Covid recovery, pretty rough. Picked up this book on audible and damned near couldnt turn it off. A new 2021 scyfy book by the dude that wrote the Martian.

Really strong read.

I thought it was pretty good. Some parts were pretty out there but overall I liked it.

Solid B+. Enjoyed the science simplification/application like he did in the Martian. It's a well told story. Thought the ending was good, not great. Very easy read though.

After talking sci-fi nerdery with some friends, I jumped into Seveneves after this one. 7Es made PHM look like arithmetic vs calculus. Not to say 7Es is perfect, just way different undertaking from a "what kind of story am I gonna write" standpoint.

All that said, if you liked The Martian, PHM is totally worthwhile.

Pretty solid, if you liked the Martian you will probably like this. Matt Damon has got himself in another pickle. Re-Reading it out loud to my 8yo right now, he loves it.

Just finished this book. Really liked it. I couldn't put it down.
Most unrealistic part was him weakling from the NBL to Building 30. That's a 20 minute car ride.

One of the most enjoyable books I have ever read.

Fun ride for sure. I liked the ending more than most, probably because it wasn't predictable. I'm surprised the author didn't include Grace eventually sending a Beetle-like capsule back to earth explaining what happened and describing "first contact." Also, did the author explain how Eridians discovered Tau Ceti?

Hmmm, I thought that did happen?

Great read. Not only incorporated Astro science but also social implications to include responsibilities and sacrifices to humankind.

Weir can't help but to write with a dry sense of judgemental sardonic understatated humor - almost like the protagonist is related to Mark Watney (The Martian).

Also, the author incorporated a dual mystery at the beginning of the story as well as a "aha" moment later to further answer the initial premise.

I wrote this a bit vaguely so as not to spoil anything.

I just read it last week. Great read. So much fun and enlightening.

rynning said:

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Fun ride for sure. I liked the ending more than most, probably because it wasn't predictable. I'm surprised the author didn't include Grace eventually sending a Beetle-like capsule back to earth explaining what happened and describing "first contact." Also, did the author explain how Eridians discovered Tau Ceti?

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It was never specifically stated, but I assumed the beetles recorded everything that happened on the Hail Mary and saved it on their hard-drives.
The Eridians can still detect wavelength of light even if they can't see them. Rocky said that the camera he created was an older invention. They could use something like that to observe Tau Ceti.

I checked this out thanks to this thread. Halfway through and I'm really enjoying. He gets just a little too bogged down in the science a couple times for my tastes, but it's not too bad.

Thanks for mentioning it, OP.

Stringer Bell posted about this on twitter awhile back saying that if you liked the Martian you would enjoy this book. I knew nothing else about it, including the plot synopsis, but downloaded it on audible. I was legit shocked when Rocky shows up. I kept thinking there is no way this book is going the alien route - I kept waiting for a twist during the first interaction that it had to be something other than an alien ship. But I really ended up enjoying their interactions.

Really enjoyable book. I've recommended it to several people and everyone has seemed to like it.

i've read and listened. Thinking I'm going to re-listen.

MASAXET said:

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Stringer Bell posted about this on twitter awhile back saying that if you liked the Martian you would enjoy this book. I knew nothing else about it, including the plot synopsis, but downloaded it on audible. I was legit shocked when Rocky shows up. I kept thinking there is no way this book is going the alien route - I kept waiting for a twist during the first interaction that it had to be something other than an alien ship. But I really ended up enjoying their interactions.

Really enjoyable book. I've recommended it to several people and everyone has seemed to like it.

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I think Andy Weir is an author who thinks less about what he wants to write and more about what his readers want to read, if that makes sense. He's a crowd pleaser.

Funny that few mention Artemis, his book in between. I thought the concept was great, but he missed with the protagonist. Just not very likeable IMO, which made the book...less fun.

I saw an interview with Weir where he acknowledged that writing characters isn't his strong point. That Watney never really changed or grew in The Martian. He said that Project Hail Mary was his first serious attempt at focusing more on characters that change, grow, and learn things.

Quad Dog said:

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I saw an interview with Weir where he acknowledged that writing characters isn't his strong point. That Watney never really changed or grew in The Martian. He said that Project Hail Mary was his first serious attempt at focusing more on characters that change, grow, and learn things.

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Still not his strong point, main character was basically Matt Damon with amnesia . Still a great read.

I've read 3 books by Andy Weir and 2 are in my top 10 of most enjoyable.

The third was good but didn't enjoy it as much.

Another Doug said:

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Quad Dog said:

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I saw an interview with Weir where he acknowledged that writing characters isn't his strong point. That Watney never really changed or grew in The Martian. He said that Project Hail Mary was his first serious attempt at focusing more on characters that change, grow, and learn things.

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Still not his strong point, main character was basically Matt Damon with amnesia . Still a great read.

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I agree. The character did change and grow at least, but I don't think it really counts if the character can't remember his own past well enough to acknowledge the change.

Another Doug said:

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Quad Dog said:

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I saw an interview with Weir where he acknowledged that writing characters isn't his strong point. That Watney never really changed or grew in The Martian. He said that Project Hail Mary was his first serious attempt at focusing more on characters that change, grow, and learn things.

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Still not his strong point, main character was basically Matt Damon with amnesia . Still a great read.

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Too bad he won't be cast in thd part.

Matt Damon with amnesia…Jason Bourne??

Am a huge fan of the Marian and Finished PHM a few weeks ago. Agreed that this was definitely the most character development Weir has put in.

Loved the book and can't wait to see what he comes up with next

Just finished it. I thought the ending was strong. Again, I glossed over a time or two at some of the science/experiments, but overall it was great!

rynning said:

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MASAXET said:

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Stringer Bell posted about this on twitter awhile back saying that if you liked the Martian you would enjoy this book. I knew nothing else about it, including the plot synopsis, but downloaded it on audible. I was legit shocked when Rocky shows up. I kept thinking there is no way this book is going the alien route - I kept waiting for a twist during the first interaction that it had to be something other than an alien ship. But I really ended up enjoying their interactions.

Really enjoyable book. I've recommended it to several people and everyone has seemed to like it.

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I think Andy Weir is an author who thinks less about what he wants to write and more about what his readers want to read, if that makes sense. He's a crowd pleaser.

Funny that few mention Artemis, his book in between. I thought the concept was great, but he missed with the protagonist. Just not very likeable IMO, which made the book...less fun.

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This thread popping up led me to download Artemis on audible. I'll report back with thoughts later.

Quad Dog said:

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Another Doug said:

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Quad Dog said:

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I saw an interview with Weir where he acknowledged that writing characters isn't his strong point. That Watney never really changed or grew in The Martian. He said that Project Hail Mary was his first serious attempt at focusing more on characters that change, grow, and learn things.

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Still not his strong point, main character was basically Matt Damon with amnesia . Still a great read.

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I agree. The character did change and grow at least, but I don't think it really counts if the character can't remember his own past well enough to acknowledge the change.

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Just finished reading the book, thought it was great. I also disagree with your statement a bit. He did end up remembering his past enough to acknowledge change. He outed himself as a coward at one point when the realization hit. Up to that point he was on a humanity-saving mission so the term coward was very far from what he was thinking he was. I thought it was a neat way to do backstory for the mission while also showing Grace maturing just a bit over time.

I told myself I was going to read this, and yet here I am........

One day.