Project Hail Mary
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Project Hail Mary is the latest novel from Andy Weir, and its the perfect weekend read for anyone who enjoyed his debut The Martian. Pair it with a Blue Moon cocktail for a light but complex flavor with a little kick.
I loved the initial chapter, but struggled to stay hooked for the first half of the book. The main character swears often but replaces the actual words with PG equivalents (Holy Moly, gosh, well golly). I respect the creative choice the author made and it does technically make sense for the character but I hated it. So much. On the other hand, I love the trope of a character waking up with amnesia so that the reader and the protagonist learn about the world together.
The writing here reminded me strongly of the Bobiverse series - flippant humor, and while the plot does offer real stakes the lighthearted tone of the book makes it hard to believe anything will actually go that badly. I don't love the long passages explaining the 'back of envelope' style logic and math the character uses to figure out each new challenge, but it's very well done and will be deeply satisfying for those who do.
One thing I really enjoyed was the commentary on Earth about balancing idealism with pragmatism. When the time comes to select who will crew the ship, the woman in charge initially narrows it down only to specific demographics. I thought this was an interesting piece to choose to include in the book. On the one hand, books are what you make them - even if you’re aiming for a perfectly realistic book, you can still decide what to emphasis or de-emphasis. By specifically calling out 1) the lack of women in STEM and 2) the risk of crewmates developing romantic relationships, Weir chose a very heteronormative and un-optimistic view of our world. I don’t think he’s wrong, exactly. But it certainly sets the stage for a lot of bookclub discussions on whether Stratt made the right choice when trying to pre-emptively solve problems she assumed would come up by narrowing the field of candidates. It was definitely disappointing that nobody in the book ever brought up the idea of LGBT people when this conversation occurred.
Overall if you loved the Martian, this is the book for you. Rocky is one of my favorite characters in a minute and I'm really glad I stuck through the slow start.
Blue Moon Cocktail
2 oz dry gin
1/2 oz Creme de Violette
1/2 oz lemon juice
1/2 oz simple syrup - this is an ongoing argument. I hate the cocktail with it, my partner hates it without. Let me know which you prefer!
Lemon twist to garnish
Combine the above with ice and shake until your hands are too cold (roughly 15 seconds). Strain into a stemmed glass - since its served without ice, you want a glass where your hands can’t heat up the drink.
