Please find a link below for a podcast interview for the Two Book Nerds Talking podcast with sci-fi author Andy Weir about Project Hail Mary, aired on the 2nd June, 2021. Our conversation with Andy Weir touched on his love of scifi, his influences and writing process, and listen in as he nerds out on the design details of his spaceship!

I fell in love with this book. Andy Weir, you have taken me on a mind-blowing and geek filled journey that only you could scribe. Your style of writing is engulfing and real. The characters, the tumultuous and rewarding epicness, the love and dedication to science and the unknown. This read is powerful and full of emotion. Dr Grace is my new super-hero.

I honestly wasn’t sure what to think. I’m not a huge fan of SciFi but wow, this was far from what I expected. A science teacher ends up alone on a mission to save the world from a bacteria eating the sun. On the journey he encounters an alien and together they save both their plants. I felt so many emotions and became very attached to Rocky the alien. It was easy to read even though there is advanced maths and science involved. It was funny and heartwarming, and even if you don’t like SciFi you’ll like this story of friendship and courage. Well worth a read.

I loved reading the Martian so was thrilled to be accepted to review project Hail Mary by the same author. It’s an intriguing and spellbinding book about space

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the copy

Wow - science fiction for the thinking man. The story itself was creative, unpredictable and full of hope. But the secret sauce was in the detailed explanations and thinking - and the ability to make these biological and scientific concepts understandable for the layman.

The story was fascinating. Earths sun is dying due to an organism that feeds on its energy. This is happening at a rapid pace and will likely throw earth into an ice-age and mass extinction unless the sun's attrition can be stopped. An elite task force is assembled to resolve this, empowered with any level of money and power - after all the fate of earth is in the balance. Enter Ryland Grace who finds himself, firstly, one of the leading scientists and, secondly, the only survivor on a spaceship tasked with finding answers in another solar system. Due to a prolonged coma, his memory is fuzzy but its coming back and its up to him to find answers to save Earth...with some unexpected help from another civilization.

The creativity is incredible and the depth of methodical thinking is beyond. At all times, we understand what is happening and why, no matter how abstract or scientific the explanation. I loved that this was entertainment and education in one. The characters were well thought out - flawed but brave, persistent, determined and the detail was intelligent. The pace never dulls, as the story switches between past and present and although there is a lot to take in, it never felt like it was too much. This is one story I wont forget!

Thanks very much to the publisher for the opportunity to read and review this title. Many thanks, Dave

When Astrophage - a tiny alien lifeform - begins to swarm, effectively reducing the power of the sun, all the spacefaring countries on earth band together to build the Hail Mary to make a desperate one-way trip to Tau Ceti, the only star in the near galaxy that seems unaffected. It's a suicide mission to try to prevent an extinction-level threat to humanity. Three astronauts are placed in a medically induced coma to sleep off the four years of the journey. It's not without its perils. Ryland Grace, a biologist formerly in academia, but now a high school science teacher, awakes unable to move, speak, or remember and gradually works out where he is and what is mission is. Unfortunately, his two crew-mates have died at some time during the journey, so Grace is on his own. Gradually he begins to recall memories of events which led up to him being an astronaut. Fortunately, Grace is smart. Just like Andy Weir's The Martian, he has to science-the-shit out of the situation. That's where the comparison with The Martian ends, because it turns out that Grace is not alone. Enter Rocky, an honest to goodness alien, vaguely spider-like in shape (but bigger) with five arms and a rocky carapace. The alien communicates by musical chords. He (it) perceives the world around him with a kind of sonar and has no eyes, but gradually, even though they can't survive in each other's habitat/atmosphere, the two achieve a level of understanding and friendship. Rocky - the last survivor of his own mission to save his species from the Astrophage, turns out to be a brilliant engineer. There's a lot of fascinating science in this book. I'm no scientist, but I'm assuming it's more or less accurate. The relationship between Grace and Rocky is fascinating, and the solution to the Astrophage problem will save both their worlds. I consumed this via Audible. The narrator, Ray Porter, is excellent.

