Project Hail Mary Book Club Questions
Welcome to the Buddy Book Club – we have a light-hearted comedic podcast that covers a variety of books. Project Hail Mary was a book that quickly came onto our radar. As big fans of Reddit, we frequent the book communities to find new books and spread BBC propaganda. In the few years I’ve been on Reddit, I can confidently say there isn’t a book more talked about than Project Hail Mary. After reading through, we understood why. The writing style, the in-depth science, and the Human-Alien relationship all make for a unique fun read. Personally I thought it was a bit overhyped, but I think I’m probably alone in that take. You can check out our book club podcast on it if interested.
Our book club questions try to be a little more outside the box/comedic than your typical book club questions – hopefully you enjoy them.
Book Club Questions – Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
-> Do you think you could fall asleep with an alien watching over you?
I thought this was a really cool concept, but the answer is no, sorry Rocky, I’ll watch you but that’s where the arrangement ends.
-> Is this the most cringy quote from the book: “You and what army?” Stratt asked. “Because I have the U.S. Army,” she said. “And that’s a damn fine army.”
Sorry this just bothered me, seemed straight out of an 80’s movie.
-> What did you think of Eva Stratt as a character? Was she right for what she did to Ryland?
Her saying “I like you Ryland, I just don’t respect you”, was a great line and one I agreed with.
-> What type of science class was Ryland teaching in middle school? He’s asking his students biology, physics, geology, and astronomy questions all at the same time and his class knows the answers?
Maybe it’s because I was in remedial classes, but I don’t remember science classes that touch on every aspect of science all at the same time.
-> All of the scientist side characters seemed to be quite humble, blushing at the mere mention of their accomplishments, did you think this was a bit unrealistic?
I wish that being humble was a virtue, but I feel like you only gain notoriety/fame by toting your accomplishments these days and being your own biggest cheerleader. Also, did I mention that Buddy Book Club is the best blog and podcast?
-> Did the whole Coma thing make sense to you? Why did they need to put everyone on board in a coma (with poor success rate I might add)? Is 4 years really is too long for people to interact with each other?
If it were 25 years, I get it. But it seems like navigating and seeing parts of space no one has ever explored would be a dream job for most scientists/astronauts.
-> Do you think we’d ever let scientists melt the polar caps and place black panels throughout the Sahara Desert to prevent something from occurring 30 years in the future?
I just find it hard to imagine this would ever get consensus/be allowed today especially with how short sighted and selfish we all are. Sorry, I’m coming off as pretty negative huh?
-> Most movies that involve aliens, are typically about them coming to attack or hurt us, did you ever think that Rocky had some sort of ill intent?
Movies have made us so scared of aliens, I really did appreciate that this book had humans working hand-and-hand with aliens to solve a universal (as in multiple universes) problem. Rocky is the man.
-> Who would you cast in a movie of the Project Hail Mary?
Ryan Gosling is set to star as Ryland Grace, but who did you imagine for these characters? Need some inspiration, check out our Make it a Movie blog.
-> Many consider this one of the best Science Fiction books, where does it rank for you?
Personally, Enders Game & Dark Matter were books we’ve read that I liked better.
Did we miss some questions? Reach out to us or check out our podcast.
