Project Hail Mary: A Novel

The story starts with a common trope of the protagonist waking up with no memory of who or where he is. The reader learns what's going on as he slowly and painfully figures things out from first discovering that he is on a spaceship alone but for two corpses and an annoying computer to realizing he is the sole hope for mankind's survival. That might sound like a well-worn sci-fi cliche but Andy Weir takes the concept in unexpected directions by introducing a truly unique alien species and weaving it all together with real science turning the novel into one of the most engaging stories I've read in recent years. It's no wonder it's on the top-seller list.

There are plenty of hair-raising events along the way challenging the wits of our hero, Ryland Grace, who deals with them in inventive ways and finds the humor in it all despite his desperate situation. In many ways, Ryland resembles Weir's character in The Martian, but Ryland has an entirely different backstory. He was a high school teacher plucked from obscurity. Sounds implausible and indeed it took some fancy footwork by Weir to make me accept that premise. That aside, the plot holds together well.

With the introduction of an alien, which Ryland names 'Rocky', the book turns into a buddy story where the two team up to find solutions to save their worlds. I enjoyed how Weir developed their interaction and created a bond between them, despite the difficult physical obstacles separating them. Rocky is an alien unlike any imagined in previous science fiction books I've read. I was fascinated by Weir's descriptions of his un-earth-like existence based on hard science which made it believable. Weir delights in imagining scientific puzzles and having his heroes find solutions on the fly. It makes for a fun read. This is one I recommend.