While You Wait for Project Hail Mary

When Ryland Grace wakes up he doesn't know who he is or where he is. As Ryland moves around his new environment and bits of his memory start to return, he realizes he's the only member left from a crew sent to space to save the Earth from an extinction level threat. Journeying deeper into the unknown, Ryland ends up meeting an unexpected ally who just might give him the chance needed to save humanity.

With the movie adaptation recently being in theaters, Project Hail Mary has racked up quite the holds list at the library. Author Andy Weir has created a rich and complex story with lovable characters, plenty of humor and well described scientific details that make this science fiction novel accessible to even readers just starting to dip their toes into the genre. 

While you wait to get your hands on Project Hail Mary I’ve got recommendations to keep you busy exploring survival on Earth, in space and even in the ocean. Plus, if you haven't checked out Weir's other work, The Martian and Artemis, this is the perfect opportunity to do so. Who knows, maybe he’ll be your next favorite author! 

Celestial Lights by Cecile Pen 

On January 28, 1986, just as the Challenger shuttle fell from the sky, Oliver Ines (Ollie) was born. Decades later, after a childhood fascination with the stars and planets, Ollie has become a world-renowned astronaut. An enterprising billionaire asked him to take flight to the distant moon Europa.  

As Ollie journeys into space he starts taking a hard look at his past and all it holds: his life’s accomplishments, complicated relationships and the growth of his own family. Though Ollie  knows what he left behind, he can’t help but question if the world he remembers will still be there when he returns home. 

While Ryland and Ollie are on spaceships for very different reasons, you will find moments of deep contemplation of life in both novels. After reading you might even think differently about your own life here on Earth and the people who surround you. 

"A tremendous achievement. Celestial Lights is an exquisitely human story about what we owe our loved ones and ourselves, and what part we may play in the greater universe. Cecile Pin is an enormous talent. Her prose sparkles with brilliant, moving insights into what it is to be a person and what ties us to one another. This stunning, exhilarating and unforgettable journey through time and space will stay with me always.” - Eliana Ramage, author of To the Moon and Back 

Dark Matter by Blake Crouch 

Jason Dessen’s night out with his wife and son took a bad turn. On the streets of Chicago he was kidnapped at gunpoint, taken to an abandoned building and injected with a mysterious drug.  

When Jason wakes up, it’s to a life that isn’t his own. His wife is not his wife, he no longer has a son, and he’s now a genius celebrated for his impossible accomplishment rather than just an ordinary college physics professor. Is this new life real or is it all just a dream?

If you’re looking to try a sci-fi thriller that’s not as space oriented as Project Hail Mary, Dark Matter is the one for you. Both novels are suspense filled and explore what happens when characters are suddenly thrust into very different lives.  

“A mind-bending thriller of the first order, not merely a rollicking entertainment but a provocative investigation into the nature of second chances, all of it wrapped in a genius sci-fi package. I dare you to put it down, because I sure couldn’t." - Justin Cronin, New York Times bestselling author of The Passage

We Have Always Been Here by Lena Nguyen  

Psychologist Dr. Grace Park and 13 other crew members are on board a survey ship headed toward a planet called Eos in an unexplored galaxy. The crew is tasked with assessing the colonization potential of Eos while Dr. Park is around to observe the crew. As the ship takes them deeper into space, Dr. Park connects more with the androids on board than her fellow human companions. 

Tensions begin to rise on the ship as the rest of the crew looks upon the androids with suspicion and hostility. The trouble reaches an all-time-high when the ship reaches Eos just as a radiation storm comes through and traps them on-board. As the crew waits for their chance to escape, both androids and humans being acting strangely. Alone in action Dr. Park must determine what is affecting everyone on-board and stop it before she loses herself in the process. 

The sense of isolation from the outside world and near loneliness of Dr. Park are reminiscent of Ryland's position in Project Hail Mary. Each character must face the seemingly insurmountable challenges with little outside support. Twisty, claustrophobic and thought-provoking, this novel is sure to keep your attention. 

“We Have Always Been Here is an extraordinary, multifarious debut: a white-knuckle adventure, a wrenching love story, a confounding intellectual puzzle, and a masterful inquiry into the nature of consciousness. Lena Nguyen has done with her first book something that takes most writers decades. It’s all in here, and it’s all fantastic.” - J. Robert Lennon, author of Subdivision

Whalefall by Daniel Kraus 

Hear me out on this one! The setting of this sci-fi novel may be the exact opposite of Project Hail Mary and the premise is a little wild, but both stories examine characters facing unwelcome journeys into the unknown and the subsequent fights for survival. If you have an intense fear of the ocean, you might want to pass on this one. If you do proceed with reading, I promise you won't drown in scientific terms. You're in for a real thrill ride.

Jay Gardiner is trying to complete the impossible – find his father’s remains in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Monastery Beach. One year ago Jay's father took his own life and Jay’s felt the heavy weight of guilt about how things played out. He's hoping this is his chance to finally lift the weight and move on. 

Jay’s dive into the ocean starts off normal enough, but in a matter of moments a life and death battle ensures. A giant squid appears and shortly thereafter a sperm whale arrives looking for its next meal. In a heart-pounding turn of events Jay gets caught in the squids tentacles and then pulled into the whale's mouth. Still alive in the first of the sperm whale’s four stomachs, the tension hits an all-time high when Jay realizes he only has an hour’s worth of oxygen left to try and escape. 

“Whalefall is a rare thing: a page-turning, hold-your-breath, man-vs-nature thrill ride, but also a gripping exploration of the unnavigable relationship between parent and child. It's an anguished cry from the depths of that struggle. Bravo!" –Christopher Golden, New York Times bestselling author of Road of Bones