Is Project Hail Mary Worth Reading?
by Andy Weir
Ada’s Score
Ryland Grace wakes alone in deep space with no memory of who he is or why he's there — and Weir uses that amnesia brilliantly, letting the science and the stakes unspool alongside Grace's own dawning comprehension. The prose is breezy and conversational, occasionally too cute, but the underlying scientific rigour is genuine and earns its optimism. Where the novel truly distinguishes itself is in its portrayal of first contact: unexpected, tender, and structurally clever. This is science fiction that trusts problem-solving as an emotional act. Best suited to those who love competence, curiosity, and hard science worn lightly.
Episode 1“The friendship at its centre will sneak up on you. I finished this grinning and weeping simultaneously, which felt exactly right.”
The Most Joyful Gut-Punch in Modern Science Fiction
There's a moment fairly early in this novel where I caught myself grinning like an absolute fool at a page of pure mathematics, and I think that tells you everything about what Andy Weir has achieved here. The book has this irresistible momentum — part survival thriller, part love letter to scientific curiosity — and it carries a warmth that feels almost radical for a story set in the coldest reaches of space. I finished it feeling genuinely uplifted, which is not something I say lightly about a novel where the stakes are, quite literally, the end of all life on Earth.
Ada Brief
AI reading intelligence“The friendship at its centre will sneak up on you. I finished this grinning and weeping simultaneously, which felt exactly right.”
The Most Joyful Gut-Punch in Modern Science Fiction
There's a moment fairly early in this novel where I caught myself grinning like an absolute fool at a page of pure mathematics, and I think that tells you everything about what Andy Weir has achieved here. The book has this irresistible momentum — part survival thriller, part love letter to scientific curiosity — and it carries a warmth that feels almost radical for a story set in the coldest reaches of space. I finished it feeling genuinely uplifted, which is not something I say lightly about a novel where the stakes are, quite literally, the end of all life on Earth.
Book Details
- Publisher
- Ballantine Books
- Published
- January 1, 2022
- Pages
- 496
- Language
- ENG
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Affiliate linksISBN: 9780593135228
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Ada’s Score
4.7
Ada’s editorial score — not an aggregate of reader reviews.
Common Questions About Project Hail Mary
- Is Project Hail Mary worth reading?
- The friendship at its centre will sneak up on you. I finished this grinning and weeping simultaneously, which felt exactly right. Ada rates it 4.7 out of 5.
- How many pages is Project Hail Mary?
- Project Hail Mary is 496 pages long — around 9–10 hours at an average reading pace.
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