This book has the distinct Andy Weir voice and while I found it humorous and engaging, I am starting to see parallels to Weir's other works that always places a white male at the center of the narrative. This time the characters is paired with a not so regular side kick, and it makes me wonder were Weir could take us if he shifted his central focus.

We've all had those kind of blurry awakenings when it takes us a second to remember what day of the week it is...well...imagine waking up not knowing who you are, or where you are....

...that's what happens to Ryland Grace, who wakes up on a spaceship, alone, not even remembering who he is. His mission...to unlock the secrets of "Astrophage" which is leeching energy from the sun, threatening all life on earth. Oh, and just to make it harder, his crewmates are dead - he's al alone. Until......

I won't go into the plot any more, I think that's enough to whet your appetite.

I'll go straight into what I think - well, it's a sci fi novel, but it's more than that - it's about friendship, hope and self sacrifice - which may even be more important than the sci fi element of the book, or perhaps I'm just getting a little sentimental in my old age. Whatver - I loved it, drawn in by the plot, lovable, characters and the whole adventure.

Wherther you like sci fi or not, it's still a great adventure and genuinely uplifiting - the science may be a bit much if you're not into sci fi novels, perhaps for non sci fi lovers, this would be a 4 star rather than a 5 star book. Whichever kind of reader you are, I think there's something in this book for everybody.

*I received an ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks for the free review*

I thoroughly enjoyed the part of the novel that had to do with exploration in space, I did not really care for the vast majority of the novel that had to do with the situation on Earth. Stratt was annoying and while the one plottwist in the end of the novel was quite nice, one could see it coming to be honest. But I loved how our protagonist scienced his way through space, interacted with Rocky and tried to save humanity. The science was beyond me of course but it was well done and I LOVED the ending. :)

4.5 stars

Well this was one heck of a rollercoaster ride of a read. I cannot remember the last time that I loved reading a book as much as Project Hail Mary!

We follow Ryland Grace, an astronaut on a spaceship to, somewhere. The thing is that he has amnesia, and for a while he does not even remember his own name, let alone what he is actually supposed to be doing on this spaceship.

Honestly, beyond the blurb, I dare not say what else happens as it is honestly best to go into this knowing as little as possible. Both you and Ryland Grace are discovering what is actually happening at the same time, so you get to experience the highs and the lows of what he uncovers, both about his past and what his purpose on this spaceship is.

If you loved Andy Weir’s other space-based books, then you will surely love Project Hail Mary.

This was my first time reading something by Andy Weir and I found it very enjoyable.

I particularly liked the science and technology explanations.
I didn't love the main character - he came across as quite a bland personality and he very quickly had an enormous working knowledge of a variety of specialist scientific fields.
The set up itself concerning how he came to be involved and on the ship seemed unlikely.

I love Andy Weir and his writing is so easy to read, I suggest him to every person looking for an easy to understand Sci-fi, I'm aware a lot of people don't like the humour but I think it makes the story more human. Highly recommend!

I adored this book. Something about the way our protagonists rooted for each other had me desperate for a happy ending. The same race against time, lots of disasters some serious science plus MacGuyvering we've come to know form Andy!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Confession - this was my first Andy Weir book. I didn’t read ‘The Martian’ (I will now, don’t come for me!). Ryland Grace is the sole survivor on a desperate, last chance mission and if he fails earth and humanity itself will perish. Except that right now, he doesn’t know that. He can’t 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 long time. Alone on a 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 to conquer an extinction-level threat to our species. And thanks to an unexpected ally, he just might have a chance. Quite an epic plot.

Weir is hilarious. His mix of humour and amazing narration just works. This was just so enjoyable to read and he was able to create the sweetest characters. I can’t remember ever being this invested in a sci-fi novel. I feel at times I got bogged down with the science stuff, but that’s just me personally, Weir made the it stomachable and I’m imagining most will enjoy how he’s incorporated it into the story. Science aside, this story is about friendship and hope.

