After completing his book The Martian, novelist Andy Weir began working on what he called “an epic space opera” tentatively titled Zhek. After writing 75,000 words for Zhek, Weir opted to abandon the project and start a different novel entirely. Years later, elements from Weir’s space opera made their way into his 2021 novel, Project Hail Mary.
Project Hail Mary was a massive success and immensely critically acclaimed upon publication, with a coveted starred Kirkus review calling it “an unforgettable story of survival and the power of friendship—nothing short of a science-fiction masterwork.” The book debuted at number three on the New York Times bestseller list in 2021 and stayed there for nine weeks. It has reappeared on the paper’s bestseller list over the years on multiple occasions.
In 2021, both billionaire philanthropist Bill Gates and former President Barack Obama included Project Hail Mary on their lists of favorite books of the year.
The audiobook, narrated by Ray Porter, has been equally as acclaimed. In 2022, the audiobook took the top spot on the New York Times Audio Fiction Best Seller List, which it held for three weeks. Recently, Amazon’s Audible put out their list of the “The Top 100 Audible Essentials of All Time” and put Project Hail Mary in the number one spot.
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Project Hail Maryfollows Ryland Grace, a junior high science teacher who wakes up from a coma to find himself on a spacecraft called the Hail Mary flying towards an unknown star. Grace comes to realize he is on a one-way suicide mission to save Earth’s sun, which is being destroyed by a mysterious space matter/microbe called Astrophage. While heading toward the one star not being consumed by the Astrophage, Grace encounters an alien he comes to name Rocky, whose home planet is facing a similar fate due to Astrophage. The two begin to work together to save their respective humanities and find the solution in the vast universe in a story of resilience, friendship, and what it means to find hope.
The physical version of Project Hail Mary is available wherever books are sold, and the audiobook is out now and available for download wherever you get your audiobooks.
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