By Andy Weir
The best-selling author of the Martian has finally redeemed himself for his unfortunate second book with this, his third novel. Unlike Artemis, which featured an unbelievable female narrator in a poorly thought out city on the moon, Project Hail Mary is a return to what Weir does best. Once again, we have a solo male protagonist stranded in space and sciencing his way home. Weir provides witty and accessible descriptions of this science, so that even an art historian like me can follow along. Unfortunately, this means that even an art historian can notice where his science lacks.
While Weir does better than most at avoiding the anthropomorphizing of alien life that aids in storytelling but lacks in science, he stills fall short of a truly scientific idea of what alien life could like. This is especially noticeable in the construction of language, which Weir must make human enough to further his plot. Weir is prescient enough to suggest that alien life might not require water and may look vastly different from Earth-based life, he still thinks that it will be similar enough to have the same scientific questions as humans and to ask them in a language that a human (with the help of a computer) can decipher in a matter of days. If understanding the language of a different species is so easy, why can I not make my cat understand that the vet is there to help her??
Project Hail Mary is funny in a geeky, adorable sort of way. It also asks some intense questions about priorities and loyalty - how far would you go to save your planet? What do you owe to your species? As long as one can suspend their disbelief, this is an enjoyable ride. However, it is clearly not the kind of science fiction that predicts true scientific breakthroughs. Consider this science that will always be fictional.
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