Project Hail Mary

Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir

It's a weird feeling, scientific breakthroughs. There's no Eureka moment. Just a slow, steady progression toward a goal. But man, when you get to that goal it feels good.

This is science fiction with heart, friendship and fun.

The sun is collapsing because of a 'space algae' that is eating it and infecting it. The situation is so dire that the world rallies together and manages to put together an interstellar space mission in a few years with Ryland Grace (a high school teacher and ex-scientist) on board. It's hard to imagine countries coming together to achieve a common goal, but wonderful to read about in a novel!

The book is a tale of exploration and finding friendship no matter where you are, even in outer space with an alien who communicates through musical sounds.

The science and step-by-step problem solving spoke to my engineer's heart. I loved the various scientific ideas, the physics, the explanation of constraints while still making this a wonderful creative novel.