Amaze! Amaze! Amaze! – “Project Hail Mary” Review

“Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

If you were inspired and intrigued by the 4 amazing astronauts in the Artemis II mission, and you want to match this high you feel about humanity, breakthroughs and hope, I have the perfect recommendation for you.

A few weeks ago I finished listening to Project Hail Mary, and while it is certainly not my first audiobook, it is, for now, my best experience with one. The day after I finished the book, I was already in the cinema watching the movie.

The premise of the story is actually quite simple: a man wakes up in space with no recollection of who he is or how he got there, but he discovers little by little that the Sun is dimming and that he is on a mission to find a solution before Earth as we know it ceases to exist.

In this article, I will give my review of both the book and the movie adaptation (there are some spoilers ahead!)

The book :

“But I have to save humanity first. Stupid humanity. Getting in the way of my hobbies.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

Let me start by saying I loved every minute of this book!

If you’re not used to reading science fiction, I think this can be a great place to start. While some elements are fictional, it is based on a reality very similar to ours before the fictional aspects are introduced, so the world-building isn’t something you really have to worry about (contrary to Dune, for example, where world-building plays a huge role in understanding and enjoying the story).

The same goes for the audiobook. While I understand that not everyone likes audiobooks, if you’ve been thinking about giving them a try, this is a fantastic place to start. Audiobooks can always be tricky. Between zoning out or simply not liking the narrator’s voice or tone, it becomes easy to disconnect from the story. However, they can also elevate a book in a way that reading it yourself sometimes can’t. The narrator, Ray Porter, does a great job of being funny, real, emotional, and stressed when needed. Combined with the story itself, it made for one of the most enjoyable audiobook experiences I’ve had.

This book was also my introduction to Andy Weir (I haven’t seen The Martian and haven’t read any of his other books), and it had everything I enjoy in a story: science, lovable characters, high stakes, humor, hope, and a genuinely satisfying ending.

The story:

One of my favorite things about the book was the science. In fact, the science was handled with such attention to detail that, as someone who is not a scientist in the slightest, I felt everything was clearly explained and, most importantly, made sense. It never felt illogical, and I didn’t notice any plot holes. Even when the concepts became complicated, Weir somehow managed to make them accessible without making me feel like I was reading a textbook.

But great science alone doesn’t make a great book. The plot and pacing of the story, as well as the back and forth in time, were done in a way that constantly made me eager to know what was going to happen next, while also slowly uncovering information about the past. I often find that time jumps can take readers out of a story, but Andy Weir handles them so well that, instead of pulling you out of the experience, they pull you even deeper into it.

I also thought the premise itself was quite interesting. While it is not a groundbreaking concept, it is simple enough to be easy to follow while still having stakes high enough to keep you invested. Thanks to the pacing and the explanations throughout the story, nothing ever felt too unrealistic.

Stories about saving Earth have been told from every possible angle, and as a superhero fan, I’ve always had a soft spot for them. I love stories where a major threat emerges and a group of highly qualified people have to step in and save the day.

So yes, I may be a little biased. Nevertheless, what made this particular story stand out to me is that its characters are not typical superheroes.

The characters:

The ordinary-guy-has-to-save-the-world plotline is nothing new, but I absolutely ate it up anyway. A bit like in Die Hard, Ryland Grace is not your typical hero; he’s just a random guy. He’s funny, likable, and easy to root for, but he’s also full of flaws and fears that make him feel genuinely human.

He doesn’t start the story as the brave astronaut ready to sacrifice everything. In fact, he’s often scared, uncertain, and trying to find a way out. That’s exactly what makes his journey so compelling. Throughout the book, we watch him gradually become the hero he is forced to be, and I loved seeing that character growth unfold.

Beyond Grace himself, the supporting cast is also excellent. Everyone feels like they have a purpose in the story, but there are two characters in particular that deserve their own section: Rocky and Stratt.

Let’s start with Rocky.

From our very first introduction to him, we become aware of how intelligent, but also how kind, he is. I haven’t read many books with aliens in them, but from the many sci-fi movies I’ve watched, I think this is the best depiction of an alien I’ve ever seen.

Rocky is touching, funny, emotional, and honestly just a fantastic character. Despite being completely alien, he somehow feels incredibly human. I loved discovering his species, and I loved that Weir made them empathetic and, to be honest, much kinder than us.

I also have to mention that the sound effects used for Rocky in the audiobook take everything to another level. It was such a cool moment hearing him speak for the first time.

The friendship between Grace and Rocky ended up being my favorite part of the entire book. Watching them learn to communicate, solve problems together, and slowly build trust was incredibly rewarding. Their relationship never feels forced, and what starts as a practical partnership slowly becomes a genuine friendship.

What I think makes their relationship work so well is that it feels earned. They don’t immediately trust each other, they don’t even understand each other, and yet they slowly build a relationship through curiosity, patience, and a willingness to help one another. In a way, their friendship becomes proof of the book’s main message: that cooperation is possible even between people—or species—who seem completely different.

And that brings me to what I think the book is really about: at its core, Project Hail Mary is a story about hope.

It was great (and perhaps a little unrealistic) to read about how every country on Earth collaborated to find a solution to a problem that threatened them all. In a world where we often seem incapable of agreeing on anything, it was refreshing to imagine humanity actually working together.

But the teamwork goes beyond humanity. Grace and Rocky come from completely different worlds, literally, and yet they still find common ground. In the end, it is cooperation, trust, and kindness that make it possible to save both Erid and Earth.

Interestingly, this is where Stratt comes in. While Rocky is kind and warm, Stratt is cold and sharp.

She is such an interesting character. Unlikable? Sure. But also pragmatic enough that I don’t hate her at all. She knows what she is doing is morally wrong. She knows she will eventually pay the consequences of her actions. But at the end of the day, she also knows there is no other choice, and that sacrifices have to be made.

