With the major motion picture coming out, “Project Hail Mary” has been all over the internet. Finding a story with this much action, heart, and humor is rare, but that is exactly what makes “Project Hail Mary” such a special read. From page one, you will find yourself hooked, thinking, “What would I do if the whole world depended on me?”
Published on May 4, 2021, “Project Hail Mary” is a science fiction novel written by Andy Weir. The story revolves around a middle school science teacher, Ryland Grace, who wakes up on a spacecraft not knowing where he is, let alone who he is. As his memories gradually come back to him in the form of daydreams, he begins to put the pieces together.
Grace awakens on a spaceship light-years away from everything he has ever known to find his two crewmates dead. As panic sets in, Grace struggles to remember his past and why he would be the one chosen to save the world.
The main story takes place aboard the ship, but the audience learns a lot through Grace’s flashbacks. Through these memories, it is revealed that scientists discover that the sun is dimming because of a mysterious organism called Astrophage that feeds on energy. The world’s governments, headed by Eva Stratt, rush to stop a coming ice age, and Ryland Grace, an unlikely hero, helps study the organism and how it spreads. When they learn that another star, Tau Ceti, may have a solution, they build a one-way spaceship to investigate it.
When Grace arrives at Tau Ceti, something amazing happens: he is met with Rocky, an alien from the Planet 40 Eridani A b (dubbed “Erid” by Grace). As the unlikely pair learns to communicate, we learn that Erid is also under threat from Astrophage, and Grace and Rocky agree to cooperate.
From this moment on, we get to watch their relationship grow and come along with their journey to save each of their species. There are several ups and downs and life-threatening situations that Rocky and Grace encounter.
Overall, it is very interesting to watch Grace balance the weight of waking up to his crewmates’ deaths, having to remember his whole life bit by bit, the pressure of saving the world, and encountering an alien life form, all while trying to stay calm and conduct revolutionary scientific experiments. I enjoy how Weir wrote this book in a way that makes the reader feel connected to this timeline. While reading, you feel the same stakes that Grace feels, but you also feel the comfort and love he feels for Rocky. I won’t go any further because I do not want to spoil anything, but I highly recommend this book. If you have already seen the movie and liked it, read the book. But if this is the first time you are hearing of “Project Hail Mary,” please read the book, then watch the movie; that is what I did, and it was an amazing experience.
Bird Moffitt can be contacted via email at bmoffitt@twu.edu
Image Credit Ballantine Books
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