I think Ryland Grace being a teacher gave the character a good way to explain science without being overly info dumpy. And his passion just makes me smile.
Hey I'm Joe, I love your channel!! Your channel has inspired me to read again. I'm 13 which I now is young to have stopped reading. But I've always known that I want to be a writer of some kind, it has boosted that as well, thanks
The moral philosophy conversations around Stratt were my favorite part of this book. Even when they got really really heated in the patreon server lol.
It's funny. I can see how people hate her. But she's not a good person. That's the point. She was the right person for the job she had because she can do what was necessary. Yeah she's essentially a horrible person but for the good of the planet.
Thanks to another video of yours where you talked a little about A natural history of dragons, I bought it and read it and really enjoyed it. Definitely going to read the rest of the series. Glad to see you enjoyed it too. It kind of reminded me of old fashioned pulp fiction books like something Edgar Rice Burroughs might’ve written only way better with regard to female characters obviously. It just had that adventurous vibe that is just so much fun.
I’m sure someone’s already mentioned this but… Spoilers Spoilers Spoilers …Grace did tell Earth all about the Eridians! He sent all the data he’d compiled on them back on one of the Beatles. And he didn’t send one out earlier because he wanted to wait until he had the solution to the astrophage problem so he could send all four out with that, for the best chance of at least one reaching Earth. But yeah at that point he totally included his encyclopedia of Erid! ETA: After reading other comments and asking my husband about it, I’m second guessing myself. I could SWEAR there’s a specific line saying he included that! I’ll have to look through the book tomorrow to see if I’m imagining it or not.
merphy thank you SO MUCH for introducing me to the lady trent series!! i just read and reread it back to back in one month after having never reread a single book in my life so that goes to show how much i loved it. it’s now my favorite thing ever and i would’ve never read it if it weren’t for you because i’ve never seen anyone else talk about it!! please do read the rest of them they get even better as they go on especially starting the third one(the second one was the only one i gave 4 instead of 5 stars but after that it gets even better)
I think you convinced me to read Natural History of Dragons. I've heard of it but never really looked into it. I love classics, so it should suit me perfectly. Sounds almost like a Jules Verne type beast I think I've heard the hardcovers all have different colored ink for the print.
Grace did send information to Earth in the beetles, I'm sure he included what he learnt about rocky, its planet and the mission. But I agree the author could have elaborated a bit on that.
I am VERY VERY late but Spoilers I personally came out of this book loving Stratt because OF THIS SMALL DETAIL! Stratt and Ryland were discussing her morality and she acknowledged that what she did was deemed morally incorrect and that she would most likely spend the rest of her life in prison. She did what she HAD to do. About the beetles, he had to send all four at once as to minimise the loss of data. He had to load the exact info on all beetles so that earth is guaranteed to get all of the information. As someone said in the comments, I do believe grace is going to die on meridian with rocky there to witness it and they would take his body back to earth. I feel this ending was GREAT mainly because there is also a harrowing sense of fear because we have NO IDEA about the earth's state. It probably has been set up to have a sequel. Anyways, this book was a 1000/5 to me in the first chapter because the science was well executed. As a former aspiring physicist, I was so happy to find the information being presented in a simple yet thorough exposition. I recognised every single concept placed forward in that book and it just reawakened that love that I had for science. It was simply brilliant to me. It was such a good idea to make Ryland a teacher because the narrative voice and his perspective fit so darn well! AAAAHHH- I THINK THIS KILLED ME READING ANY BOOK FOR A WHILE TOO- because it was such a good read and I can't get over it.
I watched some of this video, read Project Hail Mary, and now I am back! I LOVED the book!! It wasn’t too tense or too scary, despite being intense (stuff goes wrong in space can freak me out to where I dnf a book). This made me think and it was so engaging!
I wonder if he did it to protect rocky, because the controversy with humanity often is that we may do the wrong thing towards aliens or vice versa? It is an interesting point!
At my library job I like to re-read Hail Mary during my breaks every so often, and I only read the parts with [best side character], I skip all the parts that don’t have them lol
Great video - trouble is sometimes my tastes match yours and sometimes the opposite! For instance I loved Rage of Dragons but was bored by an Unkindness of Magicians. I think I steer away from lighter teen fiction and prefer grittier more adult stories . Do you think History of Dragons fits that?
In Project Hail Mary, I think not using a beetle ahead of time, actually makes a lot of sense. First, he says near the end taht he had started writing about his personal experience (not that he copied and pasted the reports on the bettles storage, but if you have 4GB there's plenty of room). Second, for a big chunk of his trip, he believed it was one-way, so he believed he would need the beetles. Third, and in my head most important, I think it would be too cruel. Can you imagine being on earth and seeing a beetle? You'd think: A solution is at hand! And then you'd read something like, I met a sentient alien. I'm doing things no other human has done and then some... btw, our planet is still doomed. Sorry, sucks to be you! I just don't think I would do it if it were up to me. P.S. I know it's a little late, but I recently re-read, and now I'm watching reviews of it 🤷♀️
Projecyt Hail Mary 1/10. Everything in this book is so childish, it simply read like book writen by 15-yo mid grade. And prose just sucks, Andy Weir is realy bad writer. I just can't wrap my mind around idea, why this book is such bestseller? Lost hope in humanity ...
First, I am going to recommend the Martian. It's another sciencey, but approachable story, and despite the dire situation the main character is in, it's fun and funny. It's also a very quick read. Well worth your time. As for the ending of Project Hail Mary, I actually emailed Andy Weir about it, and he answered me! Space for Spoilers. . . . . . . . . Hopefully, that's enough. This was my question: --------------- Hello, Andy. First, I want to say I loved Hail Mary. I did have a few questions at the end, though. You were once kind enough to answer my Martian/Artemis question, so I was hoping you might be so generous once again. I just wanted to know if Grace loaded the Beetles with information about Erid, Rocky, and Xenonite, and did he tell them that he had been the only survivor, as well as his intentions of taking Rocky to Erid? Would every Earth telescope be trained on 40 Eridani after the Astrophage problem was dealt with? ------------------------------- This is his answer: ------------------------------ I don't define things that aren't on the page. The rest is left open to your imagination. Though I do have sequel ideas. :) --------------------------------- So, if you want to believe he loaded up the memory on the Beetles (they had just gobs of it) with details about the mission, Rocky, Erid, Xenonite, and a "Dick move, Strat!", well that's your prerogative. He may revisit it at some point, but for now, believe what makes you happy about the details he included.
Sequel?!?!? Holy shit that’s so awesome! Btw, did he just leak a sequel to some random person that emailed him? I haven’t heard anything about a sequel outside of this email
omg im so blessed xd! just finished listening to the audiobook and the hype is still so high and see from ur comment there's chance of sequel!! but about the beatles: I think Strad at that moment would be too worried to want to start search for Rocky asap, so I imagine just loading the Taumoeba with cautious is everything he did at that point? It’s such a critical moment of his character growth I was literally screaming yesss when it’s revealed what he did xd. I have zero complain on Andy not detailing what is in the package to earth 😂
Spoilers for Hail Mary… I loved Stratt’s character, her utilitarian philosophy resonates with my own quite a lot. At the same time, I understand why people hate her. I love Rocky and Grace’s interactions, it was super enjoyable. As for why Grace didn’t send one of the Beatles. I wouldn’t have sent any early on either. They gave him 4 Beatles for redundancy so their journey home will be much more likely that at least one of them would survive and save the Earth. Sending a Beatle to Earth without a solution would be reducing the probability of success for the mission. Also, there is no reason why he couldn’t send the Beatles later with the solution AND information about his encounter with an intelligent alien. Also, I really loved the ending where he is teaching alien kids. That was the best possible way to finish the book in my opinion.
