TAGS:

Book Review: ‘Project Hail Mary’ by Andy Weir

Drew Conry-Murray

Project Hail Mary is the latest work of fiction from Andy Weir, best known for his debut novel The Martian. And just like in The Martian, the protagonist’s survival in this new book depends on his ability to solve problems, troubleshoot mishaps, and generally “science the sh*t” out of things. Project Hail Mary a text-based escape room, this time set on a spaceship instead of Mars.

The story begins with the main character waking up naked and alone, strapped to a bed and stuck full of medical tubes. He doesn’t remember where he is, how he got there, or even who he is.

This blank mental state is, perhaps, an unintended hint to the reader about where the author’s interests lay. The protagonist is good-natured and sarcastic, with a relentlessly positive attitude and unquenchable appetite for problem-solving. But he doesn’t have much of an interior life. He’s conveniently single and seems to have no parents, siblings, or significant loved ones that might cause emotional entanglements. He’s more a collection of skill sets that align with the demands of the plot than an actual person. If you’re looking for a complex, richly imagined portrayal of the human experience, this ain’t it. If you’re looking for a technical puzzle box, read on.

As the main character explores his environment, his memory returns in bits and pieces. It turns out he’s on a spaceship, rocketing toward a distant star on a mission to figure out what’s draining the energy from Earth’s sun. If the mission fails, the sun goes cold and everyone on Earth dies.

No pressure, right? Weir constructs fiendishly clever mechanisms that drive the plot like gears, from the biological peril threatening Earth to perplexing problems in astrophysics, engineering, and communications. The desperate urgency to “fix it now or we all die!” propels the book from the outset.

As the protagonist remembers more about his mission, more details are revealed about the crisis that threatens Earth. These flashbacks are some of my favorite parts of the story. I’m a sucker for world-threatening catastrophes, and Weir has come up with a good one.

My biggest complaint is Weir is so good at creating technical crises, he doesn’t let up. Like a horror-movie villain who won’t die, once you think all the engineering problems have been solved–look out! Now the engines have failed! Will he find a way to get them started before it’s too late? This shtick began to grate on me. By the two-thirds mark, I started rooting for the protagonist to fail and all of humanity to die just so the puzzles would stop.

That said, Project Hail Mary is a fun read. The book held a couple of genuine surprises that kept me engaged even as I lost my appetite for outer space tales of break/fix. I know it’s a cliche, but if you liked The Martian then Project Hail Mary will scratch a very similar itch.

About Drew Conry-Murray: Drew Conry-Murray has been writing about information technology for more than 15 years, with an emphasis on networking, security, and cloud. He's co-host of The Network Break podcast and a Tech Field Day delegate. He loves real tea and virtual donuts, and is delighted that his job lets him talk with so many smart, passionate people. He writes novels in his spare time.