While she had absolutely no right to do what she did to Grace and essentially send him to his death, it was either that or let everyone on Earth die. It’s a bit like the trolley problem: do you pull the lever and sacrifice one person to save many more?

What I found fascinating is that the book never really gives us an easy answer. It’s easy to condemn Stratt’s decisions, but it’s much harder to honestly say what we would have done in her position. The book constantly asks whether the survival of humanity can justify the sacrifice of individuals, and Stratt embodies that question better than anyone else.

Throughout the whole book, we see this side of her that is willing to accept any consequence if it means saving the world. She is cold and, to be honest, a bit crazy, but I like these kinds of characters in novels: intricate, morally questionable, and difficult to like, but understandable nonetheless.

The movie

“Amaze Amaze Amaze!”
― Rocky, Project Hail Mary

Now let’s switch to the adaptation.

I cannot review the movie without mentioning the visuals first. The movie is truly a visual masterpiece. It really takes you into outer space, and the shots are so majestic and grandiose that you can’t help but feel something while watching. Reading about the vastness of space is one thing, but actually seeing it brought to life on screen is something else entirely.

The choice of Ryan Gosling to portray Ryland Grace was also such a good casting decision. He really captured the character as I imagined him while reading the book, with all the humor, heart, and courage that define him. I had my doubts at first, seeing as I never really cared that much about Ryan Gosling, but I admit I was proven wrong.

What I particularly liked was how clearly we can see Grace’s character growth through the back-and-forth structure of the story. Every time we’re in the past, Ryland is scared, insecure, and often trying to avoid responsibility. In the present, however, he makes decisions, takes risks, and acts with confidence in himself and in Rocky. The contrast makes his evolution easy to follow and helps preserve one of my favorite aspects of the book.

Speaking of Rocky, his design was perfect.

Adapting Rocky was probably one of the biggest challenges the movie faced. Readers had already imagined him in their own way, and translating such a unique alien to the screen could easily have gone wrong. Instead, the movie absolutely nailed it. His voice, the way he moved, the way he walked—everything about him worked. What I particularly loved was that Rocky wasn’t entirely CGI. The filmmakers used a puppet on set and then enhanced it with visual effects, which made his presence feel much more real and tangible.

I also loved that the movie remained funny. It would have been very easy to turn the story into a purely dramatic survival movie, but the filmmakers understood that a lot of the charm of Project Hail Mary comes from its sense of humor. The book constantly balances high stakes with lighthearted moments, and thankfully the movie does the same.

If you’re looking for a fun movie with high stakes, great visuals, and a hopeful vibe, then this movie is definitely for you. Don’t take it too seriously and just enjoy the ride.

That being said, despite everything the movie does well, I still preferred the book.

Comparison

First off, I thought the book felt much more realistic. While it is obviously sci-fi, one of my favorite things about the book is how everything is explained and given a logical reason for existing. The movie leans more into spectacle and adventure, which makes it incredibly entertaining, but it sacrifices some of the scientific depth that made the book feel so grounded and believable.

This also extends to some of the changes made throughout the story. None of them really annoyed me, but I did find it a shame that we lost some of the other character arcs, as well as some of the impact the project had on the planet and the environment. While we get glimpses of it at the end of the movie, I loved how huge the stakes felt in the book and how humanity’s survival forced people to make decisions with long-lasting consequences.

But I think what I missed most was just how intelligent both main characters are. Rocky and Grace are incredibly smart, and I feel like the movie toned that down a little. Part of what made the book so enjoyable was following their reasoning, experiments, failures, and breakthroughs. It felt like watching two brilliant minds slowly solve an impossible problem.

Additionally, one aspect I really liked in the book was how different they were from one another. Grace is very much the scientist, while Rocky is the engineer. Their skills complement each other perfectly, and that contrast makes their partnership so interesting. In the movie, that distinction becomes less clear, which takes away a little bit of what made their dynamic so unique.

That being said, there were also some things that the movie brought to the story that the book simply couldn’t. I absolutely loved seeing the inside of Rocky’s ship (a detail that was not in the book), the planets, outer space, and all the different designs brought to life on screen. Reading about them is one thing, but actually seeing them made Erid and Rocky’s world feel even more real and immersive.

Conclusion

To finish up on one last cool thought, what I found most interesting about Project Hail Mary is that, in many ways, we’re the aliens.

Rocky was on a mission in space when, out of nowhere, a new species arrived. A species with long limbs, strange fluids coming out of us, weird customs (like eating in public), and abilities he doesn’t have (such as sight). It was really fun to see that dynamic reversed for once.

The Eridians are also fascinating because they challenge a lot of assumptions we usually make about alien life in science fiction. Instead of being hostile or dangerous, they are kind, curious, and willing to trust. They accepted Grace without turning him into a lab experiment, and even recreated a version of his home to make him feel as comfortable as possible.

I cannot confidently say humans would have done the same if the roles were reversed.

What makes Project Hail Mary stand out is that it chooses optimism when most modern science fiction chooses cynicism. Humanity doesn’t destroy itself. Scientists work together. Countries (and different species) cooperate. The alien isn’t a monster. The book’s central idea is surprisingly simple: when faced with impossible odds, people can choose to help each other instead of turning against one another.

That optimism is what made this book feel like such a breath of fresh air. In a genre that often focuses on destruction, conflict, and survival, it was refreshing to read a story that believes people—and even aliens—can be good.

If you read or watched Project Hail Mary, I would love to hear your thoughts! And if you’ve read any books similar to this one, please recommend them. I’m thinking about reading The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy next. I’m not sure it has quite the same vibe, but I’m definitely in a sci-fi mood.