I read Project Hail Mary as an audiobook and I absolutely loved it. I liked The Martian, but didn't like the main character much. Project Hail Mary is very similar in terms of story structure, but with better characters. SPOILERS ... ... ... ... ... I thought the audiobook worked especially well once Rocky was involved. His different mode of communication was shown really well, without distracting from the dialogues.
This is a case where I actually recommend the audiobook over the physical book. With rocky speaking in chords it works much better as an auditory media. But that's only my opinion
My spoilery response to Merphy's complaint about the beetles: Sending one of the beetles back early would have been pretty pointless, and might have doomed the earth. All of the info Grace collected on Rocky and the Eridians would have been included on all four of the beetles when they were eventually sent. Sending a beetle back before he had completed his mission would have increased the probability of total mission failure by 1 in 4
100% agree. It did bug me that the narration never mentioned a log where he was keeping field notes, but I still assumed that he would include a ton of information on Rocky and Eridians in the beetle drives.
@@subjectiveexperiences1072agreed with this. He should have originally be more inquisitive about them I think but the circumstances were crazy all around and he needed the backup plan of the beetles. Can’t send one back to talk about random aliens when the apocalypse is happening. Maybe they would have lost hope, or 80 other things. I assumed too he included the info on Rocky and Erid in his beetle notes at the end
Project Hail Mary was a delight to read. There is a lot of science in there but in the end I got the gist of it. This book was so emotional for me that I cried a couple of times. The ending just broke me. I think it was lovely. I love the plot twist and how the main character grows throughout the book. But I really recommend The Martian such a good read too!
Spoilers for Hail Mary I think it was implied that Grace did send all his notes on Rocky with the beetles. It'd won't align with his character to not do so. He was recording the language all along obviously. And I think its mentioned multiple times how important xenonite will be for humans and he had plenty to send back samples. And Grace did say at least at one point something about taking notes on Rocky. AND Beetles had terabytes of data storage so it makes sense for him to send pretty much everything he learned on the mission.
Hey, so people can't see spoilers in TH-cam comments please do the following: Spoilers . . . . . . . This way, only people who have read the book will click on the 'more'
Really happy you loved A Natural History of Dragons! I'm not much of a classical fan, but I immediately got the vibe of it being 'Jane Austin with dragons' and loved the series. It truly is hard to compare the books to any I've read before. Since you're so positive about the first book and the main character I think you'll love the rest of the series. I look forward to future reviews!
I LOVED The Martian (book and movie) If you enjoyed Hail Mary I think you would enjoy The Martian. I am about 1/2 way thru Hail Mary and I am enjoying it so much! I just want to know what happens next, it is great! I haven't read Artemis by him yet but I want to give it a try since I have enjoyed these 2 books (so far)
That whole Natural History of Dragons series is such a treat! Finish the series if you loved the first one; they only get better as the main character grows and gains more depth and maturity and the setting expands. The main character doesn't get any less bold, but she does become smarter, more self-aware, and empathetic as the series progresses. Anything set in 19th century England or a fantasy version of it has to win me over (I'm just tired of seeing that be the go-to fantasy setting over and over again), but this did the trick.
I love the Memoirs of Lady Trent series. If you don't know about them, I'd recommend checking the author's website. She has a couple of short stories that tie into them and as well as one set after the "sequel" of sorts that follows her granddaughter all for free. Also, of course, check out _Turning Darkness into Light_ (the sequel novel) if you haven't already.
I imagined in my mind that the character of Project Hail Mary did send a journal, that he did send his story back to Earth, but that, that detail was not written down in the book. What detail struck me as a Dutch person, 'Strat' is not a Dutch name. 😉
I had the same thought. There was 1Tb of data for each beatle. I totally imagine he would have explained his decision to turn around in those Beatles. I would love to have known how all of that data was stored into the Beatles. Like I just imagine his attaching his spreadsheet translator for rocky's language onto a microchip drive and earth folks being like "what in gods name is this wacky song that he wrote" 💀
W.R.T. Project Hail Mary, my niece tried to get everyone she knew to read it, but no luck. Eventually I was persuaded (to listen to the Audible version), and finished it yesterday. I thanked her for the recommendation and reflected: "I am sure you must have felt a bit like Rocky, alone on his spaceship for more than a decade. He kept trying to work the problem, and you kept trying to get someone to read the story. Your wait is over" BTW, I really enjoyed the Audible version. Very good narration, plus Rocky speaks in tunes like an organ 🎹 Rating: Happy, happy, happy!!!!
Spoiler for Project Hail Mary The Beatles purpose was to send back information about the "cure". There's four of them because the chance of one reaching earth unharmed is not great. So they have four as redundancies. Simply using one to send just a status update doesn't make sense. And would decrease the chances of the mission being successful. In the end he did send all information he gathered about the astrophage, taumeba, and the Eridians and their tech. Like Xenonite. Also... 100% on Stratt's side. She had one goal... and as fully aware that would spend the rest of her life in prison as a scape goat for the things all world leaders allowed her to do in order to save Earth. She's a hero and is sacrificing herself, just like the crew of the Hail Mary.
I wouldn't say that I'm "on Stratt's side," but I get her side. Her side isn't wrong. She did what she had to to literally save our entire planet and all life on it. She's a villain that did nothing but terrible things for exemplary right reasons. A villan, but not a bad guy. And I love that she is that. History is full to the brim with people like that, she was possibly one of the most human characters I've read in a long time _because_ of that.
spoilers for project hail mary . . . .. . . . but why would he send info about the alien lifeform he found? his mission was to figure out what's going on with the other star. is he just gonna send one of the Beatles to earth for that alone? what if that one fails? he still needed to send information about the star to earth, using 4 of the Beatles would give him a better chance to relay that information to them. he waited until he has a solid solution to the problem plus all the info he gathered about Rocky and their technology. he did the right thing waiting until he got all that instead of impulsively using one beatle with no information at all about the problem. let's say he did send one just about the aliens, would they care? the world is ending and they needed a solution to it. sure people would find it interesting but would it help their situation?
Project Hail Mary was the first book I’ve read(listened to) in a very long time that has actually made me show emotions outwardly. It’s also on the very short list of books that made me make a face, and then describe the exact face I’m making because it’s the character’s reaction as well. PHM SPOILERS: - - - - Grace didn’t use the beetles to share about Rocky at the start because the purpose of the beetles was to solve the issue of the astrophage. The primary goal for the whole mission was to figure out the solution. If he were to send a beetle back to earth, earth would see it and believe that they had been saved, only for their hopes to be dashed. Grace wanted to share, but he had his mission priorities. Also, “Fist my bumps” -Rocky
Spoilers Hail Mary As for the beetles, I tend to think he sent everything back to earth at the end, including info on Rocky. Wasn't explicitly stated but seems in character for Grace. I liked the ending but wouldn't mind seeing another book focused on the earth after the launch. Also, Rocky is precious and must be protected at all costs!
Weir's other book was 'Artemis', which I really enjoyed. Also, as to Project Hail Mary's ending... SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS ...place me in the camp of those who wanted that moment back on Earth, where someone goes "Holy Bleep, it's a beetle!" And, I suppose, there was no way to give us that moment, without divulging exactly how terrible life is on Earth (we would need to know of the despair so that we can adequately compare it with the jubilation). And it probably would have taken quite a number of pages to give us that full picture. So, I understand it being cut. But, I also found the "We received a report: your sun is fine now" very underwhelming. So, personally, if I had to pick one of the two, give me the "life sucks, but a beetle is here" ending.
