I just looked and it's been a few months since anyone has really opened a discussion about PHM. In that time, I finished it and – no spoilers – it just seemed too neat and nerdy. I am very much down with science and the formula of problem fix problem fix – I get that you get what you pay for.
I just felt like compared to other sci-fi books, it didn't really bring anything exciting or fun to the table. When I finished, it had made no impact, whether positive or negative, on myself or the world for having read it.
Did I miss a theme or an allegory? I got the not-super-subtle don't destroy the planet message in the background but even that wasn't really hitting home. It was kinda funny at times and I love me some science humour but this again just didn't really fully immerse me.
Why do people love this so much? I would give it 6.5-7/10 tops.
by Chyvalri
23 Comments
>I just looked and it’s been a few months since anyone has really opened a discussion about PHM.
And it could have remained like that, yet here we are.
Did you read it or listen to it? I’ve heard audio is far superior to reading because of all of the dialogue with Rocky. (I listened to it and loved it FWIW)
Weir writes in cliffhangers that keep up a thrilling momentum, the problem solving makes you feel smart along with the character, the fun interactions with Rocky are nice icing on top. The whole thing is a fun ride that goes down easy, and there isn’t any more ‘there’ there.
Honestly I love reading it because it’s like a cozy cottage core version of a dystopia space story. There are high stakes, but it works out and I love that.
​Honestly though i just have a special love for the audiobook as Ray Porter does a really good job at portraying Grace. It’s just a good, easy listen.
I can understand your take but I couldn’t disagree more. I loved it.
It’s not revolutionary plot-wise, for the author or for Sci-Fi but I found it incredibly unique in its optimism, humour and the refreshing buddy dynamic between the two main characters.
Plus, I found the main galaxy-saving plot to be interesting enough to keep my interest, and the sub plot of the two main characters figuring out how to communicate and connecting as friends to be my main motivation to continue reading.
Overall, a super fun, action-packed, heartfelt story of friendship, sacrifice and hope. Extra points for how inspiring it is around science and progress, I can see so many kids getting into physics because of this book and the upcoming adaptation.
It’s a fun science fiction action adventure. It’s not supposed to have a deep meaning or be a metaphor for something, the way harder sci fi might.
People like it because it’s fast paced, with a lot of interesting reveals, a good twist, competency porn, and is easily digestible.
I absolutely loved Dune but my god it was a slog and confusing, especially reading it before the recent films. Took me months to read. I finished project hail Mary in three days and had a great time!
Fun popcorn read. I found the narrative loop a little repetitive. But overall enjoyed my time.
I think that is Andy’s weir writing style. But I do agree with OP it seems like he pushed a little too hard on this one
I liked it, but “neat and nerdy” in the way you’re describing is kind of just Weir’s whole thing. He might not be for you is all.
I did enjoy it but I think it’s by far the most overrated book of the last decade at least. It’s basically a formulaic popcorn book with a new cliffhanger each chapter that is resolved in the next chapter. Basically the Dan Brown of sci Fi. It also purports to be hard science except when it isn’t like the whole memory loss thing which is contrived as a plot device.
And yes I did do it by audiobook and Ray Porter gave his usual excellent performance. But I’ve listened to dozens of Ray Porter books and this one does not stand above any of his other books.
It felt like it was written to be a movie. Things moving scene to scene Â
i liked it because it’s nerdy and fun, a feel-good novel, and implies that the indomitable human (or not so human) spirit is a shared reality across intelligent species! i loved the interactions with rocky, the joy in discovery, and the happy ending. just warm fuzzies fr
The Amnesia trope was a little annoying, but I thought it was a very good sci-fi book and an entertaining read. I did feel like he took a lot of elements and prose from the Bobiverse books for this story, but that’s probably more to do with Ray Porter’s narration. I do enjoy Weir’s writing style and pop culture wit. (heck, I even thought Artemis wasn’t the worst book I ever read)
I’m a little worried that the movie isn’t going to be near as good as the Martian movie was though, especially with them basically spoiling everything in the trailers.
