It has a cool concept that tripped over nothing and sailed all the way to an end that Asimov would be proud of. Thankfully, I committed to “Project Hail Mary” and was rewarded for my faith. Seriously, it’s a great book.Īfter the letdown of his next book, “Artemis,” I was a bit skeptical to pick up “Project Hail Mary.” Set in a lunar colony, “Artemis” has a cool concept that ultimately tripped over poor dialogue, a shaky plot and unsatisfying ending, and fell flat on its face. My copy has been dog-eared, written on, dropped in the bathtub on accident and bent past recognition in my suitcase thanks to the lovely attentions of the TSA. I loved “The Martian” for its down-to-earth tone, sarcastic main character and hard-core science that was wrapped up in enough shiny plot that I didn’t have to actually understand physics if I didn’t want to (spoiler alert: I still don’t understand physics). Weir shocked the literary world by writing this book while working full time as a software programmer, publishing online in his blog for free and then getting picked up by Crown Publishing Group, who purchased the exclusive rights.
Weir is most famous for his debut novel, “The Martian,” which was made into a feature film starring Matt Damon. This is an absorbing, Orwellian dystopia that makes a good case for the subversive power of literature.Last year, Andy Weir released “Project Hail Mary,” a science fiction novel that stayed right in Weir’s comfort zone and delighted fans who were disappointed by his lackluster sophomore novel, “Artemis.” Rosenberg was a real Nazi ideologue who thought society would benefit if women were forced to live under a caste system, with older, childless widows seen as a drain.
CJ Carey is a pseudonym for Jane Thynne, author of a series of spy novels set in 1930s Germany, and she clearly knows her Nazis. They have not forgotten the truth about the past and have something to teach Rose about books and resistance.
Another task brings her into contact with inhabitants of “widowland” – a ghetto for childless women over 50 who are treated with official contempt and kept on short rations. Rose, who is having an affair with her boss in the ministry of culture, is assigned to rewrite classic works of literature to ensure they align with Nazi ideals. It’s 1953, and the war continues, but Britain is one of Germany’s allies. The story is seen through the eyes of Rose, who, being young, healthy and attractive to men, has the highest status permitted to women under the caste system designed by Alfred Rosenberg, Britain’s Protector. Britain under Nazi rule is a staple of alternate history, but CJ Carey’s Widow land(Quercus, £14.99) makes it fresh again.
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