Idk it wasnt underwhelming for me. It means he succedeed in his mission. This book really wasnt about the mission but about the friendship and sacrifices.
I read a lot of this book like an audio log that Grace put on the Beatles. Like I'm back on earth recounting his time in space. Kind of like the dialog in the Martian movie.
I remember reading A Natural History Of Dragons years ago, it's awesome. I also have it's sequals, but I think I only read The Tropic Of Serpants. I did buy up to Part 4 (In The Labyrinth Of Drakes) which was all that had released during that time. I think there's two more now. Maybe I'll get back into it
Strat did what she had to do. Real problems require real solutions. No room for emotions. Emotions cloud logical judgment. The world needed Strat as much as it needed Grace.
I didn't mind the ending or the controversial character. But I wish there was a conversation between the two. Spoilers. Also. He explained why he never used the beetles. He waited till the last possible moment so they would have less distance to travel. Increasing the chance one would make it.
Spoilers for Hail Mary: I really liked the endig of Hail Mary, because the book, for me was not really about the earth it was the vehicle to get the story going but. For me the book was about ingenuity, curiosity and the drive to learn more. It shows how people (irregardless if they are human or rocky shaped) can overcome large obstacles through these traits. The best excample would be how Rocky and Grace learned to communicate, it wasn't instant, it was a process. And regarding Strat, she was the embodiment of the phrase "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of few" and for that I personally loved her.
Spoilers On the beetles point he knew he was there to do one thing. God forbid he sent back stuff that while cool for science was noncritical to fixing the problem and then the one or two he did send back failed. They were there for redundancy. The only thing he should send back is something that fixes the problem. Preferably all 3 with the same info in case of failure. My issue with the ending was less about him not going back to Earth or seeing the fate of Earth as much as everything working out for me at least deadened the choice he made at the end to go back for Rocky. That felt really meaningful and high stakes were created. Then they pulled a solution to keep him alive out of nowhere almost right away and it sort of deflated his choice for me. The suspension of disbelief was a thing for me as well. The ship computer was dumber in some ways than Alexa yet also ran a self sufficient medical droid. Crew member shows up passed out after not wanting to go?
I agree about how everything ended so neatly except that I will add that I was going to be pissed if Grace did die from starvation BECAUSE Rocky proved himself again and again to be smart AF, I think it would have totally diminished the intelligence of his kind to NOT come up with a solution to keep him alive. Even without eating astrophage they easily bioengineered another food source for him because it shouldn't have been THAT hard for them to do. But other than that I do agree that everything worked out very well for Grace. The same happened in the Martian. Would love to see Weir write a book in the future where everything doesn't have that perfect happy ending.
spoiler i don't understand what you mean grace sent all the info in the beetles obviously he did. there was no point in sending them before getting the solution to the problem? do you mean he didn't sent them before?
I really enjoy A Natural History of Dragons, it's a surprise because I never heard of it until it won in the buddy read poll. And it was more enjoyable because a lot of people in the discord also enjoyed it and they are talking about it. I'm looking forward to read the rest of the series.
@@molliee5183 I joined the public discord a year ago, it's link was always in the description box of Merphy's videos before. I also look forward to that read along.
@@brendananthony9601I would also like a spin-off or novella to see what’s been happening on Earth! Spoilers below (just in case). My thought (even before she brought it up in text) was that the governments would definitely form some sort of tribunal to charge Stratt for her multiple crimes. Even if she was saving the Earth. Humanity is fickle.
@@Bandofthieves and petty. Spoilers During the explosion flash back, they talked about Terror Groups and such. I cannot imagine people with establishment power, wealth and influence just setting idal while Stratt jerks the reigns all over the place.
If you love the science and humor in hail mary, you will love the Martian. It has an intense situation, but the main character uses humor to cope and never gives up hope that he will get out out of his situation.
SPOILERS for Hail Mary He did mention sending the Beatle with the Alien Technology before but then thought of sending all those at the end along with the solution of the Astophage as well. HIs main aim was to protect humanity and sending the solution was higher priority. He mentioned he had a lot of space in those Beatles and could send both of the things. That was his thought process I also loved ROcky and he made the book for me. I found it really boring before he was introduced. I just think I love duos a lot
Also he mentioned it wasn't a guarantee the beatles would make it back. That's why even after he left for home he waited to send them. He said the closer he got to earth the better the chances the beatles would have. He was even surprised/relieved when he found out Sol was at 100% cause up to that point he had no way of knowing if the beatles got back to earth.
I’ve finished 3 books this week, while vacationing in NOLA! Read Project Hail Mary and Misery, Loved Both! also read the Colorado Kid which was decent. Rocky is the best!
The Memoirs of Lady Trent is one of my all time favourite series! And they only get better! The third is probably my favourite! And i think Isabella is such a great protagonist, among the best in fantasy. PS: the audiobook is amazing as well, read by Kate Reading.
I think I recommended A Natural History of Dragons to you years ago! I'm so pleased you picked it up and loved it as much as I did. I have the entire series and have enjoyed them all...and those covers are STUNNING. Marie Brennan is such an underrated author! I always try to steer people to her books. :) Also, as I'm watching this video, I'm reading Project Hail Mary and had to stop at Chapter 7, so I'm there. I'm at the very edge of discovering this character that I think you're talking about and I cannot wait to go home and read more of this book. I love his writing!
A Natural History of Dragons sounds like something I would love! I really like Austen and I also have found myself enjoying a less "mystical" take on dragons. (The Temeraire series is a favorite of mine, and I love how it handles dragons!) Project Hail Mary sounds really fun too!
Totally agree with you on Project Hail Mary’s ending. SPOILER… I did not want to go back to Earth and see that shitshow! Besides its makes sense for Grace to favor staying on the alien planet instead of going back to a rundown place where he has seemingly no remaining personal connections. Andy Weir’s work is very uneven. Artemis was really terrible but if you liked PHM, I think you would also like The Martian! It’s just as fun and sciency!
Agree on liking The Martian, it has just as much fun science and humor. I never read Artemis but have only heard negative things and won't be picking it up. Also spoilery!!!! PHM was my favorite of the two because of Rocky 🥺💕 and the stakes were a lot higher IMO. Sacrificing yourself (even unwillingly) to save earth carries more weight than the survivor story that is The Martian. Both awesome books. Also unpopular opinion but The Martian was a trash movie. Matt Damon is a good actor but a bad casting. The humor of the book was missing from the movie because it's mainly internal dialogue. Am curious to see how PHM turns out, apparently Ryan Gosling has signed on.
@@kate-ne haha, few books are perfectly adapted into movies :) but I do love the Martian movie ^^ I also preferred PHM. That friendship was everything and it made me happy cry in the end… which I never thought would happen with an Andy Weir book!
Project Hail Mary was so good. I also really loved The Martian, but if you have seen the movie (which is one of the best adaptations I've seen) I don't think reading the book would be as enjoyable because part of the excitement are the stakes the character goes through. . . *Project Hail Mary Spoilers* . . . . . . . . . I loved the ending too, it was so wholesome and I agree that him returning to Earth wouldn't make sense for his happiness. Also, I thought he did send information about Rocky with the vials... I guess I assumed he did with all the xenonite aboard. Does it actually specify he didn't send any info?
Project Hail Mary spoilers . . . . . Strat was a brilliant character and I really wanted to see her post apocalypse defending all the political / military manoeuvres she conducted prior to launch, in front of all those countless committees. Plus her reaction after accomplishing the impossible. In my head she's a mix of Fury from marvel and someone like David Goggins with that mentality of 'let's get things done without the B. S'. I can't wait for some Rocky fanart to come up online, Rocky's voice in the book is a string of musical notes but in the audio book they actually play notes although I can't tell if those are the exact notes depicted in the book.