Not all books need to have an impact. Some can be read just for fun!
It’s a page turner and it also manages to do that without some good guy vs bad guy dynamic. The tension is driven by circumstances and the characters are collaborative instead of adversarial. The circumstances they are dealing with are thought provoking and the science is cool.Â
I think you are under appreciating how rare that communication is.Â
I think it was just an easily digestible sci-fi book marketed as pop fiction, which makes these kinds of books more mainstream than they otherwise would be. I have friends at work that don’t read sci-fi and they read Project Hail Mary. I enjoyed it but it wasn’t really more or less special than a multitude of other sci-fi books I’ve read. It honestly felt more old school, like 1960s sci-fi, to me.
It’s the type of safe sci-fi that has mass appeal across various audiences who might not otherwise appreciate it. It doesn’t take a lot of risks, and it holds the reader’s hand throughout the book. Almost felt like a YA novel in that regard.
It’s ok to finish it and feel unfulfilled. I enjoyed it while reading, but feel similarly after – it didn’t have a lasting impact. Haven’t really thought about it one way or another since finishing it. I think a lot of folks really love it because they haven’t read much other more challenging or unconventional SF.
Not everything written has to have some profound, Earth-shattering impact. Not everything that gains a popular following has to be bagged on. Just because ypu didn’t enjoy something that many people did doesn’t mean you need to go on the internet and make a post trying to belittle those who do. Not everything is for everyone and sometimes its best to just think “huh… weird, that wasn’t really as good as people made it out to be” and then go on about your day.
Ryland Grace is a turd, but I really liked how his character development (learning how to have real human connection) came from his interaction from someone who is decidedly not human. There was a lot of heart in that relationship, and I feel like that’s where the book’s strength lies (though it does kinda annoy me how heavily Grace goes on about having nobody and nothing, as if Weir himself forgot about the friend Grace had dinner with weekly at the start of the novel)Â
I feel like Weir is an author I like despite the cracks I can see in his writing. He’s got some weaknesses, sure, but that doesn’t make his stories any less fun to read for me. I can totally see it but writing for everybody, though, and that’s okay! There’s no accounting for taste or something
The first third of Project Hail Mary was outright bad, it started to get better in the middle, and it finds its heart in the last third.
The main character is written as some sort of super scientist Mary Sue, somehow already or able to be proficient in 20 fields of science and linguistics. Female side characters are caricatures at best, vapid husks at worst. (I haven’t read Artemis, but I hear Andy Weir does a better job there. I just can’t pick up another one of his books after slogging through the Martian and the first half of PHM.)
I wouldn’t have finished this book if it weren’t for someone telling me to wait and meet the second main character, introduced in the middle. That character is one of my favorite sci-fi characters written. It was just very painful to get to that far in the book.
I don’t read a lot, but I read the Martian, Artemis and PHM and I love them all. I think PHM is a fun read, not because it has a message. But it shows how to interact with others while not sharing a shared language and than do share a shared language which makes communication possible.
And the whole premise is fun too. I mean. Yeah.
I reread it a week ago or so because I want to compare it to the movie. I hope they are able to do the same thing with PHM as they did with the Martian.
The best part of the book is Ryland and Rocky’s relationship.
I would rate it a bit higher than you, around 7.5/10 I’d say. I found it quite enjoyable and well written but I can’t say it left a lasting impression. I did like the idea of astrophage, I feel a lot of scifi writers are not imaginative enough when writing alien life forms and make them too close to us. This one is certainly different.
also, when you say “compared to other sci-fi books” which ones do you mean? I find a lot of current popular scifi to be just terribly written slop and PHM is at least not that. I tried Expeditionary Forces recdently because it was on sale and popular and man, the writing is atrocious.
all that said there is a lot of scifi that I like better than PHM. I am currently hooked on Dungeon Crawler Carl. Way more fun and addicting than PHM. And of course there are plenty of classics which are better (by Douglas Adams, A. C. Clark, Ray Bradbury etc).