Project Hail Mary

By the author of "The Martian". I saw the Martian movie and thought it was rather dull. Apparently I'm alone in that. Project Hail Mary was the total opposite so I imagine the Martian novel would be better than the movie. This is a great read.

A man wakes up. He can't see, can't even open his eyes. He forces them open but the light is blinding. He squints until his eyes adjust. There are things all over him. He can see sensors taped to his arms, chest and legs, an intravenous line, a catheter. He's naked on a bed. He doesn't know where he is, and he can't remember who he is. He sits up halfway and looks around. There are two other beds in the small circular room. The occupants are dead and their bodies are desiccated. He falls from the bed and two robot arms descend from the ceiling and lift him gently back again. He's in a space ship, but why? And where is it going to? And who is he?

The story is a race to a distant star system on a mission to save the Earth. He doesn't know what he's looking for or how he's going to fulfill the mission. The lone astronaut suddenly finds he has an unexpected companion and together they form a strange partnership and a common goal. The pace is rapid and Weir alternates between life on board the ship and the lead up to the mission as the back story slowly fills in, mirroring the steady return of his memory. And he doesn't like it.