I liked Project Hail Mary just a little more than the Martian, but if you enjoyed one I think the other would also be enjoyable. The Martian doesn’t have a great side character as good as Hail Mary but I like the main character a little more.
I wouldn’t recommend The Martian to you at this point. It is very similar in tone and delivery but it lacks a lot of what Project Hail Mary brings to the table. For you, I think it would suffer by comparison. SPOILER!!!! Rocky oddly provided the humanity in this book. He allowed the MC to grow and realize his own humanity. He knew saving Earth was important but he was never meant to save Earth for himself. His Earth was gone. Through Rocky, he found something worth sacrificing himself for. Not to mention that rock nugget was a cinnamon bun. I loved the ending. It was odd and different and perfect. He was a scientist and teacher in the end and that is about as perfect as I could have imagined for that character. We knew Earth was saved and I think that can suffice. I think the overarching message was better serviced more so than tying up loose ends of wonder. Stratt was awesome. I both physically read the book and listened to the audiobook. She had so much character in the audio. She was necessary. I think what would have done wonders for the book is if we would have had 3-4 chapters following and using her to show what became of Earth. Not a ton of extra pages but just enough to anchor her more to the story in the end … and tie up the story of earth because Andy Weir had to know people would want to know. She was awesome and I wish there had been more of her.
You've put "A Natural History of Dragons" on my radar. The approach to dragons rooted in the real world during a historical period sounds very similar to Naomi Novik's Napoleonic alt-history series, Temeraire, which I love and I heartily recommend.
interesting, i already project hail mary and enjoyed it for the most part (im one that didnt like the ending) ill have to try natual history of dragons (isnt that that book series that brandon sanderson keeps saying got him into fantasy? or am i thinking of something else). any how i just finished a 6 book series and in need of something else so NHoD might as well be the one i start next.
Oh nice! I've picked up a natural history of dragons a couple of times in the bookstore because a) dragons and b) the cover is glorious, but somehow I felt like it would disappoint me so never bought it. Putting it on the list right now!
Very curious about A Natural History of Dragons. The setting sounds similar to the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik (although I'm sure the story is quite a bit different) -- both set in the same time period, in a world where dragons aren't mythical but live alongside man.
SPOILERS The fact that Stratt admits to Grace very early on in the Hail Mary project that there’s every likelihood that after the launch she will have multiple governments out for her blood, and will most likely rot in prison for the rest of her life shows that she knows she has had to do horrific things and is willing to bear the burden of her actions.
Having read Hail Mary a few times now, I would love to see a sequel that shows the future of Earth with a plot involving establishing contact with Rocky's planet.
SPOILER First: I don´t think Rocky was female. At one point it says they can change sex and lay Eggs. Second: I wished he would fly back and punch Stratt or whatever. Third: I hated Stratt :D She was so full of herself and that bit**ing in Jail was sooo unnessecary. Yes, she did a good job.. no, i still dont like her. Sometimes she was written like that super intelligent person, the next moment "nO i dOnT lIkE tHaT yOu Do aS i ToLd YoU" but i hated that she was right... just unlikable.
I reached 4:35 and had to comment. I am not a fan of classics, and I enjoyed the HECK out of Brennan's quintology. I have very few problems with the setting, the time period, or the characters in most classics. I tend to have issues with the authors voice and writing style. Victorian literature is the worst for me, so many words that don't do anything. Can I watch a movie or play based on Great Expectations? Sure, but attempt to read it? Fail that semester of English class. I have similar issues with Melville, Austen, Brontë, Shelley, Stoker, and Kafka (Moby Dick, Pride and Predjudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Metamorphosis (respectively)) among others. They're good stories with (generally) interesting characters, settings, and plots... I just don't like how those stories are told.
A natural history of dragons sounds so cool!!! I will put it on my TBR for the summer!!! SPOILER of Project Hail Mary . . . . . . . . . . . I also thought about don't documenting Rocky, like, not just for science purpose which would be amazing but, like, he left without even take a photo together, just for him to remember his friend!!!! Otherwise, I'm glad he didn't actually send the information because I'm scared of what humans could do xddd Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the ending, and I love Rocky with all my heart
Spoilers! I'm super late, but I've just finished Project Hail Mary (and loved it) and I have to respond to Murphy about the beetles.... Like I completely disagree that he should even think of sending a beetle back JUST to send a photogrpah, or a preliminary research. That would have been extremely reckless, stupid and unnecessary. He knew from the beginning the purpose of the beetles, and you need all 4 of them to maximise your chances at savng the Sol. It should have neveer crossed his mind to send a beentle unless it had ALL the information necessary to help stop the astrophage.
That character from Project Hail Mary (you all know who) is the best side character I read in a long time.
I don't know I found it to be a bit of a rocky relationship🤷♂️
Saaaame, I was more invested in him than Grace 😂 loved the ending to the story
He was great
YES YES YES
The moments surrounding their meeting was some of the most exciting edge-of-my-seat moments I've ever read.
I think Ryland Grace being a teacher gave the character a good way to explain science without being overly info dumpy. And his passion just makes me smile.
I agree it makes things feel a lot more like his internal thought process rather than info dump
Hey I'm Joe, I love your channel!! Your channel has inspired me to read again. I'm 13 which I now is young to have stopped reading. But I've always known that I want to be a writer of some kind, it has boosted that as well, thanks
The moral philosophy conversations around Stratt were my favorite part of this book. Even when they got really really heated in the patreon server lol.
It's funny. I can see how people hate her. But she's not a good person. That's the point. She was the right person for the job she had because she can do what was necessary. Yeah she's essentially a horrible person but for the good of the planet.
Thanks to another video of yours where you talked a little about A natural history of dragons, I bought it and read it and really enjoyed it. Definitely going to read the rest of the series. Glad to see you enjoyed it too. It kind of reminded me of old fashioned pulp fiction books like something Edgar Rice Burroughs might’ve written only way better with regard to female characters obviously. It just had that adventurous vibe that is just so much fun.
Project Hail Mary is such a delight! And if you enjoyed its passion for science and positive outlook on humanity, you'd enjoy the Martian too!
I’m sure someone’s already mentioned this but…
Spoilers
Spoilers
Spoilers
…Grace did tell Earth all about the Eridians! He sent all the data he’d compiled on them back on one of the Beatles. And he didn’t send one out earlier because he wanted to wait until he had the solution to the astrophage problem so he could send all four out with that, for the best chance of at least one reaching Earth. But yeah at that point he totally included his encyclopedia of Erid!
ETA: After reading other comments and asking my husband about it, I’m second guessing myself. I could SWEAR there’s a specific line saying he included that! I’ll have to look through the book tomorrow to see if I’m imagining it or not.
I am pretty sure Grace told earth all about Rocket and the Eridians. He sent back Xenonite, I am sure it came with some explanations.
merphy thank you SO MUCH for introducing me to the lady trent series!! i just read and reread it back to back in one month after having never reread a single book in my life so that goes to show how much i loved it. it’s now my favorite thing ever and i would’ve never read it if it weren’t for you because i’ve never seen anyone else talk about it!! please do read the rest of them they get even better as they go on especially starting the third one(the second one was the only one i gave 4 instead of 5 stars but after that it gets even better)
I think you convinced me to read Natural History of Dragons. I've heard of it but never really looked into it. I love classics, so it should suit me perfectly. Sounds almost like a Jules Verne type beast I think I've heard the hardcovers all have different colored ink for the print.
