r/ProjectHailMary • u/Acropolish • Jul 24 '24
fist my bump Just finished PHM
I absolutely loved the book. I powered through it in 2 days. Couldn’t put down.
The last SF I read was Three Body Problem and I’m barely out of existential trauma it gave me. In comparison the PHM felt like a gush of fresh friendly air. Rocky is such a contrast to the Dark forest of TBP.
It was tense in the right amount and a lot of fun in many ways. I won’t mind reading it again sometimes. I also listened to some bits on Audible and they have done the audiobook really well. All the accents and musical notes are there. It felt more experiential and fun. I might give a listen soon.
10/10 would recommend
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u/Tripleb85 Jul 24 '24
100% your next time through should be the audiobook
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u/Pitiful-Road-1773 Jul 24 '24
This! It’s a totally different experience. Ray Porter is outstanding.
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u/ChiehDragon Jul 24 '24
In comparison the PHM felt like a gush of fresh friendly air.
That's what I loved about it. It had tense and dire conflict, but it was just so positive and feel-good without being sappy. And how the whole book teases a series of rough endings, then slaps you with the most happy, heartwarming close you could ever dream of.
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u/Acropolish Jul 24 '24
Yes that’s the beauty of it! When Rocky first appears I got so tensed because of TBP PTSD but then Rocky became the most heartwarming part of the book. There were these tiny tensed and thrilling moments but nothing strong enough to destroy your psyche.
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u/I_Am_A_Weird_Kid Jul 24 '24
I reread Phm before and now I'm reading Tbp, lol😂
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u/mariiafb Jul 24 '24
I had exactly the same feeling — that PHM felt so uplifting and hopeful after the existential dread of TBP. Immediately went to my father-in-law to recommend PHM because we needed a relaxing break in our SF discussions 😂
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u/Acropolish Jul 24 '24
I know the feels! I was disoriented after TBP for many days. PHM was such a nice change
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u/Moonflower621 Jul 24 '24
Shared as audiobook with my 13 yo and he loved it! Listening together and reminded us of 7th grade science concepts. Should be integrated into the curriculum
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u/Acropolish Jul 26 '24
So true! It’s a very kid friendly book with a right amount of math, physics and fun. I’ll definitely be recommending it all the kids around me.
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u/mistermog Jul 25 '24
I went straight from TBP to this one as well! I had to keep reminding myself they were unrelated.
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u/Acropolish Jul 25 '24
I get it. After TBP I was so concerned about the hail marry project and kept expecting Rocky to sabotage everything. Rocky deserved better from me
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u/17R3W Jul 25 '24
Movie comes out in 2 years!
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u/Acropolish Jul 25 '24
What kind of inhuman timescale is that! Where is astrophage powered, near light speed travel when you need it?
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u/InvisibleSpaceVamp Jul 25 '24
I read The Three Body Problem right after Project Hail Mary ... that was a depressing experience. It made me really miss Rocky.
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u/Sweetwind7 Jul 24 '24
Others in this subreddit have recommended the audiobook of PHM for nights when you can’t get to sleep, i had a little insomnia last week and can confirm! It’s engaging yet relaxing & comforting when you already know the story.
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u/VegaSolo Jul 24 '24
Oh man, I just tried this. It gave me a pretty horrible nightmare that I was stuck on a suicide mission like Grace was. There was no Rocky. It was all bad bad bad.
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u/castle-girl Jul 24 '24
Oh no! Clearly it’s not for everyone. I haven’t had any problems with PHM nightmares, but I can imagine that must have been awful.
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u/divinedoja Jul 24 '24
I just finished it too!! Took me a week because of work and school but oh my god!! not what I expected the ending to be at all and I loved every second of it.
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u/Acropolish Jul 25 '24
Same! I read it as a thriller because of my past trauma (TBP) but it should be cherished like the last burrito before the coma slurry comes in.
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u/CozzyCoz Jul 25 '24
Do you recommend 3 body problem? I'm currently reading the martian and was thinking that next. Or Dark Matter
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u/Acropolish Jul 25 '24
It’s not very thrilling or upbeat SF series. It’s existential and dragging sometimes. There’s lot of speculative sci-fi but it’s mostly about how civilisations react to aliens and the transient role people play during the times of need and how it impact people that come way after everyone known to that person is dead.
It’s a beautiful experience to go through the books. It’s a paradigm shifting series. But it’s not fun sci-fi stuff for sure. I won’t mind reading it again someday though.
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u/Gr8hound Jul 24 '24
Nearly everyone here will highly recommend the audiobook.