Skip to content

Books · science fiction novel

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

Hacker Approved

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.

Summarized from 173 comments.

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.

recommend
117
criticize
24
months recommended
12 of 13

Why people love it

  • Faithful, well-made film adaptation · 7

    The movie is (objectively!) very well made with respect to "craft, skill, storytelling structure and emotional impact".

    Mar 2026 · comment

    Visually spectacular, pretty faithful to the book (as far as I remember the book) and Ryan Gosling was very good in it.

    Mar 2026 · comment

    Loved it. Might go back for an IMAX viewing. I liked the book as well, and thought it was a good adaptation.

    Mar 2026 · comment
  • Enjoyable for broad audiences · 6

    my family - both kids and adults, with entirely different interests and preferences - enjoyed the hell out of it

    Mar 2026 · comment

    much lighter Hollywood popcorn-action sci-fi, a potential world-ending threat and a cool alien encounter.

    Apr 2026 · comment

    both me and my unsuspecting victim of a movie partner (she isn't typically into scifi) really enjoyed it

    Mar 2026 · comment
  • Detailed science and engineering · 6

    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.

    Jul 2026 · comment

    start with the physical characteristics of the planet and reverse-engineer biology that was likely to be viable under those circumstances

    Oct 2026 · comment

    the movie also did a decent enough job of conveying that preparing enough astrophage for just one ship was only barely possible

    May 2026 · comment
  • Outstanding audiobook narration · 3

    it's so good that it sets a really good example of what an enjoyable experience listening to an audiobook can be

    Nov 2025 · comment

    the best narrators actually improve the books like The Hail Mary Project and Blood Meridian

    Dec 2025 · comment

    We enjoyed the movie greatly

    Mar 2026 · comment

What people warn about

  • Convenient plot and science shortcuts · 5

    Good, fun book. The main protagonists are a bit too inventive and quick to do solve, fix things.

    Nov 2025 · comment

    The book dodges these inconvenient numbers with a bit of a deus ex machina plot device

    May 2026 · comment

    geopolitics are trivially simple and every state in the world collectively agrees

    Feb 2026 · comment
  • Film feels childish or dumbed-down · 3

    the film humor, dialogue, and emotional treatment strike me as pitched at a comparatively childish level

    Mar 2026 · comment

    The probleme is that reduces a huge premise to a childish emotional register

    Mar 2026 · comment

    what a dumb story, they reduced an intelligent life form to a human pet dog

    Aug 2026 · comment
  • Film rushes or skips details · 3

    I think there are a few gaps in the movie that's explained by the book

    Mar 2026 · comment

    they gave only a couple of seconds of screen time for key plot elements like the nitrogen resistance breeding

    Mar 2026 · comment

    the pace felt rushed, like I never had a minute to breathe

    Mar 2026 · comment

What hackers pick instead

Every quote

The 40 most detailed of 173 comments. Each links to the original.

  1. 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.

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “Xiaomi-Robotics-1”

  2. start with the physical characteristics of the planet and reverse-engineer biology that was likely to be viable under those circumstances

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “Blanets and Weird Worlds”

  3. the movie also did a decent enough job of conveying that preparing enough astrophage for just one ship was only barely possible

    Mixed · May 2026 · in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”

  4. The movie is (objectively!) very well made with respect to "craft, skill, storytelling structure and emotional impact".

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  5. Visually spectacular, pretty faithful to the book (as far as I remember the book) and Ryan Gosling was very good in it.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  6. my family - both kids and adults, with entirely different interests and preferences - enjoyed the hell out of it

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  7. it's so good that it sets a really good example of what an enjoyable experience listening to an audiobook can be

    Recommends · Nov 2025 · in “The mysterious black fungus from Chernobyl that may eat radiation”

  8. Loved it. Might go back for an IMAX viewing. I liked the book as well, and thought it was a good adaptation.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  9. much lighter Hollywood popcorn-action sci-fi, a potential world-ending threat and a cool alien encounter.