Grace did send information to Earth in the beetles, I'm sure he included what he learnt about rocky, its planet and the mission. But I agree the author could have elaborated a bit on that.
I am VERY VERY late but
Spoilers
I personally came out of this book loving Stratt because OF THIS SMALL DETAIL! Stratt and Ryland were discussing her morality and she acknowledged that what she did was deemed morally incorrect and that she would most likely spend the rest of her life in prison. She did what she HAD to do.
About the beetles, he had to send all four at once as to minimise the loss of data. He had to load the exact info on all beetles so that earth is guaranteed to get all of the information.
As someone said in the comments, I do believe grace is going to die on meridian with rocky there to witness it and they would take his body back to earth. I feel this ending was GREAT mainly because there is also a harrowing sense of fear because we have NO IDEA about the earth's state. It probably has been set up to have a sequel.
Anyways, this book was a 1000/5 to me in the first chapter because the science was well executed. As a former aspiring physicist, I was so happy to find the information being presented in a simple yet thorough exposition. I recognised every single concept placed forward in that book and it just reawakened that love that I had for science. It was simply brilliant to me. It was such a good idea to make Ryland a teacher because the narrative voice and his perspective fit so darn well! AAAAHHH-
I THINK THIS KILLED ME READING ANY BOOK FOR A WHILE TOO- because it was such a good read and I can't get over it.
Definitely recommend the Natural History of Dragons series XD
I watched some of this video, read Project Hail Mary, and now I am back! I LOVED the book!!
It wasn’t too tense or too scary, despite being intense (stuff goes wrong in space can freak me out to where I dnf a book). This made me think and it was so engaging!
Stratt is the unsung hero or two planets. She was willing to suffer the consequences. It was the price she was willing to pay.
I wonder if he did it to protect rocky, because the controversy with humanity often is that we may do the wrong thing towards aliens or vice versa? It is an interesting point!
Did you know that Kate Reading narrates the audiobooks in the Memoir by Lady Trent Series?
At my library job I like to re-read Hail Mary during my breaks every so often, and I only read the parts with [best side character], I skip all the parts that don’t have them lol
Great video - trouble is sometimes my tastes match yours and sometimes the opposite! For instance I loved Rage of Dragons but was bored by an Unkindness of Magicians. I think I steer away from lighter teen fiction and prefer grittier more adult stories . Do you think History of Dragons fits that?
In Project Hail Mary, I think not using a beetle ahead of time, actually makes a lot of sense.
First, he says near the end taht he had started writing about his personal experience (not that he copied and pasted the reports on the bettles storage, but if you have 4GB there's plenty of room).
Second, for a big chunk of his trip, he believed it was one-way, so he believed he would need the beetles.
Third, and in my head most important, I think it would be too cruel. Can you imagine being on earth and seeing a beetle? You'd think: A solution is at hand! And then you'd read something like, I met a sentient alien. I'm doing things no other human has done and then some... btw, our planet is still doomed. Sorry, sucks to be you!
I just don't think I would do it if it were up to me.
P.S. I know it's a little late, but I recently re-read, and now I'm watching reviews of it 🤷♀️
You can’t even remember the name of the main character?
But how many ungulates were in these books? That is the true measure of the quality!
Take Stratt and Grace and gender swap. Then, tell me honestly if you still want to defend Stratt's actions.
Projecyt Hail Mary 1/10. Everything in this book is so childish, it simply read like book writen by 15-yo mid grade. And prose just sucks, Andy Weir is realy bad writer. I just can't wrap my mind around idea, why this book is such bestseller? Lost hope in humanity ...
First, I am going to recommend the Martian. It's another sciencey, but approachable story, and despite the dire situation the main character is in, it's fun and funny. It's also a very quick read. Well worth your time.
As for the ending of Project Hail Mary, I actually emailed Andy Weir about it, and he answered me! Space for Spoilers.
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Hopefully, that's enough. This was my question:
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Hello, Andy.
First, I want to say I loved Hail Mary. I did have a few questions at the end, though. You were once kind enough to answer my Martian/Artemis question, so I was hoping you might be so generous once again.
I just wanted to know if Grace loaded the Beetles with information about Erid, Rocky, and Xenonite, and did he tell them that he had been the only survivor, as well as his intentions of taking Rocky to Erid?
Would every Earth telescope be trained on 40 Eridani after the Astrophage problem was dealt with?
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This is his answer:
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I don't define things that aren't on the page. The rest is left open to your imagination.
Though I do have sequel ideas. :)
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So, if you want to believe he loaded up the memory on the Beetles (they had just gobs of it) with details about the mission, Rocky, Erid, Xenonite, and a "Dick move, Strat!", well that's your prerogative. He may revisit it at some point, but for now, believe what makes you happy about the details he included.
Omg did I read that right? Sequel Ideas? 😍
Sequel?!?!? Holy shit that’s so awesome!
Btw, did he just leak a sequel to some random person that emailed him? I haven’t heard anything about a sequel outside of this email
@@Daimondz1239 He said he had ideas for one, not that he was definitely doing one.
oh my GOD ???????????? YES PLEASE ???????????????
omg im so blessed xd! just finished listening to the audiobook and the hype is still so high and see from ur comment there's chance of sequel!!
but about the beatles: I think Strad at that moment would be too worried to want to start search for Rocky asap, so I imagine just loading the Taumoeba with cautious is everything he did at that point?
It’s such a critical moment of his character growth I was literally screaming yesss when it’s revealed what he did xd. I have zero complain on Andy not detailing what is in the package to earth 😂
Spoilers for Hail Mary…
I loved Stratt’s character, her utilitarian philosophy resonates with my own quite a lot. At the same time, I understand why people hate her.
I love Rocky and Grace’s interactions, it was super enjoyable.
As for why Grace didn’t send one of the Beatles. I wouldn’t have sent any early on either. They gave him 4 Beatles for redundancy so their journey home will be much more likely that at least one of them would survive and save the Earth. Sending a Beatle to Earth without a solution would be reducing the probability of success for the mission. Also, there is no reason why he couldn’t send the Beatles later with the solution AND information about his encounter with an intelligent alien.
Also, I really loved the ending where he is teaching alien kids. That was the best possible way to finish the book in my opinion.
I was about 1/3 through Project Hail Mary when I realized it centered on a best friendship and my first thought was "Merphy's gonna love this."
Likewise
I read Project Hail Mary as an audiobook and I absolutely loved it. I liked The Martian, but didn't like the main character much. Project Hail Mary is very similar in terms of story structure, but with better characters.
SPOILERS
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I thought the audiobook worked especially well once Rocky was involved. His different mode of communication was shown really well, without distracting from the dialogues.
How’d they pull off Rocky’s voice?
@@lirich0 they have chords playing behind his voice. I really liked it too. It worked well
This is a case where I actually recommend the audiobook over the physical book. With rocky speaking in chords it works much better as an auditory media. But that's only my opinion
Listened*
@Richard Li They play the chords first, then once translated they overlay it with Ray Porter's narration. It's really well done
My spoilery response to Merphy's complaint about the beetles:
Sending one of the beetles back early would have been pretty pointless, and might have doomed the earth. All of the info Grace collected on Rocky and the Eridians would have been included on all four of the beetles when they were eventually sent. Sending a beetle back before he had completed his mission would have increased the probability of total mission failure by 1 in 4
100% agree. It did bug me that the narration never mentioned a log where he was keeping field notes, but I still assumed that he would include a ton of information on Rocky and Eridians in the beetle drives.
