honestly say that it surprised me how much I enjoyed it, and how emotionally involved I became.  I love when books outside your box surprise you in the best ways.