Reviewed in Australia on 7 October 2021
This is one of those books that grabs you from the moment you start reading it (listening to it), and you know that you are going to have some late nights until you have finished it.
Weir has fallen back on his very clever storyline of the “sole survivor” trapped in a difficult situation, but this time, just to up the ante a bit, the entire human race is riding on the outcome of this lone astronaut.
Ryland Grace awakens in a pod, confused, with his memory not working properly, unable to move properly, and unsure of where he is. As he slowly gets the ability to move back, he finds himself onboard a small spacecraft, with two desiccated corpses, them having died some time before, indicating he has been asleep for a long time. But he finds that whatever has kept him asleep has worked his muscles, so that he is fit and healthy.
As the story unfolds, we get flashbacks to when Grace was on Earth, and it is here, that we learn of the terrifying truth of the situation. Ryland Grace is onboard a ship called ‘Hail Mary’, and he and the two dead bodies are Humanities, and Earth’s only hope.
This is one of those stories in which, you can’t really say too much without giving away a lot of the plot, and I just don’t want to ruin it for anyone, as this is an incredible adventure, and an absolute must read.
If you had even the slightest interest in the Martian, you will love this, as Weir has taken all the best elements of the Martian, and then added a whole bunch of additional parts to make this story so much better than the Martian.
Weir has continued to perfect his character work, and the characters in this book, from the exceptional Ryland Grace, who can leave you in stitches from laughter, and then 2 minutes later, you need a box of tissues, as you are sobbing from what has happened next. Grace’s character is just outstanding.
I am not going to mention any of the other characters as I don’t want to give away spoilers, but there are a couple of characters in this story, you will know who I mean when you read it, (and trust me, you will end up either reading or listening to this book, it is just too good not to!), that are so well done, they are just brilliant, as well as utterly fascinating, and you find yourself enthralled by them.
One of the really great aspects of this book is the ‘science’ – there is a lot of what I would call Hard Sci-Fi in this book, and it makes for a really interesting read, as Weir has gone to a lot of effort to not only research things to make it fascinating for the reader, but he has made it understandable for pretty much any reader as well. The quality and depth of the detail that is in this book is so real and gritty, and it gives the book so much authenticity.
However, Weir does not lose himself in the science, and there is a lot of brilliant dialogue, as well as some terrific humour, that as I said before, will leave you in stitches.
The book has a great feel to it, with how it plays out, flashing back and forth between the ship that Grace is aboard, and his memories of how he came to be there back on Earth, and Weir uses this to tell the story, but also to build this riveting tension, so that as you get further and further into the book, you not only get more engaged with the characters, but you are compelled to find out what is going to happen.
Without any spoilers – I have to say, that this book has one of the best endings I have read in a Sci-Fi book in a long time, and I really loved how Weir did the ending. I love it when Authors leave you with an ending that wraps things up, whether that be good or bad, but they also leave you with that bit of an ending so that you can let your imagination play out, and have some fun with parts of the end as well.
This is just an incredibly well told and powerful story, of friendship, survival, human ingenuity, but there is also a strong message about how we treat our planet, and each other. Weir has delved into aspects of all sorts of things in this book, economics, politics, war, history, and every that he has covered is just done in such a remarkable and fascinating way. These little facts that he uses a character to tell us about as part of the story, and it leaves you really thinking afterward.
This is one of those books that when you finish it, you are left thinking ‘Wow’, and you need a good period of time afterward to sit and think it all through. Days after finishing it, I am still remembering little parts of it, and thinking ‘Huh’, with either a goofy grin on my face, or a bit of a sad look. It is not often that an Author can really leave an impression on you so deep, and so strong – but this book is just inspired.
If you can only read one book this year, or listen to one audiobook – make it this one.