@@subjectiveexperiences1072agreed with this. He should have originally be more inquisitive about them I think but the circumstances were crazy all around and he needed the backup plan of the beetles. Can’t send one back to talk about random aliens when the apocalypse is happening. Maybe they would have lost hope, or 80 other things. I assumed too he included the info on Rocky and Erid in his beetle notes at the end
Project Hail Mary was a delight to read. There is a lot of science in there but in the end I got the gist of it. This book was so emotional for me that I cried a couple of times. The ending just broke me. I think it was lovely. I love the plot twist and how the main character grows throughout the book. But I really recommend The Martian such a good read too!
Spoilers for Hail Mary
I think it was implied that Grace did send all his notes on Rocky with the beetles. It'd won't align with his character to not do so. He was recording the language all along obviously. And I think its mentioned multiple times how important xenonite will be for humans and he had plenty to send back samples. And Grace did say at least at one point something about taking notes on Rocky. AND Beetles had terabytes of data storage so it makes sense for him to send pretty much everything he learned on the mission.
Hey, so people can't see spoilers in TH-cam comments please do the following:
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This way, only people who have read the book will click on the 'more'
Really happy you loved A Natural History of Dragons!
I'm not much of a classical fan, but I immediately got the vibe of it being 'Jane Austin with dragons' and loved the series. It truly is hard to compare the books to any I've read before. Since you're so positive about the first book and the main character I think you'll love the rest of the series. I look forward to future reviews!
I LOVED The Martian (book and movie) If you enjoyed Hail Mary I think you would enjoy The Martian. I am about 1/2 way thru Hail Mary and I am enjoying it so much! I just want to know what happens next, it is great! I haven't read Artemis by him yet but I want to give it a try since I have enjoyed these 2 books (so far)
You should REALLY read The Martian!! It's a really good book, and you can tell the author REALLY did his homework for that book!!!
merphy talking about rocky: me: YES YES YES
That whole Natural History of Dragons series is such a treat! Finish the series if you loved the first one; they only get better as the main character grows and gains more depth and maturity and the setting expands. The main character doesn't get any less bold, but she does become smarter, more self-aware, and empathetic as the series progresses. Anything set in 19th century England or a fantasy version of it has to win me over (I'm just tired of seeing that be the go-to fantasy setting over and over again), but this did the trick.
I love the Memoirs of Lady Trent series. If you don't know about them, I'd recommend checking the author's website. She has a couple of short stories that tie into them and as well as one set after the "sequel" of sorts that follows her granddaughter all for free. Also, of course, check out _Turning Darkness into Light_ (the sequel novel) if you haven't already.
@@scaper8 Read 'em all. They're all great!
I imagined in my mind that the character of Project Hail Mary did send a journal, that he did send his story back to Earth, but that, that detail was not written down in the book. What detail struck me as a Dutch person, 'Strat' is not a Dutch name. 😉
I had the same thought. There was 1Tb of data for each beatle. I totally imagine he would have explained his decision to turn around in those Beatles. I would love to have known how all of that data was stored into the Beatles. Like I just imagine his attaching his spreadsheet translator for rocky's language onto a microchip drive and earth folks being like "what in gods name is this wacky song that he wrote" 💀
@@kate-neeven more data than that, each beatle had 5tb of data, if they all made it then it would mean 20tb of data got sent back
W.R.T. Project Hail Mary, my niece tried to get everyone she knew to read it, but no luck. Eventually I was persuaded (to listen to the Audible version), and finished it yesterday.
I thanked her for the recommendation and reflected: "I am sure you must have felt a bit like Rocky, alone on his spaceship for more than a decade. He kept trying to work the problem, and you kept trying to get someone to read the story.
Your wait is over"
BTW, I really enjoyed the Audible version. Very good narration, plus Rocky speaks in tunes like an organ 🎹
Rating: Happy, happy, happy!!!!
I was struggling to figure out how to do a spoiler-free review of Project Hail Mary and I just couldn't. So I'm not even sure I'll do one now. Ha.
Every time I had to put PHM down, I had to hug the book. Especially once that certain character was introduced.
Spoiler for Project Hail Mary
The Beatles purpose was to send back information about the "cure". There's four of them because the chance of one reaching earth unharmed is not great. So they have four as redundancies. Simply using one to send just a status update doesn't make sense. And would decrease the chances of the mission being successful.
In the end he did send all information he gathered about the astrophage, taumeba, and the Eridians and their tech. Like Xenonite.
Also... 100% on Stratt's side. She had one goal... and as fully aware that would spend the rest of her life in prison as a scape goat for the things all world leaders allowed her to do in order to save Earth. She's a hero and is sacrificing herself, just like the crew of the Hail Mary.
I wouldn't say that I'm "on Stratt's side," but I get her side. Her side isn't wrong. She did what she had to to literally save our entire planet and all life on it. She's a villain that did nothing but terrible things for exemplary right reasons. A villan, but not a bad guy. And I love that she is that. History is full to the brim with people like that, she was possibly one of the most human characters I've read in a long time _because_ of that.
Yay!!! I suggested to Murphy the "A Natural History of Dragons"!!! I'm so happy she read it!!! 😄
Thank you Murphy!!! 😘
Good recommendation... From a bard main? IMPOSSIBLE! 😂
@@BlackHand531 Aww c'mon... don't be like that 🤣😆😜
Project hail mary really good but not as good as the martian highley recomend reading it
I agree. A least The Martian is more grounded in science and less fantastical.
Natural history of dragons is great, I love the whole series, and I'd describe Lady Trent as Jane Goodall but with dragons.
spoilers for project hail mary
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but why would he send info about the alien lifeform he found? his mission was to figure out what's going on with the other star. is he just gonna send one of the Beatles to earth for that alone? what if that one fails? he still needed to send information about the star to earth, using 4 of the Beatles would give him a better chance to relay that information to them. he waited until he has a solid solution to the problem plus all the info he gathered about Rocky and their technology. he did the right thing waiting until he got all that instead of impulsively using one beatle with no information at all about the problem. let's say he did send one just about the aliens, would they care? the world is ending and they needed a solution to it. sure people would find it interesting but would it help their situation?
"something happened..... in this book..... that i think made this book..... good"
-Merphy Napier, trying to not spoil anything
I CANNOT wait to read Project Hail Mary, but I have to wait for the library
IT'S AMAZING
Project Hail Mary was the first book I’ve read(listened to) in a very long time that has actually made me show emotions outwardly. It’s also on the very short list of books that made me make a face, and then describe the exact face I’m making because it’s the character’s reaction as well.
PHM SPOILERS:
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Grace didn’t use the beetles to share about Rocky at the start because the purpose of the beetles was to solve the issue of the astrophage. The primary goal for the whole mission was to figure out the solution. If he were to send a beetle back to earth, earth would see it and believe that they had been saved, only for their hopes to be dashed. Grace wanted to share, but he had his mission priorities.
Also, “Fist my bumps” -Rocky
came here for the project hail mary review and got put on to a whole other series
subscribed, thanks for the review
100% agree with you about the that character in Project Hail Mary. One of my all time favorite characters. Made the book for me as well.
I don’t even really read fantasy anymore but I can’t help but watch your reviews. I do want to read project Hail Mary though.
Spoilers Hail Mary
As for the beetles, I tend to think he sent everything back to earth at the end, including info on Rocky. Wasn't explicitly stated but seems in character for Grace. I liked the ending but wouldn't mind seeing another book focused on the earth after the launch. Also, Rocky is precious and must be protected at all costs!
Weir's other book was 'Artemis', which I really enjoyed.
Also, as to Project Hail Mary's ending...