    Recommends · Apr 2026 · in “Book Review: There Is No Antimemetics Division”

  10. the book got me back into reading, and the movie is one of the better book to film adaptations I've seen

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  11. both me and my unsuspecting victim of a movie partner (she isn't typically into scifi) really enjoyed it

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  12. Good, fun book. The main protagonists are a bit too inventive and quick to do solve, fix things.

    Mixed · Nov 2025 · in “Fungus in Chernobyl nuclear disaster zone has mutated to 'feed' on radiation (2024)”

  13. I'd argue Andy Weir's "Project Hail Mary" is hopeful sci-fi, and the movie adaptation was great

    Recommends · Sep 2026 · in “Writing a better reality: The case for optimistic sci-fi (2022)”

  14. it goes a lot more in depth into the science and engineering challenges that occur throughout

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  15. the best narrators actually improve the books like The Hail Mary Project and Blood Meridian

    Recommends · Dec 2025 · in “Maybe the Default Settings Are Too High”

  16. The book is a bit better at showing the main character actually being competent at times.

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”

  17. The book does a significantly better job explaining the science behind the mission

    Recommends · May 2026 · in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”

  18. geopolitics are trivially simple and every state in the world collectively agrees

    Mixed · Feb 2026 · in “Halt and Catch Fire: TV's Best Drama You've Probably Never Heard Of (2021)”

  19. The audiobook is the peak experience still I think. Highly highly recommended

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  20. nobody was bored, which is rare for the group I watch movies with frequently.

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  21. easily one of the best, most enjoyable sci-fi movies released this decade

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  22. I think there are a few gaps in the movie that's explained by the book

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  23. Yup and loved it. I like Gosling too and he was awesome in this too.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  24. he managed to write an engrossing adventure which I enjoyed

    Mixed · May 2026 · in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”

  25. the pace felt rushed, like I never had a minute to breathe

    Mixed · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  26. I read the book on release and loved it.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  27. We enjoyed the movie greatly

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  28. they gave only a couple of seconds of screen time for key plot elements like the nitrogen resistance breeding

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “'Project Hail Mary' Crosses $300M in Sales to Become Amazon/MGM's Highest-Gross”

  29. the film humor, dialogue, and emotional treatment strike me as pitched at a comparatively childish level

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  30. The book dodges these inconvenient numbers with a bit of a deus ex machina plot device

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”

  31. The probleme is that reduces a huge premise to a childish emotional register

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  32. what a dumb story, they reduced an intelligent life form to a human pet dog

    Criticizes · Aug 2026 · in “Hollywood Stopped Making Movies in Hollywood”

  33. small technical/scientific mistakes that shouldn't have had to be there

    Criticizes · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  34. It had a good premise. But it also fell apart immediately.

    Criticizes · May 2026 · in “Project Hail Mary – Stellar Navigation Chart”

  35. a local well-respected popular astronomy magazine was quite impressed by the movie, relative to Hollywood standards anyway

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  36. it's about friendship and loneliness and the fragility of the human experience and the triumph of the human spirit

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  37. this is written, if not exactly as a screenplay, in such a way to make it SO easy to adapt to a screenplay

    Recommends · Jun 2026 · in “'Backrooms' Stuns with $81M Debut”

  38. Watching the movie first will set the stage for a lot of details that work better in a book than a movie.

    Recommends · Mar 2026 · in “My Astrophotography in the Movie Project Hail Mary”

  39. I already liked Project Hail Mary a lot after having seen it, but my respect for it went through the roof

    Recommends · Oct 2026 · in “In the wake of Tippett Studios’ closure, a digital archive appears online”

  40. The last time I felt this way was reading "Project Hail Mary" and that was for a fictional cell!

    Recommends · Jul 2026 · in “The tiny cell that wasn't there”

Counts from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, Nov 2025 to Nov 2026. How we count · Report a mistake