Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is the newest novel from the author who brought you Martian. It’s very simple. If you loved Martian, read this novel. If you enjoy science fiction with geeky terminologies and space travel, read this novel. If you’d like to just enjoy a good and fun story, read this novel. In short, read this novel! Project Hail Mary was a blast to read and I’m already giddy with excitement waiting for the major movie release.

Project Hail Mary follows Ryland Grace in his attempt to save the world, literally, from an apocalyptic event destined to destroy Earth in 30 years or so. OK, so that in itself is hardly a worthy headline as all apocalyptic novels are similar in nature and so you’ll just have to believe in me and all the other 4-5 star reviews. The story alternates a bit between the current timeline in which Ryland finds himself in a spaceship and the not too distant past in which he slowly remembers his mission and the events that took place on Earth. I’m no hardcore science geek but I liked the setup here. It’s a bit wacky with the reveal but not enough to make me roll my eyes. The whole earth getting destroyed if “something” isn’t done does get a bit cliche by now but Ryland’s character and special friend more than makes up for it. Oh and by the way, I hereby cast my vote to have both Ryland and Rocky nominated as this year’s best dynamic duo!

“The hardest part about working with aliens and saving humanity from extinction is constantly having to come up with names for stuff.”

Ryland Grace

What made Project Hail Mary that much more enjoyable was how hilarious it can be at times. People see and read humor in different ways and if you get it, you’ll get it. If not, then this novel may not be as fun to you as it was for me and the many others. I literally found myself cackling out loud a couple of times and the scenery I get in my head when Ryland is working alongside his special friend is just downright funny! I was able to highlight and save so many funny quotes throughout this novel just to skim through afterwards as a reminder of just how much fun a novel this was to read.

“Fist my bump.”

Rocky

Do yourself a favor and check this novel out. It should be obvious by now. Although you may not have liked The Martian, I think Project Hail Mary is a different enough story to be given a second chance. The scientific terminologies will still be there as well as some parts that are just too geeky for you to care or understand but those parts are few and between. In addition, it won’t hurt your overall reading experience at all. I’m now super stoked for the movie to happen. I’ll definitely do my best to watch it on day one!