Project Hail Mary Review: An instant sci-fi magnum opus
Honestly, Project Hail Mary wasn’t a book I was racing to pull off the shelf. In fact, if you had shown me my reading wishlist at the start of the year, it probably wouldn’t have even cracked the top 100. But with how many people were hyped for the movie, I felt I had to give this one a shot. I'd already read and watched The Martian, and while it was an incredibly solid novel—especially for a debut—it wasn't exactly transcendently good or one of my personal favorites. So, was the book as good as everybody said, or was I right to doubt it? That's what I, Brighton Nelson, will be tackling in today's review. Thank you so much for joining me on my site today, and I hope you enjoy this article!
Honestly, this is one of those rare books where I've got nearly no notes. Even as somebody who went into it without being remotely excited, I wouldn't change a single thing about this story because it's just that incredible. Andy Weir didn't quite blow me away with The Martian, but this book proved to me that he's an absolute master of making hard science feel like an accessible and heart-warming character drama. I haven't read Artemis yet (I can't wait to, though!), but if Weir is able to top Hail Mary with his next novel, it literally could be in the running to become my new favorite book. Because Hail Mary is up there.
My only real (yet very minor) critique is a structural one: I wish we had gotten just a few more pages at the very end of the novel. After such a massive, mind-boggling journey, I wanted to linger in that final scene of Ryland teaching his classroom of Eridian kids for just a little bit longer. A slightly extended epilogue would have allowed the book to naturally fade out in a cutely satisfying way, rather than hitting us with such an abrupt conclusion. But in the grand scheme of things, that’s a minor nitpick for a book that is otherwise a flawless masterpiece. And, it might just be the fact I'm a schoolteacher and work with kids at church that's making me all biased and all that.
The book's biggest highlight is undoubtedly the relationship between Grace and Rocky. This is one of my new favorite fictional friendships of all time! Watching Grace slowly decipher, translate, and begin to understand the musical language of his new alien best friend is done in such a brilliant and genuinely sweet way. By extension, this is an emotionally charged experience throughout as they get to know one another, make sacrifices for one another, and more. And Rocky is simply so adorable that I'm certainly asking my family to get me a life-size Rocky for my birthday or Christmas. And if they don't, well, I might blow them up with astrophage.
While every element of this book is a joy, the whole experience would be practically nothing by comparison without this duo, and, in a sense, could've ended up as a watered-down version of The Martian. However, as it stands, this book is exponentially better than The Martian, and I don't think it's even a fair competition. And, as I said earlier, I enjoyed The Martian!
Speaking of the story, while it's relatively simple compared to the beautiful relationship that most of the story revolves around, I really did enjoy its nonlinear pacing. The book switches between past and present at the right time every time, and never lingers too long on the backstory. The backstory in this novel is fantastic, but if it stuck to it too long, it could take away from the heart of the book; instead, it stays just long enough to amplify the main story without subtracting from it. There are a multitude of moments when I genuinely cried during this book, and it's been a while since I've been sitting on the edge of my seat, desperately hoping for relief from the paragraph I was reading. Seriously, this novel is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish.
Andy Weir's prose is just wonderful! Grace might be cut from the same cloth as Watney, but he's got a more earnest, loving personality that contrasts with Watney's more cool-uncle vibe. Watney might've carried The Martian to greatness, but Grace is still a better character in every way to me. While I can't comment on Jazz Bashara, I don't know if she'll be able to beat Grace or Rocky. While Weir was fantastic from the get-go, with his balance between incredibly intelligent science and super-approachable, commercial prose that still impresses, this book solidifies his brilliance as a writer. He might be more of a movie-star-type writer (at least so far) than some prestigious (or pretentious) auteur; I can't imagine this book being as incredible if the prose were even the smallest bit different.
The Brighton's Bookshelf Verdict
Brighton's Bookshelf Score - 10/10
Letter Score - S+
As someone who had no major expectations for Project: Hail Mary, I found it to be one of the most magical experiences I've ever had with a book. It's one of those projects that left me wondering, "What should I do now?" because it left a hole in my heart when it was over. With a brilliant balance of hard sci-fi, tense action, and one of the best character duos in the entirety of fiction, this takes everything The Martian did well and multiplies it tenfold.
Interested in checking out some of my other reviews? Check them out below!
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