Review: Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Normally when I see a book that Audible cites as "Audiobook of the Year," my first instinct is to avoid it at all costs.

I'm glad I eventually changed my mind here. I can see why this book won an award just on the basis of the audiobook alone: it's entertaining and actually quite funny. The reader does a great job with different voices and a lot of the narrator's monologue plays out like a slapstick Abbott and Costello routine against himself (and others referenced in flashback/etc).

What strikes me about Weir's work the most-- speaking of his other work The Martian which I only saw the film adaptation of-- is its optimism in the face of hopeless odds. This is what sci-fi looks like at its most inspirational and least noir/cyberpunk (as much as I love the doom of the latter). I don't always want to be uplifted this much quite frankly, but if I had to be cheered up I don't think I'd look much further than this.