If I were to sum up this book in a few words it would be emotive, imaginative and epic.

As always a massive thank you to NetGalley and the publisher #RandomHouseUK and #cornerstone for providing me with a copy of this ARC. An absolute privilege I am always grateful for.

Reviews posted on Goodreads and Instagram

This was a 5 star prediction for me, and from the start, it ended up being an easy 5 star read. I went into this hardly knowing anything about it - I didn't even read the synopsis - and I recommend you do the same, because that makes for the most enjoyable reading experience. This book masterfully built up my anticipation, and so much so that I had to read it in small doses and take breaks, because I just could not take the tension. But it also really paid off, because you get rewarded with literally so many twists and turns - ones that are actually interesting and that you usually won't see coming. I loved how suspenseful this book was, all the while never losing hope for a good outcome, and it was a really funny read as well, which did a good job relieving the tension.

This book is a science nerds dream, in fact I think if you took out all the science formulae the book would only be 1/4 it’s size in length. As much as I loved The Martian I found it a bit of an effort to keep reading this and to be honest I only accomplished it by skipping copious pages of data. The bones of the story are great and the ending so unexpected.
Grace is on a life saving mission to find out why the sun is dying. Because the journey is so long, he and his fellow astronauts are put into a coma to endure the ride. Upon awakening, Grace has no idea here he is or why, through flashes of memory he determines his task and is dismayed to discover his 2 fellow astronauts long since deceased. It’s a suicide mission, as he has only enough fuel and food to get to the Star, not home as well. He soon discovers he is not alone, there is another spaceship in his orbit and it is there for the same reason as him, their planet is dying. So the two astronauts form an alliance, and although they can not survive in each other’s atmosphere, they soon work out a way to communicate and live side by side to save their planets.
It’s the relationship between the two that is the saving grace of the book for me and although the ending was quite unexpected it was right.

#netgalley #projecthailmary

(spoiler-free)

This is a science fiction book by the author of "The Martian" on which the Matt Damon movie was based. What both books have in common is proper science, what we call hard science fiction, but the scope is much greater: the entire existence of life on earth is threatened. The story switches between the main character who's out in space trying to save the world, and flashbacks to the crisis on earth as he gradually regains his memory lost during the trip.

What I love about the book? Two things: the character development of the protagonist and the friendship he develops with an alien from another planet which is in the same predicament as earth. A heartwarming book with subtle humour, very well written.

I had a lot of fun reading this book. I have to say out of all the Andy Weir's novels I've previously read, this one is my favourite. Largely down to the character of Rocky I must admit. Who knew a spider-like engineering alien could be so charming.

This book definitely has a huge amount of science background, it was interesting to see a mix of scientific theories and facts mixed with a fictional story. As much as it could, it gave an apocalyptic survival space story a realistic back drop. From how extinction and natural disasters would play out on earth to the psychological response from humans to this event.

That being said, the sheer amount of scientific and mathematic knowledge could be a little overwhelming at times. Almost in a way a scene can be overly descriptive, at times I felt the author went too in depth with certain things that weighed down the pace of a scene, especially when it came to tense/high pressure situations.
I can understand why this may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I did enjoy learning many new facts about the sheer vastness of space.

There was quite a bit of humour here, too. Which was a really nice surprise. I think if you enjoyed the dry humour of 'The Martian' you'll definitely enjoy Andy Weir's familiar writing style.

I thought perhaps the last few chapters were a little rushed. Without giving spoilers of course. Although I understand at already over 500 pages, adding the amount of detail could have easily run up to another 500.
For such a bleak and seemingly hopeless plot scenario I really did enjoy the cheerful if bittersweet ending for Ryland Grace.

Thrilling sci-fi that takes you on a wild adventure through space! I really enjoyed this read! I especially loved that you don’t have to know loads of sciency stuff to really enjoy this.