Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir 2021 / 481 pgs Sci-Fi

From the author’s imagination which brought us The Martian and Artemis, comes his next space story, Project Hail Mary.   
A computer is asking him a simple mathematical question.  As he awakens from his deep sleep, his mind is lost about where he is and what is going on.  The computer keeps asking him the same question until he can answer it.  Then, the same computer voice asks another question.  He is still lost.  Why are all these tubes in me, and where am I?  As the questions flow, he finally receives the question he can’t answer. However, it’s so simple that anyone could answer, what is your name?

A flashback, as his memory slowly starts to come back to him, gets him the answer he’s looking for.  Dr. Ryland Grace.  As he begins to explore his environment, each flashback explains more and more of where he is and why he’s there.  Slowly, he realizes Project Hail Mary, appropriately named, is humanity’s last hope from a danger that threatens the extinction of all life on earth.  While Dr. Grace is trying to work on what he needs to do, he realizes that he is not alone…

Naturally, I don’t want to give away the plot.  It’s a quick read as I finished it in about 14 total hours.  Like his previous two novels, there are lovely science explanations that don’t bog your mind in trying to decipher in his illustrations.  Just enough to whet the appetite for the reader to understand and move the plot forward.  The only downside is there are flashbacks throughout the main plot.  Dr. Grace’s flashbacks are explained why he has them; however, they serve as a plot voucher for the next scene.  Which sometimes makes it seem like, really nice segway for the story.  It, in all honestly, doesn’t ruin the overall plot, and the story flows well.  It just makes the reader think, nice flashback, and what a convenience for Dr. Grace. 

Would I recommend Project Hail Mary? Yes. It’s what I expect from Andy Weir.  If you have never read any of his three books, I would recommend in order The Martian, Project Hail Mary, then Artemis.

Enjoy a wonderful cup of coffee and a good book! 
   
Lopaka