Estimated reading time: 8 minutes
Short Summary
Andy Weir has definitely set himself apart in the world of hard science-fiction, using physics, astronomy and mathematics to their fullest extent in developing some rather imaginative themes. In Project Hail Mary we follow Ryland Grace, the sole survivor on a space craft who just awoke from a coma. Bit by bit his memory returns to him, and he remembers the nature of his mission: Earth’s last-ditch effort to stay alive in the face of a cosmic extinction event.
Table of contents
Andy Weir Presents a Unique Doomsday Scenario
The idea of the world ending is far from being new, and it seems the more we learn about the universe we live in, the more possibilities we keep uncovering for it to happen. Even forgetting all that can happen from within our planet, we could still be victims of giant asteroids, solar flares, supernovae, and Lord-knows what else. In his novel Project Hail Mary, Andy Weir thought of a rather creative doomsday scenario, one he also intends on stopping.
The story begins by introducing us to our main character, just awakened from his coma on a strange space ship. He is the sole survivor among his crew, with the other two nothing more than desiccated skeletons. The life support systems failed them. Slowly but surely, the man begins to recover his memory, and learns he is Dr. Ryland Grace, a relatively fringe scientist and high-school teacher.
Quickly enough, he figures out the essentials in terms of survival, and turns his attention to solving the mystery at hand: what’s happening, and what exactly he was meant to accomplish. Putting his fuzzy mind to work, combining the clues from both his surroundings and memory, he comes to a terrifying conclusion: he’s humanity’s last hope for survival, and is headed for the star of Tau Ceti, twelve million light years away from Earth.
Back home, the situation is unusual to say the least. Various astronomers have recorded an alarming phenomenon: the sun has dimmed by 0.1%, is set to continue dimming at an exponential rate, and there seems to be a strange line leading from it to Venus, dubbed the Petrova Line. Samples of the Petrova Line were collected relatively quickly with the help of probes, leading to a shattering discovery: it’s made up of microorganisms, which get dubbed Astrophage. Essentially, they’re eating away at the sun, absorbing its energy for themselves.
Astronomers went to work, and deduced the existence of other stars suffering the same fate; a cosmic infection, if there ever was one. The star Tau Ceti, however, is different; located between infected suns, it seems unaffected by the Astrophage. And so, a last-ditch effort was put together to send a small but capable crew to Tau Ceti in hopes of unlocking the secret as to what makes that star so resilient to infection. Ryland Grace is the last man left on that mission. However, even in the cold, dead vastness of space, someone took notice of him, and whether they’ll be his doom or salvation remains to be seen.
Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary
The Intrigue of the Sole Survivor in Project Hail Mary
Let’s be honest with each other for a second, even if we might be able to agree on the objective significance of The Old Man and the Sea in modern literature, I think most people aren’t all that fond of it, to put it mildly. The reason is quite simple: it is incredibly challenging to write a compelling story where your main character is, for all intents and purposes, in solitary confinement.
Even though Project Hail Mary isn’t exactly that, for the most part, it is a one-man show and Andy Weir has proven himself a master at telling this particular kind of story (The Martian is another great example of this). From the very first moments we encounter our protagonist, we’re already given mysteries upon mysteries to solve, and Weir ensures there’s always something for him to work towards.
Just like in his first novel which launched him into fame, Andy Weir always puts one problem after another before the protagonist, problems which more often than not require some quick and creative thinking to work around. We constantly get to see him use his brain and put his genius to good use for the benefit of our entertainment.
Speaking of which, a solid one-man story can’t exactly be that without a worthy protagonist, and for the most part, Dr. Grace filled that role in absolutely brilliant fashion. Expressive, good-natured and endowed with a clever sense of self-derogatory humour, he always does or says something to ensure the show doesn’t get stale, and that’s when he’s not wowing us with his scientific abilities.
Personally-speaking, one of the more intriguing aspects of the story was Ryland Grace’s decision-making ability. Being in a completely different frame of mind from anything we could ever imagine experiencing, he must constantly remain aware that he is Earth’s sole chance at survival, and that every decision needs to be carefully weighed to assess the risk it poses to his life and the mission. It makes it feel like he’s constantly balancing on a razor’s edge, the tightrope walker on whose shoulders the collective fate of a civilization rests upon.
The Science of Floating in Space
If you’re familiar with Andy Weir‘s reputation, then you might come into this novel expecting a juicy chunk of hard-science fiction to sink your teeth into, and you would be a hundred percent correct. Once again, perhaps even better than last time around, Andy Weir relates complicated concepts and calculations to us in layman’s terms of fun little analogies which make it very easy to follow along with what’s happening, even for an total amateur such as myself.
I don’t know about you, but personally, I find there are few things more exciting than watching character use their brains to think themselves out of complex situations. Much to my delight, it’s pretty much what Ryland does for the entirety of the novel, and as far as I could tell, it’s all completely based in real-world physics, lending it an air of authenticity few science-fiction novels could ever even dream of achieving.
Another aspect of the book I’d like to turn my attention to is Andy Weir‘s ability to describe the endless majesty of space and interstellar travel in Project Hail Mary. He makes us feel the nearly-unimaginable scale of the cosmos, portraying both the beautiful, shining marvels created within, as well as the terrifying and seemingly unstoppable forces of destruction operating just opposite from them. I almost felt like I had gone to space myself by the end of it.
While this part of this story is only hinted at in the blurb and happens a little later (perhaps at the quarter mark or so), I definitely can’t see myself writing this review without talking about it: First Contact. I guess this is a bit of a spoiler, so consider yourself forewarned. Not long after Ryland settles on his orbit around Tau Ceti, an alien ship appears only two hundred meters away from his own, and this is where my favourite part of the story took place.
We can imagine first contact in countless ways, but I doubt few have envisioned it with as much attention to detail as Andy Weir has, once again putting science at the forefront of his thoughts, especially when it comes to the compatibility of our environments and how those are the primary dictators of evolution. I don’t want to give anything away, but the way in which they establish a primitive form of contact, then work their way up from there to figure each other out and communicate more effectively is, without a doubt, the most realistic and mesmerizing interpretation I’ve seen of the concept.
PAGES | PUBLISHER | PUB. DATE | ISBN |
---|---|---|---|
496 | Ballantine Books | Oct. 4 2022 | 978-0593135228 |
The Final Verdict
Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir is another resounding success for him in my eyes (and many agree with me, since it’s slated to become a movie), an unforgettable entry in the world of hard-science fiction which absolutely nails from start to finish the concept of an interstellar solo mission to save mankind. As a cherry on top, it even has my personal favourite portrayal of first-contact in any form of media.
If you’ve enjoyed The Martian, or are simply looking for an amazing hard sci-fi novel generally centred on the concept of space travel, then I urge you to get your hands on this book as soon as possible, it really is that good.
Andy Weir
Andy Weir is an American author who has only very recently made his debut with The Martian, a novel which turned out to be a huge success. Though not much is known about him, Weir is someone who is dedicated to write scientifically and technologically-accurate stories, as evidenced by the amount of research he did on astronomy, orbital mechanics and manned spaceflight for his first effort.