'Project Hail Mary' a prayer for a human future

   PLANET ERID - It's hard at the moment to imagine the entire Earth pulling together to save humanity. Really.

     We are facing extinction, thanks largely to human greed and stupidity. (Check out any debate about how real climate change is for evidence of that.)

     But Andy Weir's new novel, Project Hail Mary, chronicles an extra-terrestrial threat that pushes earthlings into just such an unlikely planet Earth scenario - nations working together. The sun is losing its power and the Earth is, gasp!, cooling. Quite the turnaround from what we face today.

     Weir's first novel, The Martian, was a smash hit with readers. It eventually was made into a movie of the same name starring Matt Damon. It was a great film. And for lots of reasons I never read Weir's book.

     But Project Hail Mary has a movie in it certainly. I'll be in line early to see it. And the book is a best-seller.

     The premise is simple. The earth is threatened and the answer to saving the planet lies in the stars. Stars waaaaay away. This threat also presents a menace to other creatures in far-away galaxies. And those other creatures are chasing the solutions just as aggressively as Andy Weir's protagonist, Ryland Grace, a science teacher.

     Grace could be called "The Almost Accidental Astronaut." You will have to read the book to understand why.

    Project Hail Mary is told through Grace's eyes. The timeline bounces around slightly, going back and forth between Grace on the ground on Earth before leaving for his adventures in space, light years away.

     Did I mention Grace's intergalactic meetup with an alien spaceship - and an alien?

     Project Hail Mary gets a little technical in spots. Actually, it can be downright nerdy. But those nerd sections can be lightly scanned and not hurt the understanding of the overall plot. Some of the technical asides are fascinating. Given Weir's background, you can bet the science is real.

   This novel - like The Martian - has plenty of twists and turns providing life-threatening scenarios for both Grace and his newly found alien friend. Yes. Alien friend.

    In the end, most readers will go away satisfied having read a good yarn. And perhaps readers might even be slightly more optimistic about the possible future of humanity. Perhaps.

     Project Hail Mary is available at the Scappoose (Oregon) Public Library on the new book shelf and in bookstores and online everywhere.

(Review by Michael J. Fitzgerald)