recent reading: Project Hail Mary

After seeing the movie Project Hail Mary twice¹, I decided to read the book. It's a good hard SF story, but when the only character that sounds like a believable person is your alien character, your characterization and voice need work.

The movie was much better, and if you have to choose between reading the book and watching the movie, I'd recommend the movie. The actors make the characters feel like actual individual people. Also, the movie has Carl. (I'm also glad I saw the movie relatively unspoiled; I'm sure I read one of the big reveals back when the book was published, but I'd forgotten it, so when it happened on screen it hit hard.)

¹ I'd only planned to see it once. We don't go to movies much anymore due to cost, but Youngest specifically requested this one, and I figured okay, this'd be worth seeing in the theater. And then I made the mistake that I as a parent of decades should've known better than to make: I bought tickets for the showing the day after Youngest was going to a slumber party. Yeah. The kid conked out half an hour in and could not be roused even during the fishing scene; it took some work to wake them up after the movie was over. I decided that since I'm the adult and should've known better, I'd take Youngest to see it again on an occasion where they'd stay awake. Fortunately, I liked it enough to see it again, and Youngest declared it peak.