NINETOES VS HAIL MARY (The Novel)

Ninetoes launches into Andy Weir’s novel PROJECT HAIL MARY as he prepares to see the film adaptation, but does it fall victim to the Mary Sue trope?

TITLE: Project Hail Mary

AUTHOR: Andy Weir

GENRE: Hard Science Fiction

PAGES: 438

FORMAT: Ebook

PRICE: $14.99

Hey there, book lovers! It’s your old pal, Ninetoes, coming to you from Ninetoes Loves Books Headquarters. Today, I am looking at Andy Weir’s Project Hail Mary. I have coffee in my system and my thinking cap on, so let’s get to it!

This is the book that the upcoming movie starring Ryan Gosling is based on.

Now that that is out of the way, let’s get to it. This is a novel of hard science fiction. For those who do not know, hard science fiction is the subgenre of science fiction that leans heavily on science, especially established science. Let me tell you, there is a lot of science mentioned that shot right over my head. Yeah, it is a lot like that. I will be the first to admit that my mind actually broke down at points. Also, I can honestly go the rest of my entire life without hearing the word “astrophage”.

Buried beneath all of the science is a story of a planet whose sun is slowly dying, and unless the nations of the earth come together and do something to stop it, EVERYTHING will die. No pressure, right? Get all the nations of the earth to cooperate. To just add a little twist to everything, the fate of the world will end up on the shoulders of Ryland Grace, a middle school science teacher. Why him? Well, he also has a doctorate in molecular biology and has the chance to unlock the secrets of astrophage. IF he does this, he can save the world. No pressure.

One of the interesting parts of this book is that it starts with an amnesia-riddled Ryalnd Grace in space aboard the Hail Mary, a spaceship designed to take a crew of three to Tau Ceti, the only star not affected by Astrophage. There, he will hopefully unlock why this star is the only one still shining brightly. To get things working, he will have to remember his name, then unlock all of the information he has in his brain. No pressure.

Things get really interesting when Grace encounters a spaceship carrying an alien life form made mostly of stone. He names the alien “Rocky,” and as it turns out, Rocky is also on a mission to save his world. First, they will need to find a way to communicate with each other. Then they will have to put their brains together to uncover the secrets of Tau Ceti.

But things are not as easy as they seem. The pair will go from one problem to the next, and once the problems start, it is a chain of dominoes that could very well doom the mission.

With the fate of two worlds in their hands, can they actually uncover the secrets to averting an extinction-level event?

This book was well written, the hard science notwithstanding. I will admit that there were times when my brain glossed over the numbers and facts, and it did not take away from the overall story. What made the book more interesting for me was uncovering Grace’s past and how he ended up on the ship Hail Mary. Like everyone else who has read this book, I fell in love with Rocky. His interactions with Grace are interesting to say the least.

One of the problems I had with this book came in the form of Rocky. Anytime Grace needed something built, Rocky, the super engineer, could do it with little fuss. I do mean anything. He never ran out of materials, and within hours, he was done. This took away from the tension of the many problems the two main characters faced. I went from “Will they succeed?” to “Rocky fixed it,” and those moments came faster than they really needed to.

This is an enjoyable book. It may not be the best I ever read, but it was good for a read.

This book is perfect for fans of hard science fiction.

I give this one 4 bookmarks out of 5.

Until the next time, I bid you happy reading!

Darren “Ninetoes” Perdue is a book and media reviewer. When he is not reading, he is watching true crime shows, cooking for his family, or working on a plan for universal domination. If you see him on his porch, say hi. He does not bite…much.

PLEASE NOTE: The views and opinions of the staff of Memento Mori Ink do not necessarily represent those of Memento Mori Ink or Crystal Lake Publishing. Thank you for understanding.