Synopsis:

Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last-chance mission—and if he fails, humanity and the earth itself will perish.

Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t even remember his own name, let alone the nature of his assignment or how to complete it.

All he knows is that he’s been asleep for a very, very long time. And he’s just been awakened to find himself millions of miles from home, with nothing but two corpses for company.

His crewmates dead, his memories fuzzily returning, he realizes that an impossible task now confronts him. Alone on this tiny ship that’s been cobbled together by every government and space agency on the planet and hurled into the depths of space, it’s up to him to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species.

And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance.

Part scientific mystery, part dazzling interstellar journey, Project Hail Mary is a tale of discovery, speculation, and survival to rival The Martian—while taking us to places it never dreamed of going.

Andy Weir has done it again! He’s made this reader who avoids most books related to math and science love another book that’s brimming with it. He has a talent for taking complex ideas and making them simple and even interesting for someone who generally zones out when anything scientific sounding is introduced. At this point, I think it’s safe to say Andy Weir is an auto-read author for me. While most readers who loved The Martian weren’t fond of his follow-up novel Artemis, I actually really enjoyed it. And for me, Project Hail Mary was the best of both of those novels.

This will be a novel that’s hard to discuss without spoilers since so many surprising things happen right from the opening. But I’ll do my best!

“‘What’s two plus two?‘

Something about the question irritates me. I’m tired. I drift back to sleep.

A few minutes pass, then I hear it again.

‘What’s two plus two?’

The soft, feminine voice lacks emotion and the pronunciation is identical to the previous time she said it. It’s a computer. A computer is hassling me. I’m even more irritated now.”

Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

I challenge you to read the first five pages and NOT want to keep reading. What an opening! Ryland Grace wakes up alone with no clue where he is or how he got there. HIs body isn’t responding the way it should and he struggles with the fog that is keeping rational thoughts at bay. He slowly comes to the realization that he’s hurtling through space and his crew mates are dead. While that opening alone is enough to keep me turning pages, Weir infuses Ryland with his unique wit and humor that elevates the story beyond the run of the mill science fiction thriller.