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
...place me in the camp of those who wanted that moment back on Earth, where someone goes "Holy Bleep, it's a beetle!" And, I suppose, there was no way to give us that moment, without divulging exactly how terrible life is on Earth (we would need to know of the despair so that we can adequately compare it with the jubilation). And it probably would have taken quite a number of pages to give us that full picture. So, I understand it being cut. But, I also found the "We received a report: your sun is fine now" very underwhelming. So, personally, if I had to pick one of the two, give me the "life sucks, but a beetle is here" ending.
Idk it wasnt underwhelming for me. It means he succedeed in his mission. This book really wasnt about the mission but about the friendship and sacrifices.
I read a lot of this book like an audio log that Grace put on the Beatles. Like I'm back on earth recounting his time in space. Kind of like the dialog in the Martian movie.
I remember reading A Natural History Of Dragons years ago, it's awesome. I also have it's sequals, but I think I only read The Tropic Of Serpants. I did buy up to Part 4 (In The Labyrinth Of Drakes) which was all that had released during that time. I think there's two more now. Maybe I'll get back into it
That's right. the series is six total
Strat did what she had to do. Real problems require real solutions. No room for emotions. Emotions cloud logical judgment. The world needed Strat as much as it needed Grace.
I didn't mind the ending or the controversial character. But I wish there was a conversation between the two. Spoilers.
Also. He explained why he never used the beetles. He waited till the last possible moment so they would have less distance to travel. Increasing the chance one would make it.
AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE
Spoilers for Hail Mary:
I really liked the endig of Hail Mary, because the book, for me was not really about the earth it was the vehicle to get the story going but. For me the book was about ingenuity, curiosity and the drive to learn more. It shows how people (irregardless if they are human or rocky shaped) can overcome large obstacles through these traits. The best excample would be how Rocky and Grace learned to communicate, it wasn't instant, it was a process.
And regarding Strat, she was the embodiment of the phrase "The needs of the many outweigh the needs of few" and for that I personally loved her.
I hated the fact he never went back to earth. I feel it could’ve ended with both civilizations meeting and learning from each other
100% on point with Project Hail Mary!! It was fun hearing exactly what I thought verbalized by you here.
Though I would ask you to reconsider The Martian. (Not the other one) The Martian was excellent.
Project Hail Mary sounds like a brilliant read- I'm hoping to get to it soon.
Spoilers
On the beetles point he knew he was there to do one thing. God forbid he sent back stuff that while cool for science was noncritical to fixing the problem and then the one or two he did send back failed. They were there for redundancy. The only thing he should send back is something that fixes the problem. Preferably all 3 with the same info in case of failure.
My issue with the ending was less about him not going back to Earth or seeing the fate of Earth as much as everything working out for me at least deadened the choice he made at the end to go back for Rocky. That felt really meaningful and high stakes were created. Then they pulled a solution to keep him alive out of nowhere almost right away and it sort of deflated his choice for me.
The suspension of disbelief was a thing for me as well. The ship computer was dumber in some ways than Alexa yet also ran a self sufficient medical droid. Crew member shows up passed out after not wanting to go?
I agree about how everything ended so neatly except that I will add that I was going to be pissed if Grace did die from starvation BECAUSE Rocky proved himself again and again to be smart AF, I think it would have totally diminished the intelligence of his kind to NOT come up with a solution to keep him alive. Even without eating astrophage they easily bioengineered another food source for him because it shouldn't have been THAT hard for them to do.
But other than that I do agree that everything worked out very well for Grace. The same happened in the Martian. Would love to see Weir write a book in the future where everything doesn't have that perfect happy ending.
spoiler
i don't understand what you mean grace sent all the info in the beetles obviously he did. there was no point in sending them before getting the solution to the problem? do you mean he didn't sent them before?
Dragons AND a wholesome friendship? Sign me up because that sounds amazing.
I really enjoy A Natural History of Dragons, it's a surprise because I never heard of it until it won in the buddy read poll. And it was more enjoyable because a lot of people in the discord also enjoyed it and they are talking about it. I'm looking forward to read the rest of the series.
Do you have to subscribe to her patreon to get access to the discord? I want to do the read along for lies of Locke Lamora with everyone !
@@molliee5183 I joined the public discord a year ago, it's link was always in the description box of Merphy's videos before. I also look forward to that read along.
Aivy thanks I’ll just look for the link in an older video!
I would also like a spin off that talked about post Project Hail Mary earth. That would be sooo kool!
Yes. Like what did the world do to last that long and how did they recover. And do they at the end send some communications to Rocky's planet
@@AdeelTariq0 right! I like to think with Stratt's past and degree that she took up teaching grade school kids haha
@@brendananthony9601I would also like a spin-off or novella to see what’s been happening on Earth! Spoilers below (just in case).
My thought (even before she brought it up in text) was that the governments would definitely form some sort of tribunal to charge Stratt for her multiple crimes. Even if she was saving the Earth. Humanity is fickle.
@@Bandofthieves and petty.
Spoilers
During the explosion flash back, they talked about Terror Groups and such. I cannot imagine people with establishment power, wealth and influence just setting idal while Stratt jerks the reigns all over the place.
If you love the science and humor in hail mary, you will love the Martian.
It has an intense situation, but the main character uses humor to cope and never gives up hope that he will get out out of his situation.
SPOILERS for Hail Mary
He did mention sending the Beatle with the Alien Technology before but then thought of sending all those at the end along with the solution of the Astophage as well. HIs main aim was to protect humanity and sending the solution was higher priority. He mentioned he had a lot of space in those Beatles and could send both of the things. That was his thought process
I also loved ROcky and he made the book for me. I found it really boring before he was introduced. I just think I love duos a lot
exactly because of time dilation there was no point in sending them before. they would all have gotten there more or less at the same time
Also he mentioned it wasn't a guarantee the beatles would make it back. That's why even after he left for home he waited to send them. He said the closer he got to earth the better the chances the beatles would have. He was even surprised/relieved when he found out Sol was at 100% cause up to that point he had no way of knowing if the beatles got back to earth.
I’ve finished 3 books this week, while vacationing in NOLA! Read Project Hail Mary and Misery, Loved Both! also read the Colorado Kid which was decent. Rocky is the best!
The Memoirs of Lady Trent is one of my all time favourite series! And they only get better! The third is probably my favourite! And i think Isabella is such a great protagonist, among the best in fantasy.
PS: the audiobook is amazing as well, read by Kate Reading.
can't recommend the audiobooks enough!
I think I recommended A Natural History of Dragons to you years ago! I'm so pleased you picked it up and loved it as much as I did. I have the entire series and have enjoyed them all...and those covers are STUNNING. Marie Brennan is such an underrated author! I always try to steer people to her books. :)
Also, as I'm watching this video, I'm reading Project Hail Mary and had to stop at Chapter 7, so I'm there. I'm at the very edge of discovering this character that I think you're talking about and I cannot wait to go home and read more of this book. I love his writing!
A Natural History of Dragons sounds like something I would love! I really like Austen and I also have found myself enjoying a less "mystical" take on dragons. (The Temeraire series is a favorite of mine, and I love how it handles dragons!)
Project Hail Mary sounds really fun too!
Totally agree with you on Project Hail Mary’s ending.
SPOILER…
I did not want to go back to Earth and see that shitshow! Besides its makes sense for Grace to favor staying on the alien planet instead of going back to a rundown place where he has seemingly no remaining personal connections.
Andy Weir’s work is very uneven. Artemis was really terrible but if you liked PHM, I think you would also like The Martian! It’s just as fun and sciency!
Agree on liking The Martian, it has just as much fun science and humor. I never read Artemis but have only heard negative things and won't be picking it up.
Also spoilery!!!!
