A man wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he is there. As his memory returns, he realizes he is Ryland Grace, a junior high science teacher turned reluctant astronaut on a desperate mission to save Earth from an extinction-level threat. What he discovers in deep space is something nobody on the mission planning team anticipated. Project Hail Mary is hard science fiction told with the tone of a buddy adventure, and it has become one of the most beloved sf novels of the decade.
What Works
The friendship at the heart of the book is one of the most memorable in modern sf. The science is rigorous without ever becoming a lecture.
What May Not Work
The amnesia structure is a familiar device. Readers who want literary prose will find Weir functional rather than poetic.