Book Review: Project Hail Mary
I finally read Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary this past month, and I have some thoughts.
For those who haven't read it, the story follows a high school teacher and former scientist who wakes up on a spacecraft with no memory. As he slowly regains his memory, he discovers why he's in outer space, meets a new alien friend, and races against time to save both of their worlds. The book uses a lot of flashbacks, bouncing between the past and present as the main character figures out how to solve the central conflict.
Okay, let's start with the good stuff.
First, I have to give Andy Weir credit for the detailed scientific explanations. I'm no scientist, so I can't say if they're sound from a physics perspective, but they definitely sounded like they fit. I also appreciate how dedicated he was to this; it's one of the few elements that felt consistent throughout the book, and I can only imagine how hard it is to maintain such a complex layer of a story.
My second positive is the book's originality and creativity. I genuinely appreciated how complex and layered the story was. While I haven't read a ton of sci-fi novels set in outer space, out of the few I have read, this one felt particularly creative, interesting, and captivating.
My biggest issue with this book, unfortunately, was the writing itself. From the first fifty pages, it felt like a book written with the sole purpose of being turned into a movie. The prose felt flat and lacked any real depth.
For me, a huge part of the joy of reading is appreciating an author's prose, the way they craft a world with their words. But in Project Hail Mary, it felt like the writing was on the backburner. Instead of taking the time to show the reader what was happening, Weir just told us directly, which took away from the experience.
Side Tangent: This reminds me of one of my biggest complaints with a lot of books these days (especially those recommended on TikTok): authors seem to forget that writing itself is an art form. It feels like they're just focused on telling a story, not actually writing a novel. I blame capitalism to a certain extent since its more profitable to publish a novel that many people will purchase no matter if the writing itself is actually good. Anyways back to the review.
This focus on plot over prose seemed to have a consequence: the dialogue felt uninspired and shallow. I distinctly remember a section where the astronauts were discussing how they'd like to die, and it felt like such a wasted opportunity. Instead of weaving a beautiful or meaningful conversation, Weir's approach was too direct and pointed.
My second biggest gripe was with the characters. While the book introduces quite a few, Weir never really bothered to describe them beyond basic gendered descriptions. It wasn't until I picked up a different novel that I truly realized how flat and underdeveloped they were.
Another thing I noticed was that all the characters felt exactly the same. They talked the same, sounded the same, and even shared the same sense of humor. This felt like a huge missed opportunity. Weir introduces us to so many different characters who serve a purpose, but their execution was just so boring. It seems like he tried to keep his writing voice consistent, but what he did instead was create characters and dialogue that were all indistinguishable from one another.
How do you write a novel that pulls the brightest scientific minds from all over the world, yet none of them read as interesting?
After all that, I'm giving Project Hail Mary a 2 out of 5.
I was honestly surprised to see so many other reviews online rate it so much higher. It seems the general consensus is that it's a cool story, but where we completely diverge is on the execution. Personally, I just can't ignore how poor the writing was, no matter how interesting the actual story is.
Anyway, if you've read this book, where do you fall on the spectrum?
