# Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

117 Hacker News commenters recommended Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and 24 criticized it, November 2025 to November 2026. It was recommended in 12 of 13 months. It meets the Hacker Approved badge rule.

**Verdict:** A fun, hopeful science-driven sci-fi story about friendship, with an acclaimed audiobook and a faithful film adaptation; critics find the plot too convenient and the movie simplified.

## Why people recommend it

- Faithful, well-made film adaptation (7 comments): "The movie is (objectively!) very well made with respect to "craft, skill, storytelling structure and emotional impact"." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47522826)) "Visually spectacular, pretty faithful to the book (as far as I remember the book) and Ryan Gosling was very good in it." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568229)) "Loved it. Might go back for an IMAX viewing. I liked the book as well, and thought it was a good adaptation." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568226))
- Enjoyable for broad audiences (6 comments): "my family - both kids and adults, with entirely different interests and preferences - enjoyed the hell out of it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47521202)) "much lighter Hollywood popcorn-action sci-fi, a potential world-ending threat and a cool alien encounter." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47678961)) "both me and my unsuspecting victim of a movie partner (she isn't typically into scifi) really enjoyed it" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47568636))
- Detailed science and engineering (6 comments): "Great descriptions in the book about how the fictional creature can use the arms together or differently and on multiple tasks at the same time." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48987055)) "start with the physical characteristics of the planet and reverse-engineer biology that was likely to be viable under those circumstances" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=50293478)) "the movie also did a decent enough job of conveying that preparing enough astrophage for just one ship was only barely possible" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48231848))
- Outstanding audiobook narration (3 comments): "it's so good that it sets a really good example of what an enjoyable experience listening to an audiobook can be" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46086027)) "the best narrators actually improve the books like The Hail Mary Project and Blood Meridian" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=46394687)) "We enjoyed the movie greatly" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47569020))

## What people warn about

- Convenient plot and science shortcuts (5 comments): "Good, fun book. The main protagonists are a bit too inventive and quick to do solve, fix things." ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=45913794)) "The book dodges these inconvenient numbers with a bit of a deus ex machina plot device" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=48233703)) "geopolitics are trivially simple and every state in the world collectively agrees" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47061787))
- Film feels childish or dumbed-down (3 comments): "the film humor, dialogue, and emotional treatment strike me as pitched at a comparatively childish level" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47518514)) "The probleme is that reduces a huge premise to a childish emotional register" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47518146)) "what a dumb story, they reduced an intelligent life form to a human pet dog" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49175645))
- Film rushes or skips details (3 comments): "I think there are a few gaps in the movie that's explained by the book" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47517662)) "they gave only a couple of seconds of screen time for key plot elements like the nitrogen resistance breeding" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47570830)) "the pace felt rushed, like I never had a minute to breathe" ([source](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=47517133))

## Alternatives hackers recommend

- [There Is No Antimemetics Division by qntm](https://hackerapproved.com/p/there-is-no-antimemetics-division.md): 98 recommend
- [Blindsight by Peter Watts](https://hackerapproved.com/p/blindsight.md): 96 recommend
- [Dune by Frank Herbert](https://hackerapproved.com/p/dune.md): 82 recommend
- [Accelerando by Charles Stross](https://hackerapproved.com/p/accelerando.md): 71 recommend
- [Hyperion by Dan Simmons](https://hackerapproved.com/p/hyperion.md): 66 recommend

## Cite as

Hacker Approved, "Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir", https://hackerapproved.com/p/project-hail-mary/ (counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026).