Though I got the audiobook using free credits, I still want a refund. I seriously expected something magical, or perhaps I was deluded by the constant praise of it on social media.

The science is intelligent; the story/narration is not.

Project Hail Mary

I was told that the narration of the audiobook is wonderful, and it’s a must-have if you want a perfect audiobook experience. It will stay with you and blah blah. But unfortunately, I didn’t find anything special in that aspect either. I must confess that it was rather annoying the way the author was narrating.

But there are a few things that I liked:

The good:

• The first few chapters were good and intriguing. I thought I would enjoy this book so much.

• The main character was funny at first, and I enjoyed him at the beginning.

• The science in this book was very interesting to read about, and it's surprisingly easy to read.

Now that’s all that I liked because the bad was too noticeable; it definitely hindered the good and my enjoyment.

The Issues:

Honestly, it feels like this was written with a movie in mind. It would probably make a great blockbuster, but as far as serious literature goes, it doesn't quite hit the mark.

• It was too long and too boring. Almost the whole book is just a linear description of steps and decisions made by the narrator.

• All characters are shallow and paper-thin; moreover, the main character is pretty annoying.

• This book felt like it was written by a nerdy middle schooler. It leans more toward fantasy than sci-fi. The writing style and over-dramatization of every little thing were very irritating.

If you think that’s all the issues, you, my friend, are mistaken.

More Issues:

• the obnoxious main character (he is a high school science teacher but actually just a Gary Sue; he is a biologist, astrophysicist, radiologist, microbiologist, LINGUIST, and an astronaut, who's the best at everything without any need for training);

• Endless useless exposition DUMPS that will haunt you for wasting your own precious time on it.

Other Issues:

It’s a bad book because the plot is so blatantly implausible as to be silly. The author must think that stuffing every page with loads of scientific data and explanations makes a story plausible, except it does not. Though I liked the science at first.

The main character, Ryland Grace, is very two-dimensional. He’s supposed to save humanity, but he barely even seems human himself. There’s no mention of any kind of partner, no mention of parents or siblings, and no best friends.

For me, this is inexcusable. How can you build a character when you don't know if they have parents, siblings, friends...anything they like, what they want for their future, etc.? We do not get one single reason why we should care about this individual.

The continued quirkiness of the smart-ass narrating voice after a while started getting to me, and eventually it detracted from the seriousness of the story; it’s like one long witty joke. In a movie, such an effect would be nicely counterbalanced by breathtaking deep space images (like in The Martian); in a book, that is all you get, and the result was annoying.

Sci-fi often has trouble with character development, but Hail Mary really drops the ball, giving us excessively many flimsy stereotypes and tired clichés.

The voice in which the book is written is unbearable. Oh, no, gosh darn it, something has broken again! Let me science in a really awesome, super cool way! Oh no, I'm definitely going to die. Never mind, I scienced super hard, and now I'm happy, happy, happy.

There were also quite a few scientifically impossible plotlines that cropped up during the book. The technology developed and used by the non-sighted Eridians who lived in total darkness to 'see' into space and map space, much less to be able to detect and measure the specific emission lines peculiar to the Astrophage infestation of their own sun and even distant suns, was never specified.

Their ability to navigate interstellar space by dead reckoning without computers is difficult to accept.

It's exhausting every time the guy saves the situation while dropping a funny comment (that always fell flat for me).

And don't let me start with the stereotypical characters, from the youngest kid to the eldest Japanese.

I liked The Martian. I hated this book. Strongly.

Life is too short to read a boring book, and this was exactly that.

It felt like I was reading a science textbook.