Ryland Grace is a junior high school science teacher who wakes up in a white room, connected to medical tubes, with no idea who he is. As his memory slowly returns in fragmented flashbacks, he realizes the horrifying truth: he is the sole survivor of a desperate mission on a spaceship named the Hail Mary.
The stakes could not be higher. The sun is being infected by a microscopic alien organism dubbed "Astrophage" (Greek for "star eater"). This organism is consuming the sun's energy at an exponential rate, causing the star to dim. If the process is not reversed, Earth will enter a new ice age within decades, wiping out humanity.
Grace was once a molecular biologist who left academia, but fate has placed him on a suicide mission to the Tau Ceti star system—the only star in the neighborhood that seems immune to the Astrophage infection. His job is to find out why Tau Ceti is safe and send the data back to Earth before he dies.
An Unlikely Ally
In the depths of space, millions of miles from the nearest human, Grace discovers he is not alone. He encounters an alien ship, also on a mission to save its own home world from the same threat. This leads to one of the most unique and heartwarming friendships in the history of science fiction. Together, the human and the alien—whom Grace names "Rocky"—must bridge the gap between their species, language, and biology to solve a scientific puzzle that defies imagination.
Why download the Project Hail Mary PDF? Because this story is a masterclass in tension and release. Weir balances the heavy scientific exposition with genuine humor and emotional depth. It is a page-turner that respects your intelligence while tugging at your heartstrings.