The Martian VS Project Hail Mary

Hello fellow bloggers!

I know its been awhile since I’ve popped on here, but I am hoping to get back into the groove of posting. Life has picked up the last few months. Got a new job which has been keeping me busy. Has also led to slow down in my reading. After The Scoripo Races, which left a bad taste in my mouth, I stumbled upon some fun science fiction!! I’ve talked about my love for sci-fi in the past; it is one of my go to genres. Some of the ladies in my book club suggested The Martian which I read over vacation. Then I saw the author had a new book about an astronaut with amnesia. Books with amnesia have always fascinated me going back to The Black Stallion Revolts. 😉

So with that long preamble I am going review and lay out my thoughts on these two books Enjoy!!

I’ll start with The Martian

The Martian by Andy Weir

Genre – Science fiction, Survival

Series – No

Rating – R- for Strong frequent language

Age Range – Adult

Synopsis –

After waking up to a low oxygen warning, Mark Watney realizes he is stranded alone on Mars. His crew believes him to be dead and reports back to NASA what had occurred. Watney begins adapting the HAB, a station built by the crew, and conserving food. He was the crew’s botanist and engineer and uses these skills to try to stay alive; doing everything from growing plants, exploding stuff, and retrieving a radioactive heater. Once NASA realizes they’ve made a mistake, they endeavor to save Watney.

My Thoughts –

First, I knew the premise from watching the movie. I love the movie!! Its well done and feels so realistic. Plus, Matt Damon does a great job as Watney! It had been a few years since I had watched it though, so it gave me a chance to come to the book with fresh eyes. I love the originality of the book. Sending a crew to Mars that goes disastrously wrong and getting to see how someone might survive that circumstance. I liked The Martian quite a bit. Watney can be hilarious. He is much more of a wise-crack in the book more so then in the movie.

The majority of the book is told through Watney’s eyes with sections switching to NASA. I preferred the sections with Watney, some of the people at NASA got on my nerves at times.

Pretty much everything goes wrong, and we see Watney try to resolve the crises using lots of math and science. Some of the math stuff was super complicated, but made an intriguing read. It was the sort of book you don’t want to put down so you can see what will happen.

Content – Yeah, there is lots and lots of language here. Watney uses it frequently as well as the crew at NASA. Which was annoying, but the story held my interest so I kept reading. The only other thing was Watney was injured in his side by an antenna which isn’t really discussed much in the book.

Now over to Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Science Fiction, Dystopian

Series – No

Rating – PG-13 for occasional language and peril

Age Range – Adult

Synopsis – Grace Ryland wakes up strapped to a bed and unable to remember his own name. A machine feeds him and provides medical attention. Upon escaping the mechanical machine’s arms. He explores his surroundings. Ryland realizes he is on a spaceship hurling through space with two dead astronauts for companions. Ryland has no clue why he is traveling through space. The only clues he has are a few vague memories. How will Ryland survive?

My Thoughts –

I loved that we got to slowly figure out what was going on with Ryland. It was a great tactic! The whole amnesia in space was awesome as well! I know I would totally freak out if I woke up in the middle of another solar system with no clue how I got there. Plus, I got to say Rocky was the best side kick!! I am trying not to give anything away, but he takes the story to another level. Ending kinda reminded me of Interstellar and Ender’s Game. There is some crazy manipulation going on that isn’t quite the level of forcing kids into military training, but its close.

We have some similar elements of a guy stranded and trying to survive, but Ryland is a junior high science teacher. Which I loved!! So he uses Chemistry and Physics at time, but I liked Ryland as a character better then Watney. Plus loved the conversations with Rocky. Which we didn’t really get in The Martian, most of focus was on saving Watney no real character development. And you know I like my character development. The author does a great job giving you a villain to dislike. Some of the sections with Stratt got a little repetitive and boring at times, and I kept saying, “Let’s move on.”

I liked the moral questions Project Hail Mary asks. What would you do if all of humanity rests on your shoulders? How would you handle the stress of being alone?

*Spoiler Alert* – There is a scene with Ryland trying to clean and save Rocky where he uses air pump that had me laughing out loud.

Also the ending guys! Isn’t what I was expecting at all! But I like it, it different and unique. Anybody else see a resemblance to Ender’s Game?

Content – There were a few choice words said, however much cleaner then The Martian. Not much to say here, except some people thought Stratt and Ryland were a thing, which they were not.

Conclusion –

So far I would describe my 2021 book genres as Classics and Science Fiction centered. Both of these books were perfect summer reads! Light and fun! I liked Project Hail Mary a bit more though. It had lots of surprises and things to think about.

That’s all I got for now!

How is your summer going? Have any favorite sci-fi books? Have you read either of these books?

Up Next – I’m finishing up Where the Crawdads Sing then starting The Help

Anna

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