Published in 2021 by American science fiction novelist Andy Weir (author of the short story "The Egg"), Project Hail Mary is an English language hard science fiction novel set in the near future, following the experiences of Ryland Grace, a man alone aboard a space vessel and suffering amnesia about how he came to be there. As the story progresses, Grace discovers that he is formerly a junior high school science teacher who abandoned an earlier research career in the field of speculative xenobiology, following his disastrous publication of a paper about hypothetical life forms in waterless environs.

Grace's memory gradually reassembles itself through flashbacks as he works to get various necessary systems on the ship functional again. He discovers that he was not sent alone, but that the essential crew have all died in transit, leaving only Grace to solve a mystery about a life form which seems to conform to the hypothesis of Grace's paper.

During his mission, Grace encounters an intelligent alien, sent to solve the same problem as the one which inspired Grace's own mission: many stars, including Sol, are growing dimmer and exhibiting reduced energy output, threatening the survival of worlds reliant upon them.

The protagonist is flawed in a way the reader discovers alongside Grace himself, as his memories come together: initially Grace believes himself to be an astronaut, by profession, and so he assumes he must be courageous and daring. Once he remembers more of his life, he understands that his past is characterized by cowardice, and that every brave thing he has ever done was largely the result of someone else forcing him to do it. This "backwards" character development is a fascinating experience, contrary to the usual convention of heroic characters growing more confident and sure of their purpose as a plot develops.

Project Hail Mary is Weir's third novel, after The Martian and Artemis, and readers will find that it has the same prose cadences as those novels, as well as the same charms which bring readers back to Weir's work: a plucky protagonist who knows a great deal about science is pitted against multiple complex engineering problems, and the day is saved by knowledge of biology and multiple other sciences, as well as a fundamentally humanistic mentality of reaching out to offer help and share knowledge.

This narrative is well-suited to leave the reader feeling triumphant and delighted by the end of it, despite the lows Grace experiences during his journey, and the interactions between Grace and his alien friend "Rocky" are downright ticklish in their humour. Fans of hard science fiction in general are probably already thoroughly familiar with Weir's earlier works, and can accurately judge for themselves whether Project Hail Mary will be to their tastes: it is unapologetically the work of Andy Weir, with every last one of his stylistic idiosyncrasies, and this will be apparent within the first paragraph. You can expect that the science will be detailed, maths-driven, and demonstrative of the sheer amount of homework Weir puts into his writing. You can expect the humour to be wry and self-aware, but not dry or dark, even when the protagonist is suffering and frightened. You can expect themes of cowardice versus courage, obligation to future generations, the self-sufficiency of genius versus the benefits of collaboration, and isolation versus connection.

Apart from those who have past Weir writing to compare, I recommend this novel to fans of Arrival (or the Ted Chiang short story it is based upon, Story of Your Life) and the films Interstellar and Contact.

Iron Noder 2021, 5/30

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