Book Review: Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir
Hail Mary is a space science fiction novel. Andy Weir, the bestselling author of ‘The Martian’, which went on to become a motion picture starring Matt Damon, is the author.
The book is a science thriller, with the plot revolving around a school professor entrusted with saving earth and the whole of humanity from a strange new species which is eating away at the sun. He wakes up from a coma in the space and has no memory of why he is where he is, and the book spins in and out of the present and the past, with him trying to find a solution that will save the world as we know it.
What I liked about the book is it seems very plausible – from the research, the scale, the threat and what the team thinks might be a solution – it does not sound hokum. This is possible because of the precision in the delivery and research the author has undertaken, from designing a space suit to understanding human anatomy to international geopolitical relations. The book is therefore not only an entertaining story, but is full of interesting science facts and anecdotes. Someone with a STEM background audience will be able to appreciate it even better. This is also the kind of non-murder thriller that can be adapted into a great movie (think a mix of Gravity and Armageddon and Martian all rolled up in one, sans Armageddon’s drama).
What I did not like is that some of the difficulties and challenges seem forced. While real life can also pose as many challenges and the author is trying to stay real and true to possibilities, these extra/ forced challenges drag the story. In an otherwise fast paced book, these are frustrating set backs, not in the manner which extract sympathy from the reader for the school teacher, but in the manner of reader wanting to put the book away.
Nevertheless, it is an interesting book, with great imagination and seemingly solid science to back it up. If you are the kind of person who enjoys space fiction, you will enjoy this. If you are not, its okay to pass this one.
