Yes, you read it right. Project Hail Mary is on its way to rescue you from your boredom and earth from extinction. This book review will explain to you in detail what else to expect from our gorgeous hardcover friend when diving into it, but let me assure you this is going to be one hell of a journey.
This was one of the most anticipated books of 2021 for me. Even though it came out in early 2021, I was able to get my hands on it recently. The real push to read it came when I saw this on Bill Gates’s book suggestions list of 2021 for Holiday readings. This sci-fi mystery book was already in my tbr and Mr. Gates recommended picking it up, next thing I knew was that I was halfway through the story. You can check out the video about Mr. Gates here.
When I say that I was unable to eat or sleep properly while reading this, I mean that I was so busy reading this that I didn’t care about these things. This is a very addictive read.
Book – Project Hail Mary
Author – Andy Weir
Genre – science fiction, thriller, mystery
Pages – 476 pages
My Ratings – 5 out of 5 stars
Publication Year – 2021
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Blurb on Goodreads:
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.
Summary of the Book:
Before we dive into the book review, let’s look at what is this all about.
Project Hail Mary is an interstellar story that explores the possibility of Earth’s destruction due to the lessening of the sun’s energy. An organism is discovered which is responsible for such dramatic destruction of the sun’s energy. It is termed Astrophage and the trail it forms while traveling from Venus and then back to the sun is called Petrova Line. It is a strange line that runs between the two celestial bodies and emits light, which requires special scopes to be detected.
The experimentation continues, and a new life form is discovered. Astrophage might be the reason for the destruction of the Sun’s power, but it still was a curious alien species for humanity. Experiments begin and research work multiplies. For tackling this destructive organism and save humanity, the whole world combines its resources. Stratt was appointed as the Head of all the research work related to the Astrophage and Hail Mary space exploration program. She gets unlimited power over every other organization through the collected conflagration of world powers.
Book Review and the Writing Style:
The writing style of the book is phenomenally awesome. I mean the intrigue created at the beginning, the flashbacks, the descriptive detail of the ever-changing environment, and so much more. Maintaining the interest in the story despite it all is a marvelous feat in itself. I never once felt bored; the author has explained the geeky stuff in such a simple way that I found myself intrigued by the topics discussed in the book. Even though the threat to the earth is fictional, I found myself completely invested in the story. Everything seemed so plausible and I forgot that it was not real.
Even while discussing the new companions that Dr. Grace found in space, I was amazed to see the extent of human imagination. The details were so accurate that I was easily able to understand even the new language that the author discussed in the story. It was a surreal tale to read about.
The devices that were explained in the story were scientific feats in themselves and the possibility that the author displayed in the story might take another fifty-year to be achieved but I have no doubt about Human technology, it going to get achieved.
What else the story discusses?
The story covers a lot of themes while discussing the main theme of saving humanity. The destruction was the ultimate phenomenon but the characters in the book are always discussing the chances that they are going to take in order to survive until they find a solution that works. The story also discusses the lesser wrong out of two options. It makes the reader morally uncomfortable while making choices. Even if a certain path seemed right, and the only path towards the safety of humanity, it makes the reader bit uncomfortable. The characters had to make compromises and recourse to their actions for the safety of humanity. It displayed humanity not just as a human but as a species who are ready to do anything to save their species. It talks about the animal instinct of saving the species over individual safety.
Review of the Characters:
The characters of the story are all distinct personalities. Due to most of the story being based in another galaxy, we get to know very little about most of the characters that were responsible for the successful launching of the Hail Mary. The flashback however presents to us a window through which our friend shows us their personality. Stratt’s personality remains one of the prominent ones that we can gauge out. Other than that, the flashbacks serve as the explanation for the journey the protagonist was on.
Conclusion of the book review and Recommendations:
Overall, I really loved this book. It is easily a 5-star book. It never disappoints the readers, taking them on space exploration with enough mystery, thrill, and challenges. The new addition to the crew acts as a curious point and the new understandings fill the readers with a sense of thrill. I will highly recommend this book to anyone interested in reading a good space exploration book with as many realistic explanations as possible. It talks about astrophysics, physics, chemistry, biology, planetary differences and characteristics, the workings of the atmosphere, and biospheres on different planets.
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