Five star review of Project Hail Mary.

 

Project Hail Mary written by Andy Weir and narrated by Ray Porter  5*

Blurb: A lone astronaut must save the earth from disaster in this incredible new science-based thriller from the #1 'New York Times' bestselling author of 'The Martian'.

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 crew-mates 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.

My Review: I loved The Martian but was a bit unsure about reading this one, especially after all the negative feels from Artemis. However when the chance came and I was able to afford the audio I decided to give it a try. It was one of my better decisions since it kept me entertained for hours. It has the same dry humour as The Martian and similar themes of being alone but is all together so different too. 

I absolutely loved both main characters, the world building (including the alien ones). The flashback aspect was done in such a way that it never interfered with the story line and Grace discovers things at the same time as the reader. It also helped that the science was never unbelievable or too difficult for me to understand. Over all I think this one was possibly even better than The Martian. 

If you like stories that combine science and friendship with seat of the pants excitement and imminent destruction then go read/listen to this. And if you loved The Martian but hated Artemis still go read this, it is worth it.