Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I usually like to let things like this cook, but immediately after finishing this book I already feel like it is one of my favorite books of all time. If I'm being truthful, I knew it was going to land on my 'favorites' shelf around 100 pages in, but by the time I read the last chapter I can't help but think that it may belong even higher than that. It really is a shame that it took me so long to read this, but I'm so so glad that I finally got around to it.
[VERY MILD SPOILER WARNING FOR THE REST OF THIS REVIEW: Nothing major at all, but I really do think that the book is best experienced blind, so only read ahead if you want to hear some of the early mysteries discussed]
I'm struggling to find the words to quantify my feelings in a way that doesn't spoil the entire story, so I'm just going to list some general vibes I like and hope that that convinces you to pick it up. The main character is incredibly likeable - he's a goofy, nerdy middle-school science teacher, and everything about the way he narrates science throughout the book makes me wish I was one of the kids in his class. No matter what situation he is in, no matter how high-concept the science he's conducting is, I enjoyed reading it. On that note, this book made learning about aerospace engineering and orbital physics fun. Sprinkle in a generous helping of microbiology and speculative biology and you have yourself a bonafide textbook hiding itself as a science fiction novel.
And that doesn't even cover my favorite part of the book: Rocky. Or should I say, the main character's dynamic with Rocky. Because yes, on top of being a welcoming introduction to the worlds of chemistry, physics, and microbiology, this book is also a buddy-comedy/first contact story. Everything about Rocky and Grace's relationship was everything I love about first contact fiction. My favorite part of those stories is learning about how two species figure out how to communicate with each other and listening to them exchange information about their anatomy, their culture, and everything in between. In the interest of not spoiling anything else I'll stop at that, but please suffice it to say that this book gave me everything I wanted and more from these two characters.
Enough of this review; read this book (please).
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