One for all
On the cover of the Polish edition of Project Hail Mary you will find a very enthusiastic mini-review by GRR Martin himself: “Two worlds, (…) one man who can save them.” Add to that Weir’s most famous novel, and you know more or less what you’re writing for. It will be about heroism and DIY. Things will happen, but the overall tone will be reassuring. After all, heroism should not be wasted.
I love science fiction, the most deeply philosophical one. I don’t need technical descriptions, but I can listen to physics as much as I can. And foreign races, and more importantly – foreign languages! However, I used Weir for slightly different reasons – for entertainment that will not be banal, will make me think a bit, draw me in, give me hope. This is exactly what I got. But okay, that’s all, it’s time to focus on the hero himself.
It begins with the fact that he himself has no idea who and where he is. He quickly realizes that in space – probably somewhere in Earth’s orbit. He gradually “feels” his ship, remembers his own name. He discovers that he is very far from home, but he went on a very important mission – you have to save the Earth from a cosmic ice age. Some nasty, resistant plankton from the vacuum is eating away at the sun – literally! All hope in Rytland Grace… But why did some ordinary science teacher get such an honorable job?
Getting out of oblivion
Much of the book will be devoted to Ryland’s struggle with his own mind. It’s a classic trick that allowed Weir not only to play with flashbacks, but to surprise us and the hero a couple of times without actually applying a twist. These, of course, also take place, but in the present of the master of nature, when he orbits a distant star that brings great hopes. As it turns out, it has become the most important place in the universe not only for us. Gradually you will learn everything… except for the answers to the questions of why the international mission is actually called “Hail Mary” or “Hail Mary”.
From the biological laboratory and experiments on creatures that cut the sun, experiments with a new type of fuel and space travel, to patching up a ship, walking in interstellar space and eating from tubes. Weir’s entire book is devoted to the practical dimension of navigating between the stars, keeping the cosmonaut healthy, and finally the technical foundations of heroism. But it is also a text about the great power of friendship that comes from working together.
Since Martin mentioned two worlds, and we know Project Hail Mary will be launched in the near future, you may have already figured out that the latter will not be ours. I don’t want to reveal too much, but there will be considerations about genetics and field ethnolinguistics. Do not expect philosophical riddles like those from Ted Chiaga or Liu Cixin, but the associations will be most legitimate. After all, fantasy is not only a dialogue between literature and science, it is also a lot of important conversations between books.
Project Hail Mary is very optimistic science fiction, which is basically something unusual for the genre itself, if we look at its entire story. It talks about the great mobilization of earthly resources, overcoming the crisis and providing aid. It is also a praise for education – especially science. After all, the language of mathematics and physics allows communication across cultures and perhaps cosmic races as well. Weir, like Sagan, must believe that deeply.
