Project Hail Mary

Executive Summary: If you liked the Martian, you'll probably like this. It follows a very similar structure. I didn't like this quite as much, but overall enjoyed it.Audiobook: Ray Porter does a fantastic job as usual. I always enjoy his narration style and he's a good fit for tone of this book. It really adds a bit extra that makes me glad I did the audio version.Full ReviewI really loved [b:The Martian 18007564 The Martian Andy Weir https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413706054l/18007564.SY75.jpg 21825181]. I'm generally not a “hard” sci-fi fan. I tend to prefer space fantasy or space opera. However there was something about that book that just really appealed to me.Their wasn't so much of a plot as a series of scientific problems where our overqualified protagonist managed to “science the shit” out of them until the book ended. This book had a very similar structure. The protagonist felt like it could have easily been Mark Watney.I struggled a bit with this at the start. Our protagonist wakes up with amnesia which to me felt like it was simply a plot device to create more mystery and suspense as the slowly remember critical details at just the right time of the book.That said at a certain point of the book (I won't say which, since I don't like to include spoilers in my reviews), things really picked up for me and I was hooked in. It was this aspect more than anything that distinguished this book from the Martian for me.That said I felt like I had to suspend my disbelief a bit. Things just felt a bit over dramatic at times. I was also starting to wear down a bit at the “formula” of problem after problem with science to the rescue.Overall I found this to be a fast and (mostly) fun read, but a bit derivative of his earlier work. I think if you enjoyed the formula of the Martian, you'll likely enjoy it again here.