Sound Judgment audiobook review: ‘Project Hail Mary’

There is a conversation to be had about matching the type of story you want to tell to the medium you’re telling it in. In many cases for readers, this can be subjective, depending on what we deem important in the stories we hear.

Other times, there are already great stories that are made even better by telling them in a different medium. I believe that is the case for “Project Hail Mary” by Andy Weir, a story that is already amazing from start to finish and takes on an entirely new meaning once recorded as an audiobook.

Andy Weir is the same author who wrote another story well known to the masses, “The Martian,” which later became a blockbuster movie starring the one and only Matt Damon. “Project Hail Mary” is following suit with a blockbuster movie featuring Ryan Gosling that just hit theaters in late March. Needless to say, Andy Weir writes some great science fiction that remains accessible to everybody, regardless of how much expertise you may have.

“Project Hail Mary” follows Dr. Ryland Grace, an astronaut who wakes up alone from a coma, with no memory of who he is, where he is or how he got there.

We are taken through Dr. Grace’s thought process as he analyzes his surroundings and begins to receive intermittent flashbacks that help him solve these mysteries little by little. As time passes, we find out that an alien microbe has infected our solar system and has begun to absorb too much sunlight, meaning that Earth’s core temperature will begin to drop rapidly, and civilization will crumble soon after, unless a solution can be found.

Dr. Grace is that solution, aboard a spaceship traveling to the only unaffected star that can be observed, in search of a solution that will save humanity. The story that follows is a love letter to the sciences and science fiction alike, with plenty of surprises, suspense and sentiment to keep anyone on the edge of their seat.

The audiobook is narrated by Ray Porter, a two-time Audie Award nominee and veteran of the entertainment space, appearing in shows such as Frasier and ER.

Porter delivers what I can only consider to be my absolute FAVORITE performance of an audiobook I have ever had the pleasure of hearing.

Porter doesn’t merely read the contents of the book; he takes on the mindset of Dr. Ryland Grace and performs every last word. From the conversations he has to the inner monologue that reveals Grace’s true thoughts and emotions, it begins to feel as if we are hearing a firsthand account from Dr. Grace. In addition to his performance of Dr. Grace, the accents and voices Porter employs for the novel’s other characters of varying nationalities and personalities are remarkably fresh and allow for each character to feel uniquely different and real in their own right. The only unfortunate part is that this audiobook is an Audible exclusive, meaning I had to sign up for a free trial (which I canceled right after) just to listen to it.

If you’re at all familiar with this story, you’ll notice that I am intentionally leaving out a very central piece of the novel, one that gives the story a heart and soul that you won’t be able to find anywhere else. I am avoiding this because telling you about it would rob you of the experience of the emotional roller coaster you’ll be on before the story fully takes shape. So, for now, I’ll leave you with this. “Project Hail Mary” is a heartwarming story of humanity, survival and friendship that’ll leave you saying “AMAZE AMAZE AMAZE” to yourself over and over and over again. (Just listen, you’ll understand what I mean after). LL