KEV67 Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 (edited) I noticed this had come out when reading an article in The Telegraph about books that have come out in 2021. The reviewer had a literary bent, so only gave it 3 stars, but said it was difficult to put down. I looked it up on GoodReads and it has an average score of 4.57 from 49,204 reviews. That is about the highest score I've come across. A sci-fi booktuber I follow (someone who has a YouTube channel discussing books) gave it five stars. I did like The Martian. Apart from the Martian storm that caused the rocket crew to take off and leave protagonist behind, the science was very strong. The characterization: I wouldn't say it was complex. I don't think the protagonist suffered many dark nights of the soul. He'd be too tired for a start. He'd wake up in the morning, ready for another sixteen hours' problem solving, then go to sleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. I have read him described as a more intelligent Robinson Crusoe. I identified more with Robinson Crusoe. Robinson Crusoe spent a long time hollowing out a tree trunk in the forest to make a canoe, figuring he'd work out how to get it to the shore later. When he finished it, he couldn't get it to the shore. That's the sort of thing I might do, but Andy Weir's Martian definitely wouldn't. I hear his other book, Artemis, set on the moon, was not as good, but his latest book, Project Hail Mary, is back to his best. It sounds like it will definitely be made into a film before too long, so I should probably read it. Edited July 2, 2021 by KEV67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 I have heard great things of Project Hail Mary too (now I wonder who the BookTuber is that you follow, I'm a BookTuber myself and follow a whole bunch of other BookTubers. Was it Daniel Greene? He is one of the bigger BookTubers who talks about adult science-fiction). I would like to read it too, I'm waiting for a medium-size paperback release. I loved The Martian, so I think/hope I will love this one as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 2 hours ago, Athena said: I have heard great things of Project Hail Mary too (now I wonder who the BookTuber is that you follow, I'm a BookTuber myself and follow a whole bunch of other BookTubers. Was it Daniel Greene? He is one of the bigger BookTubers who talks about adult science-fiction). I would like to read it too, I'm waiting for a medium-size paperback release. I loved The Martian, so I think/hope I will love this one as well. No, it was Becky M. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Athena Posted July 2, 2021 Share Posted July 2, 2021 19 hours ago, KEV67 said: No, it was Becky M. I will check the channel out, thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted July 3, 2021 Author Share Posted July 3, 2021 I have been looking for the book in the shops, but I can't even find it in hardback form yet. That high GoodReads score might be down to fans who pre-ordered a copy. I hear the protagonist in Project Hail Mary is very like Mark Watney in The Martian, only de does not use profanity, as he is a school teacher. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 13, 2021 Author Share Posted November 13, 2021 I have been checking the bookshops all year for this and I can't find a copy. Come the new year I will order one online Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted June 13, 2022 Author Share Posted June 13, 2022 I am getting fed up waiting for this book to appear in the bookshops. Why is it taking so long? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 Pretty sure I've seen the hardback in Waterstones (though not recently). Paperback's out in October. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted June 13, 2022 Share Posted June 13, 2022 3 hours ago, KEV67 said: I am getting fed up waiting for this book to appear in the bookshops. Why is it taking so long? As far as I know, the hardback came out 4 May 2021 and the paperback 6 Oct 2022 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 I wonder whether it being held back to coincide with the film release. I will be annoyed if it is. I could read Artemis in the meantime, but it is not supposed to be as good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted June 15, 2022 Author Share Posted June 15, 2022 One thing that always irritated me about The Martian was that the Martian sand storm that made the crew take off and leave Mark Watney behind was not scientifically possible. Andy Weir admitted it himself, but could not think of a better plot device. Later on in the book there is a Martian sand storm and Mark Watney hardly notices. Well, I thought of a better contrivance on the train to work today: There is a comet or asteroid heading for Earth. There is a 99.9% chance it will miss, but 0.1% x 7 billion people is still 7 million people's worth of risk, so the POTUS orders the crew to take off and nudge the comet/asteroid out the way. I don't know why they had to leave Mark Watney behind, but that's a detail. I watched Andy Weir on YouTube say that while he was publishing his book online, readers would give him feedback, saying what bits of technology were feasible or infeasible. Do you think it's too late to make my suggestion? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted August 27, 2022 Author Share Posted August 27, 2022 And still it's not in the bookshops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted October 7, 2022 Share Posted October 7, 2022 This is currently available on the Kindle for 99p. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted November 4, 2022 Share Posted November 4, 2022 The paperback is now available on Amazon : Project Hail Mary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Raven Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 I saw this in paperback, in my local Waterstone's, last Saturday. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted November 5, 2022 Share Posted November 5, 2022 I bought this yesterday so will hopefully get around to reading it before the end of the year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 6, 2022 Author Share Posted November 6, 2022 16 hours ago, Brian. said: I bought this yesterday so will hopefully get around to reading it before the end of the year. Did you buy it in a bookshop? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian. Posted November 6, 2022 Share Posted November 6, 2022 2 hours ago, KEV67 said: Did you buy it in a bookshop? No, I used Amazon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 9, 2022 Author Share Posted November 9, 2022 Got a copy. yay! Saw it at Waterstones. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 12, 2022 Author Share Posted November 12, 2022 I am enjoying it. It is rather like The Martian. The protagonist is much the same. He is not very deep. It is hard science fiction, in that most of the science is correct. At least it seems so. Maybe it is physically impossible for microorganisms to convert energy directly into mass, but I think it is acceptable for a sci-fi book to stretch the laws of physics once or twice in the interest of drama. It is also near sci-fi. It is not set centuries and millennium in the future. It is set more or less now. The plot is ingenious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 13, 2022 Author Share Posted November 13, 2022 I see a film is being made with Ryan Gosling as star. I can't help feeling this is a miscasting. The protagonist is not an alpha male. He is a geek. He is a bachelor, science teacher. I know it is a box office film, so needs a star, but I still think it is the wrong actor. I was talking about the plot to a friend, and I think I may have discovered a plot hole, but maybe it is not one. I thought if the micro-organisms could convert energy into mass, then why do they have to go somewhere with carbon-dioxide to build their bodies. I suppose whatever the best element to convert energy into might not be carbon. If so, I am pretty sure they have not mentioned which element it is, because I would have remembered. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lunababymoonchild Posted November 14, 2022 Share Posted November 14, 2022 Ryan Gosling is an accomplished, experienced and award winning actor. I don't think I've ever seen him in anything so can't speak from personal experience or taste but I think he should be given a chance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 15, 2022 Author Share Posted November 15, 2022 Don't read on if you are worried about being spoiled. I wonder if I spotted a couple more plot holes: 1) Could we actually generate enough energy on Earth to get a spaceship to Tau Ceti? I thought they were going to scoop the astrophage orbiting the sun, rather than charging them up on earth. I did some sums using my O level physics, ignoring time dilation and mass changes with velocity. I assumed the spaceship was 10x the mass of a Saturn V rocket. I reckoned it would take Drax power station over 50 million years to power it up. Maybe a bit less because the spaceship gets lighter as it uses up fuel. 2) The bit where they are demonstrating the spin drives - if so much energy was released in such a short time it melted a slab of metal, surely it would have buckled those spin drives. No, it is not quite hard sciency enough, although it is better than most. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 15, 2022 Author Share Posted November 15, 2022 Again using O level physics, it would take Drax power station 12 hours to charge up Saturn V rockets for the Apollo missions. Well, probably more because there would be energy losses in making the rocket fuel. I am surprised it would take that much energy, because Drax was our biggest power station. Still, 12 hours is a lot less than 50 million years. It could be my arithmetic is wrong somewhere. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KEV67 Posted November 15, 2022 Author Share Posted November 15, 2022 (edited) I am only about 40% through the book, but I reckon that almost as soon as Ryland Grace blasted off on his mission, the scientists started wondering why they devoted all that resource on a project that had such a low chance of success. Surely it would be a lot easier to clear some of the astrophage away from the sun. They know how to do it. They would not need to clear it all away, just the astrophage that was blocking light to the earth. what is more, all our energy shortages would be sorted out. Maybe Venus could be terraformed with some of the light blocked out and it's carbon dioxide depleted. Edited November 15, 2022 by KEV67 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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