In the grand scheme of things, scientific fiction is pretty much right smack in the middle on my list of book genres. But in the grander scheme of things, space is pretty stinkin’ awesome. And by pretty stinkin’ awesome, I mean, dumbfoundedly intriguing. For instance, I hate just watching stuff. I always need to be doing something to keep my focus on the plot of whatever I’m looking at. However, if you put me in front of a NASA documentary about the semantics of black holes or supernovas or literally anything about space, you would think I was a statue. But I guess, in the grand scheme of things, the grand scheme of anything doesn’t matter much, does it?
To be honest, I didn’t read these two books by choice. Or at least, The Martian, Project Hail Mary was a different story. Despite that, when I tell you these two books changed my brain chemistry (ok not by a crazily astronomical amount, but you get the point), I mean I sat there for a solid hour after I finished reading, just staring at the wall, thinking about what I had just read.
*Spoilers Ahead*
(fyi—both books are written by the same guy, Andy Weir)
The Martian
9/10
Now look, this was a great book. A solid choice that I wouldn’t hesitate to reread at any given moment. It was a perfect introduction for me to enter the realm of sci-fi, not too long, not too short, and with a lot of details. Almost too many… I feel like I can only read about—man stranded, man needs food, man plants potatoes, man fixes equipment, man plants more potatoes, man plants more potatoes, potatoes, potatoes, man travels with his potatoes, potatoes—to a certain extent. Of course, with the addition of more potatoes sprinkled in a few more lines here and there. I feel like the overwhelmingly underwhelming experience I had with potatoes in this book altered my opinion of them. But only slightly. When I read this book, I was in the middle of a soccer tournament in Davis and I was reading this book every. Single. Moment. Dinner? It was under the table. Waiting for my coach to show up? In my bag with the pages open and me peering in to read just a few more lines. I stayed up until 3 am for this book, with a game the next day at 8. Now, was this my brightest decision? No. Did I regret it? No. (I tried to go to bed earlier but all I could think about was the book until I gave in and started reading again) So while The Martian is slightly repetitive, the repetition just demonstrates his everyday life, just in a more realistic way than most sci-fi books do. In most sci-fi, something exciting is always happening, however, with the twist on that perspective of life in space, The Martian is easily identifiable with its unique telling. But more than that, The Martian was a story about one individual willing to overcome insane odds for the slightest chance of survival, as well as the connection between humans that are bonded over a single hope, even if it’s for a complete stranger on a different planet. Kinda awesome if you ask me.
Project Hail Mary
100/10
The Martian—I’m so sorry—has nothing on this book. Both have the same authors, so the writ
ing style is similar in both, but the plot—the storyline— is so much better. Sometimes I’ll wake up in the middle of the night thinking about this book. Similar to The Martian, Project Hail Mary is about a man in the middle of space trying to survive. However, the main difference between the two is the former was all by himself, while the latter has extraterrestrial beings to keep company. My preference for Hail Mary might be due to the objective of the book, to save everyone, whereas The Martian was about one man and one man only. But more than that, I think the involvement of “aliens” or the possibility of their existence and their involvement with the human race is portrayed in a hauntingly beautiful way. Additionally, the beautiful scientific information imbued into the pages (ok yes I know they are not accurate but let me be) makes The Martian’s repetitive deep analysis of the agonizingly slow growth of potatoes look embarrassingly basic. Also! Can I just say, (I won’t spoil this part I promise) the plot twists are amazing! I have not had such an extreme reaction to a plot twist since Fight Club. (The Martian lacks plot twists… just sayingggg) As a whole, Project Hail Mary is one of my top 3 books. The incredible reality it displays through such immersive imagery has had such a large impact on my thoughts on space. This is one of those books that you just wish you could read again for the first time.
The Martian and Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, are incredible, thought-provoking novels that I promise will leave you wanting more sci-fi. Take it from someone who thought they would never like sci-fi and now loves it. If you like the idea of space, or perhaps loved Interstellar, you will adore these books.