Project Hail Mary

My Thoughts (Full spoilers)

The beginning of the book really hooked me. I loved the mystery of the main character waking up alone in a spaceship, not knowing who he is or why he's there. Every discovery was exciting, and figuring out the problem kept me turning pages.

The science behind Astrophage was interesting, especially the twist that global warming could actually save Earth. But honestly, I skipped a lot of the detailed science parts—they were too much for me.

Things picked up again when Rocky, the alien from Erid, showed up. Their first meeting was fun, and watching them learn to communicate was even better. Their friendship felt real and heartwarming.

But the second half started to lose steam. It focused more on solving the science problem together, which was a bit slow for me.

Still, I liked the twist that Grace didn’t want to be on the mission in the first place, and the ending was touching—he gave up going back to Earth just to save Rocky. It wrapped up his journey nicely, from an ordinary teacher to a true hero and friend.

Summary (Full spoilers)

• Ryland Grace wakes up alone in a spaceship with no memory. His two crewmates are dead.
• He slowly remembers he’s on a mission to save Earth from extinction caused by Astrophage, a microbe draining the Sun’s energy.
• Earth discovered that Tau Ceti is the only nearby star unaffected by Astrophage, so the Hail Mary mission was launched to investigate.
• Grace, a former junior high science teacher, was chosen for his knowledge but joined unwillingly.
• At Tau Ceti, he meets Rocky, an alien from planet Erid whose star faces the same problem.
• Despite huge differences, they build a strong friendship and work together to find a solution.
• They discover Taumoeba, a microbe that eats Astrophage but dies in Earth and Erid's atmospheres.
• After gene-editing it to survive, Grace gets ready to return home with the cure.
• But Rocky’s ship is damaged—he will die unless helped.
• Grace sacrifices his trip home to save Rocky, staying in the Erid system.
• He becomes a hero on Erid, living in their habitat, and teaching their young—just like on Earth.