PHM was my favorite of the two because of Rocky 🥺💕 and the stakes were a lot higher IMO. Sacrificing yourself (even unwillingly) to save earth carries more weight than the survivor story that is The Martian. Both awesome books.
Also unpopular opinion but The Martian was a trash movie. Matt Damon is a good actor but a bad casting. The humor of the book was missing from the movie because it's mainly internal dialogue. Am curious to see how PHM turns out, apparently Ryan Gosling has signed on.
@@kate-ne haha, few books are perfectly adapted into movies :) but I do love the Martian movie ^^
I also preferred PHM. That friendship was everything and it made me happy cry in the end… which I never thought would happen with an Andy Weir book!
I knew you would love A Natural History of Dragons!!! I've been trying to convince you to read it for a while now hehhe 😁😁😁😁 so happy
Project Hail Mary was so good. I also really loved The Martian, but if you have seen the movie (which is one of the best adaptations I've seen) I don't think reading the book would be as enjoyable because part of the excitement are the stakes the character goes through.
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I loved the ending too, it was so wholesome and I agree that him returning to Earth wouldn't make sense for his happiness. Also, I thought he did send information about Rocky with the vials... I guess I assumed he did with all the xenonite aboard. Does it actually specify he didn't send any info?
Wow... Project Hail Mary sounds like something I would absolutely adore. I will definitely pick this book up soon.
Project Hail Mary spoilers
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Strat was a brilliant character and I really wanted to see her post apocalypse defending all the political / military manoeuvres she conducted prior to launch, in front of all those countless committees. Plus her reaction after accomplishing the impossible.
In my head she's a mix of Fury from marvel and someone like David Goggins with that mentality of 'let's get things done without the B. S'.
I can't wait for some Rocky fanart to come up online, Rocky's voice in the book is a string of musical notes but in the audio book they actually play notes although I can't tell if those are the exact notes depicted in the book.
I liked Project Hail Mary just a little more than the Martian, but if you enjoyed one I think the other would also be enjoyable. The Martian doesn’t have a great side character as good as Hail Mary but I like the main character a little more.
Omg I'm so happy that you enjoyed Project Hail Mary! It's one of my favorite reads this year so far. Such a delightful read ❤️
Project Hail Mary audio book was incredible, I couldn't stop listening. I felt like my grandparents when they'd listen to sci fi stories on the radio.
I wouldn’t recommend The Martian to you at this point. It is very similar in tone and delivery but it lacks a lot of what Project Hail Mary brings to the table. For you, I think it would suffer by comparison.
SPOILER!!!!
Rocky oddly provided the humanity in this book. He allowed the MC to grow and realize his own humanity. He knew saving Earth was important but he was never meant to save Earth for himself. His Earth was gone. Through Rocky, he found something worth sacrificing himself for. Not to mention that rock nugget was a cinnamon bun.
I loved the ending. It was odd and different and perfect. He was a scientist and teacher in the end and that is about as perfect as I could have imagined for that character. We knew Earth was saved and I think that can suffice. I think the overarching message was better serviced more so than tying up loose ends of wonder.
Stratt was awesome. I both physically read the book and listened to the audiobook. She had so much character in the audio. She was necessary. I think what would have done wonders for the book is if we would have had 3-4 chapters following and using her to show what became of Earth. Not a ton of extra pages but just enough to anchor her more to the story in the end … and tie up the story of earth because Andy Weir had to know people would want to know. She was awesome and I wish there had been more of her.
Two of my favourite reads this year, so glad you loved them both!
This is the review on Project Hail Mary that I want to hear. Now, it's time to put this on queue in my TBR list. Thanks, Merphy! 🥰🤓😍
You've put "A Natural History of Dragons" on my radar. The approach to dragons rooted in the real world during a historical period sounds very similar to Naomi Novik's Napoleonic alt-history series, Temeraire, which I love and I heartily recommend.
interesting, i already project hail mary and enjoyed it for the most part (im one that didnt like the ending) ill have to try natual history of dragons (isnt that that book series that brandon sanderson keeps saying got him into fantasy? or am i thinking of something else). any how i just finished a 6 book series and in need of something else so NHoD might as well be the one i start next.
Oh nice! I've picked up a natural history of dragons a couple of times in the bookstore because a) dragons and b) the cover is glorious, but somehow I felt like it would disappoint me so never bought it. Putting it on the list right now!
A Natural History of Dragons sounds amazing! Definitely up my alleyway.
Very curious about A Natural History of Dragons. The setting sounds similar to the Temeraire series by Naomi Novik (although I'm sure the story is quite a bit different) -- both set in the same time period, in a world where dragons aren't mythical but live alongside man.
SPOILERS
The fact that Stratt admits to Grace very early on in the Hail Mary project that there’s every likelihood that after the launch she will have multiple governments out for her blood, and will most likely rot in prison for the rest of her life shows that she knows she has had to do horrific things and is willing to bear the burden of her actions.
i loved Natural History of Dragons when I read it years ago, but was never able to track down the other books in the series.
Keep trying, they're totally worth it. I bet you won't find them used though -no one wants to give them up!
I loved both of these books! And if you liked Project Hail Mary you'll probably like The Martian, too.
Having read Hail Mary a few times now, I would love to see a sequel that shows the future of Earth with a plot involving establishing contact with Rocky's planet.
I’m newer to books but I’ve read project Hail Mary three times. It’s my favorite science fiction book so far.
a nature history of dragons was so good. some reason i haven't finished the series when i read it 3 years ago. i plan to reread.
You should try the Martian. My favorite book of all time, though I am a bit of a space nerd. Great book.
Project Hail Mary a favorite of mine. Great writing and storytelling.
SPOILER
First: I don´t think Rocky was female. At one point it says they can change sex and lay Eggs.
Second: I wished he would fly back and punch Stratt or whatever.
Third: I hated Stratt :D She was so full of herself and that bit**ing in Jail was sooo unnessecary. Yes, she did a good job.. no, i still dont like her. Sometimes she was written like that super intelligent person, the next moment "nO i dOnT lIkE tHaT yOu Do aS i ToLd YoU" but i hated that she was right... just unlikable.
I reached 4:35 and had to comment. I am not a fan of classics, and I enjoyed the HECK out of Brennan's quintology.
I have very few problems with the setting, the time period, or the characters in most classics. I tend to have issues with the authors voice and writing style. Victorian literature is the worst for me, so many words that don't do anything. Can I watch a movie or play based on Great Expectations? Sure, but attempt to read it? Fail that semester of English class.
I have similar issues with Melville, Austen, Brontë, Shelley, Stoker, and Kafka (Moby Dick, Pride and Predjudice, Jane Eyre, Frankenstein, Dracula, and The Metamorphosis (respectively)) among others. They're good stories with (generally) interesting characters, settings, and plots... I just don't like how those stories are told.
A natural history of dragons sounds so cool!!! I will put it on my TBR for the summer!!!
SPOILER of Project Hail Mary
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I also thought about don't documenting Rocky, like, not just for science purpose which would be amazing but, like, he left without even take a photo together, just for him to remember his friend!!!!
Otherwise, I'm glad he didn't actually send the information because I'm scared of what humans could do xddd
Overall, I really enjoyed the book and the ending, and I love Rocky with all my heart
Spoilers!
I'm super late, but I've just finished Project Hail Mary (and loved it) and I have to respond to Murphy about the beetles.... Like I completely disagree that he should even think of sending a beetle back JUST to send a photogrpah, or a preliminary research. That would have been extremely reckless, stupid and unnecessary. He knew from the beginning the purpose of the beetles, and you need all 4 of them to maximise your chances at savng the Sol. It should have neveer crossed his mind to send a beentle unless it had ALL the information necessary to help stop the astrophage.