Andy Weir, the author of "The Martian" has a new book out, so of course we have to talk about it!
Hey everyone! I'm Marianna, this is Impression Blend,
and today I am so excited to be talking about Andy Weir's new
sci-fi novel, "Project Hail Mary", which just came out earlier this week, on May 4th.
I have been dying to read this book ever since I heard it was coming out,
and I was so lucky to receive a copy from the publisher, so I already finished it and I am
going to tell you why YOU should read it as well. Stay tuned for a giveaway later in this video.
"Project Hail Mary" is told from the perspective of
Ryland - a man who wakes up in a spaceship without any recollection of who he is or how he got there.
Trouble is, he's on a last chance mission to save humanity and the rest of the crew are dead.
Now, I usually don't like describing books (or movies) through other books or movies,
but in this case the easiest way for me to explain what this novel is like is to say that this is
"Interstellar" meets "The Martian", but with amnesia. The stakes are extremely high,
the main character is alone, tasked with cancelling the apocalypse...
"Today we are cancelling the apocalypse!"
...but he can't even remember his own name. Thankfully, his memories are slowly coming back,
and he finds some much needed help where he didn't expect it.
I had so much fun reading this, and I think fans of "The Martian" will not be
disappointed. If you're looking for an outer space adventure, a story of survival and hope,
filled with science and humor - "Project Hail Mary" is the book for you.
The story is told in two alternating timelines: one is present day,
with Ryland trying to figure out what's going on and what to do about his situation, and the
other is a string of flashbacks leading up to his mission.
Now, flashbacks can be a tricky thing in books - they can feel like disjointed scenes that just
throw additional pieces of information at the reader. However, I think in this novel
they are used really well. Combined with the main character's amnesia,
they not only fill us in on what led up to this situation, but also provide some much needed
insight into what Ryland is like as a person, and eventually that develops into a character arc.
Plus, there are some fun secondary characters in those flashbacks as well.
And, while we are on the topic of Ryland, I have to say: he feels a lot like Mark
Watney from "The Martian", minus the swearing. It's not just the similar setup with the whole
"a man alone on a mission in space" thing - it's the way his personality feels.
Andy Weir has a very distinct sense of humor when he writes his character,
and there's a lot of irony there, so when I was reading the book I kept hearing Matt Damon's
voice in my head because I've seen the movie adaptation of "The Martian" so many times.
This is going to get particularly interesting when we see the film adaption for "Project Hail Mary".
And yes, they are already in early stages of making this movie happen.
Apparently, the actor attached to this adaptation as the lead is Ryan Gosling, who is of course
no stranger to the space suit, and also can absolutely pull off comedy very well.
And, we have Drew Goddard writing the screenplay which is exciting
not only because of his impressive screenwriting credits in general, but specifically because he
is the one who wrote the screenplay for "The Martian". I really hope this movie gets made
soon. If they do it right, it's going to be so much fun, and there's a specific
element of this novel that I am VERY interested in seeing visualized on screen. Which brings me to my
next point: I want to talk about something that could be considered a mild spoiler.
Personally, I don't think knowing this information is a big deal - this is something that happens
about a third into the book. A little bit earlier actually, but in that general area,
and I actually think that if people knew this was part of the story they would be even
more excited to read the novel. But, if you're someone who doesn't want to know
any details going into the book skip to this time (6:05) in the video. OK? Are we good? Alright.
So, the thing I'm referring to is Ryland's unexpected ally - an alien. I am SO happy
this ended up being a part of the novel for multiple reasons. First of all,
this is just something that is exciting to read about. First contact with an alien, if done right,
is a very fascinating sci-fi trope, and Andy Weir absolutely does it right.
Second, I love that the author went for something completely different
from the traditional idea of what an alien might be like. There is so much detail and explanations
involved here - this was easily the best part of the novel for me. It was just so interesting
to read about all of that, and to see how it eventually plays into the rest of the story.
And third, the interactions between the two are priceless. The way they study each other
and try to figure out a way to communicate - it is all so, so interesting, but also hilarious.
Alright, sorry for that quick mild spoiler section to everyone who skipped over it, but it is my
favorite thing about the novel, so it would have been so weird not to mention it at all
in this review. But, if you skipped and you have no idea what I'm talking about - I am sure
you're going to know exactly when you get there, and you're going to have fun with it.
Now, when it comes to the negatives, the main thing that I want to bring up is that I can
see some readers having a hard time with the science. Personally, I really enjoy reading the
scientific descriptions - they make the world more real for me. But I remember seeing this
complaint about "The Martian" in the past, that the novel had too much science in it.
Well, this novel has MORE science in it than "The Martian", but it is presented the same
way - it is explained to the readers in a way that everybody should be able to understand.
I am not a scientist, but I never felt lost or confused by any of this. I actually thought this
was really interesting, and it led me to looking some things up and learning something new.
Plus, this IS sci-fi - I think explaining the science adds a level of realism to it. The guy
is in space, trying to save humanity - yes, he is going to be someone who will
access his scientific knowledge and skills pretty often to solve problems that come up.
But, if this is something you struggled with while reading "The Martian" - you're
going to have the same issue here. And I will admit, sometimes these
science-filled sections were really close to each other - not all the time, but on a few
occasions. And, because they're essentially a stream of information and problem solving,
I did on a few occasions feel like I wanted to get to the actual story a little bit faster.
My other negative is a small nitpick, and allow me to take a second to complain about something
most readers probably won't care about, but the "crazy Russians" stereotypes need to stop.
I will say, these parts are brief and not as silly as they could have been (and usually are).
I'm just tired of the stereotypes.
It's not a huge deal in this book, but as an Eastern European, every time I see these things
I just get more and more tired of them. But, as I mentioned, it's a minor, minor complaint.
So, to wrap this up I want to say that I really, really enjoyed the novel - it's something that
I wanted to keep reading, I wanted to know what happens next, and I did not want to put it down.
This is definitely a treat for sci-fi fans who are looking for something fun and fast-paced, but also
still rooted in science. I had so much fun reading it, and I'm going to be giving "Project Hail Mary"
a very well-deserved 8 out of 10. Obviously, I highly recommend you read it as well.
Let me know if you're looking forward to reading the book, if you've already started reading it,
and if you've somehow already finished it because you burned through it like I did - let
me know what you thought in the comments. Thank you so much for watching this video,
I hope you guys enjoyed it. Thank you to all my Patrons who are supporting me on Patreon,
with an extra special thank you to the Patrons whose names are on the screen right now. But
of course, I appreciate every single one of you for watching this video until the end.
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and I hope you're having a wonderful day. I will see you very soon in my next video. Bye!