Project Hail Mary
by Andy Weir
Summary
Junior high science teacher turned reluctant astronaut Ryland Grace wakes alone aboard a spacecraft with no memory of his mission, gradually piecing together that he is humanity's last hope against an organism draining the sun's energy, and that he is not entirely alone in deep space after all. Weir grounds an increasingly wild interstellar premise in rigorous, carefully worked out science and problem solving, in the same spirit as his earlier bestseller The Martian. The novel became a massive commercial success and was praised for its inventive first contact storyline.
Historical Context & Significance
The novel was a finalist for the Hugo Award for Best Novel but lost to Arkady Martine's A Desolation Called Peace at the 2022 ceremony. Weir's book nonetheless became one of the best selling science fiction novels of its year through sheer reader enthusiasm.