Project Hail Mary follows Dr. Ryland Grace, a junior high school science teacher who ended up aboard the Hail Mary spacecraft on a mission to save Earth from sporadic life called “Astrophage.” Throughout the novel, Ryland has flashbacks that ultimately illuminate his past and prior experiences, as he forgets nearly all he knows after he was put into a medical coma. On his journey, he meets Rocky, an “alien” hailing from the planet 40-Eridani, who is on the same mission as him: to find a solution to the astrophage problem and save their stars.

Throughout the book, I found myself thoroughly hooked. Some scientific concepts were harder to grasp without prior knowledge, but most points were easy to digest and added to the story’s depth. The novel is written in a lighthearted, casual tone, perhaps to enunciate Ryland’s easygoing personality. I also thought the introduction of Rocky was fluid and well done. The existence of such a life form seems very viable because the author thought out almost every minute detail. It also added more “meat” to the bones since it allowed for character interaction and development, as opposed to a single character talking to themselves for numerous chapters.

I found the most striking and engaging scene to be the interaction between Ryland and Rocky, the alien he meets as he is traveling through space. The scene is well thought out and realistically depicts what an interaction between a human and an alien might be like with language and environmental barriers taken into account. It would also be the beginning of a blossoming friendship—one that steers the book onto not only a purely scientific path but also one of emotional connection. Rocky is not just a specimen to Ryland, but also a companion that he cares about.

In the end, I found that a lot of the problems in the story were redundant, such as the Taumoeba (the special amoeba that Ryland and Rocky discover) breaking loose over and over again. It got a bit monotonous, but overall the story rounded out well and gave us a phenomenal conclusion, of Ryland joining Rocky on Rocky’s home planet and living out the rest of his life as a science teacher for young Eridians, just as he was on Earth. With all this said, Project Hail Mary offers an engaging blend of scientific intrigue and heartfelt connection, making it a memorable journey of both survival and friendship.