Book of the Month
Project Hail Mary
Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is, where he's going, or why he's there. The only clues are two dead crewmates and an equation on the wall. As his memory slowly returns, he pieces together the mission: Earth is dying, and he's the last hope. He's also about 40 trillion kilometres from home.
Andy Weir does something almost nobody manages in science fiction — he makes the problem-solving the page-turner. Each chapter is a puzzle that Grace has to solve before the next one arrives, and the solutions are grounded enough in real science to feel plausible and inventive enough to feel thrilling. Then, about a third of the way through, something happens that completely changes what kind of book this is. The second half is one of the most quietly moving things in recent genre fiction.
The book that converts people who think they don't like science fiction. Essential if you loved The Martian, but works completely on its own. The audiobook narrated by Ray Porter is exceptional — arguably better than the print version.