Hi all! I've been seeing a lot a lot a lot of Project Hail Mary posting lately and wanted to offer up some "if you like PHM, maybe try __" book recommendations.
As I'm sure you all know, Andy Weir has written some other books; feel free to give them a shot. But there's a lot of lovely "two people inspiring one another to do great things", cross cultural connections with aliens, people working together to save the world with SCIENCE, etc books out there, so here are some to consider:
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
One of the greats. Two people inspiring one another to live (often out of spite), with flashbacks for backstory, on a roadtrip to kill the emperor.
The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord
I hype this book a lot. It's got cooperation, cultural studies, resettlement politics, sociology, and a little bit of magi-science.
Falling Free by Lois McMaster Bujold
Another one of the greats. Space welding technician gets sent to teach space welding to a zero-g native group of four-armed people and they all work towards liberation and independence together. Engineering! Family! Space! The Evils of Capitalism!
Drunk on All Your Strange New Words by Eddie Robson
Professional translator for psychic alien ends up investigating a locked-room murder mystery. Aliens! Linguistics!
The Calculating Stars by Mary Robinette Kowal
What if there was a disaster on earth and humans had to start planning to go to the stars in the 1950s? There's space, teamwork, pushing back on dumb policies and forward on smart ones and more science!
Lagoon by Nnedi Okorafor
Something strange has landed in Lagos' lagoon. Science! Human-alien interaction! Suspense!
My Enemy, My Ally & The Romulan Way by Diane Duane & Peter Morwood (and the other books in their Rhiannsu series)
yes, these are Star Trek novels, but they're really just awesome sci-fi about cross-cultural cooperation and understanding. 100/10.
To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers
SCIENCE! It might be a crisis back on earth, but we're focused on the science and teamwork and what life might look like on other planets.
Red Mars by Kim Stanley Robinson (and the rest of the trilogy)
Tbh these are on my tbr pile, but I've heard great things. Science! Space! Politics!
If you're looking for something with even more politics, philosophy, economics, etc, consider:
A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine
The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
If you're interested in graphic novels, try:
On a Sunbeam by Tillie Walden
Cosmoknights by Hannah Templer
For this ragtag band of space gays, liberation means beating the patriarchy at its own game. After launching as a webcomic in March 2019, Co
Final caveats from your list compiler: Some of these might not be your jam. That's okay, feel free to try again. I know sci-fi can be a crunchy genre to get into, but it's really worth it. Have fun!
