📚心得【極限返航】｜ Review 《Project Hail Mary》 by Andy Weir, 2021
#第一次接觸 #硬科幻 #survivial #audible推薦
又一經典的Andy Weir套路：找到一個問題、試著解決、事情沒想像中順利、啊啊啊炸鍋啦、神救援、皆大歡喜 👏 說實話，看多了也多少會膩啊，如果能再和個編劇討論、在不改變合理性的情況下加上點戲劇效果就好了。
這次的故事是太陽因為某個事件、能照到地球上的輻射量開始減少，整個地球開始降溫，為了尋找解決方案，主角與組員們搭上了一艘研究船前往Tau Ceti，結果組員全死光了，剩主角一人還失憶…要如何完成任務、並及時回到地球呢？
就科研船的實際設想，自己不是很喜歡故事裡的分節設計，依然覺得《Expanse》中的以長期丟工質推進來模擬重力比較簡單、不會出錯，分節設計真的是在等待災難，即使是會浪費燃料也不會有繩索意外斷掉直接完蛋的風險。但也就只有這點自己能挑毛病而已，其他部分套用的科學都很硬核。
這本書最大的缺點，就是主角不停在「現在」與「過去回憶」間不停切換，感覺主角看到什麼、想起什麼就直接敘述什麼，時間線過於跳躍，讀起來有點混亂。
這本書2021年5月一出來，我就直接買了audiobook配電子書看，果然沒讓我失望，整體故事可以說是《The Martian》的進化版。
原本被Andy的《Artemis》雷到，讓我有點擔心他是不是只會寫獨角戲，加上了幾個主要隊友整個氣氛營造和故事敘述就變得很flat，互動也有些呆板；這次《Project Hail Mary》有讓我覺得作者有進步了，雖然這次也沒幾個隊友。
話說，過了一年後台灣有出了翻譯本，叫做《極限返航》，總覺得這標題下的不太好，原因有把劇情看完就知道為何。直直地翻《孤注計畫》之類的不行嗎？ 🤔
IMO總分：84分，引人入勝、戲劇性稍嫌不足、瑕不掩瑜的半神作。
核心思想：★★★★☆ 核心討論議題是否有趣*5
劇情細節：★★★★☆ 綜觀整體劇情的質與量*4
角色刻畫：★★★★★ 角色群的必要性與深度*3
科學軟硬：★★★★★ 是否符合現實物理現象*3
結局滿意：★★★★☆ 結局滿意度與有無餘韻*3
易讀程度：★★★☆☆ 閱讀時章節是否難消化*2
#First_Contact #Hard_Scifi #Survival #Audible_Recommended
Another classic Andy Weir formula: identify a problem, attempt to solve it, things don't go as smoothly as planned, oh no everything's going sideways, saving the day with geniosity, and everyone lives happily ever after 👏. Honestly, even though this is Andy's familiar territory, it does start to feel a bit tiresome after seeing the same pattern so many times. It'd be awesome if there could be some collaboration with a screenwriter to add a bit more dramatic flair without compromising the scientific plausibility.
The story centers around an event causing the sun's radiation to decrease, leading Earth to gradually cool down. To find a solution, the protagonist and their crew desperately board a research vessel bound for Tau Ceti. Tragically, the entire crew perishes, leaving only the protagonist alive — but with amnesia. How will he complete the mission, transmit the solution, and make it back to Earth in time?
Regarding the ship's design as conceptualized in the story, I'm not entirely fond of the ship's sectioned design for artificial gravity. Comparatively speaking, 《The Expanse》's use of long-term mass driver propulsion to simulate gravity feels simpler and less error-prone. It feels like the sectioning is just asking for trouble — why risk the cables breaking when the whole civilization is on the line when you have ways to solve fuel waste problem? Still, this is one of the only things I can nitpick about. Everything else seems solidly grounded in hard science — except a small amount of alien tech part which isn't significant in the grand of scheme.
The book's biggest drawback lies in its protagonist, having amnesia, constantly flipping between the present moment and past memories. It feels like whenever the character sees or experiences something, they immediately jump into recalling related events from their past. The timeline jumps around too much, making it a bit confusing to follow at times.
This book came out in May 2021, and I immediately purchased both the audiobook and the ebook to read along. It definitely didn't disappoint — it's like an upgraded version of 《The Martian》.
Earlier, I was left unimpressed by Andy after reading 《Artemis》, which made me worry if he only knew how to write solo acts. Adding a few key teammates into the mix improved the atmosphere and storytelling.
Earlier, I was left unimpressed by Andy after reading 《Artemis》, which left me wondering if he could only write solo acts. Adding a few main teammates didn't help in that one. The atmosphere and storytelling felt flat, and the interactions came off stiff. This time with 《Project Hail Mary》, I can see that the author has made progress. Though there still aren't many teammates, the story feels more engaging.
Speaking of which, after a year, Taiwan has published its translated version titled as something like 《Limit Return》. Honestly, I think this title is not quite fitting for the book. After finishing it, you'll understand why. Why not go with something like 《Desperate Sail》? 🤔
IMO Rating: 84. Captivating yet slightly lacking in drama, almost a masterpiece with minor flaws that do not overshadow its overall excellence.
Core Theme: ★★★★☆ (*5)
Plot Quality: ★★★★☆ (*4)
Character Development: ★★★★★ (*3)
Science Validity: ★★★★★ (*3)
Ending Satisfaction: ★★★★☆ (*3)
Readability: ★★★☆☆ (*2)
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