Our next bookclub pick for the Book Detectives is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir! Each week I'm adding the questions I make for my club that why when you run your club you have a variety of questions to pick! Please keep in mind these questions will have spoilers in them. I have divided them up a bit so you can hopefully avoid those spoilers!
Chapter 1 thru 3
1. What did you think of the dedication to the Beetles?
2. How would you feel waking up being asked math questions with tubes in ya?
3. Does the fact that our main character has amnesia automatically make them an unreliable narrator?
4. Do you like the flashbacks?
5. Who do you think the two dead people are?
6. If you had amnesia, what would be some memories you would like to remember first?
7. Our main character figured out he's really good at science, and in this process figures out he's not on Earth. How does one even process this discovery?
8. Do you think all the science is explained in an easy to understand way?
9. Our main character remembers that the sun is getting dimmer. How would you take this news in his situation?
10. He also remembers that alien life was discovered! Why does he remember these things before he remembers his own name?
11. He remembers he's a teacher, how would you feel about remembering your current job after a coma situation?
12. What do we think of Eva Stratt?
13. How do we feel about Ryland Grace being the person who holds Earth's future in his hands?
Chapters 4 thru 9
1. How would you feel being in Ryland's place looking at an alien lifeform? Would you feel like a guinea pig, or would it be an honor?
2. Ryland finds out that every scientific paper he's ever written is wrong. How can he possibly still take seriously as a scientist?
3. What did you think of Rylands' burial of his crew members?
4. Were you surprised by how openly Ryland talked to his class about what was going on with the Sun?
5. Were you impressed by how dedicated Ryland was to protecting his kids?
6. Would you be able to cope with the fact that the mission is a one-way trip?
7. Ryland figures out that the Astrophage are going to Venus to reproduce. What did you think of his accidental discovery?
8. Ryland is flown around the world to Stratt upon his discovery. How much more power has Stratt obtained? Or does she just have the same amount as before, which would be all of it.
9.Ryland now lives and works in this aircraft carrier in the ocean. Why does Stratt have so much faith in Ryland?
10. What did you think of relativity? If Ryland had been awake, he would have experienced only 4 years. However, he's been gone for 12 years from Earth.
11. Does it surprise you that humans, together in such a small isolated space, would start to get violent?
12. Ryland's ship stops, and he now has to be in zero g most of the time. Would that be an adjustment you would be able to live with?
13. Intelligent aliens exist! Do you think they will be friendly?
14. Ryland has to go into a space suit to catch the cylinder that the alien sent to him. Is that too much of a risk given that he's supposed to save all of the human race?
15. Would you like being dragged onto Stratt's team?
16. Do you find it amazing that Ryland can communicate at all with the aliens?
Chapters 10 thru 14
1. Do you appreciate how often Ryland shares his thought process? Does it seem logical?
2. Ryland might be right after all about life, not needing liquid water. Do you think that would still be satisfying to find out when there's no one you could tell?
3. It seems like the alien has an excellent amount of knowledge to build and communicate. Why do you think this is?
4. What did you think of Rocky's description?
5. How likely do you think it is that an alien would have a pleasant language to our human ears? Especially a music based one.
6. How do you feel about some of the first interactions between Rocky and Ryland?
7. Do you think the risks that Stratt is taking that directly affecting current weather conditions are worth it?
8. How would you feel if you were Rocky and you were the only surviving member of your crew due to radiation poisoning? Something his people didn't even knew existed
9. Do you sympathetize with the French climatologist that Stratt brings in to make more greenhouse gases to give the earth a bit more time for Project Hail Mary to succeed?
10. Stratt will end up being in jail or on trial after the Hail Mary takes off. Would you take that risk as well yo save everyone?
Chapters 15 thru 18
1. Would you be disappointed you didn't get to see the inside of an alien space ship?
2. How would you feel about an alien moving in suddenly?
3. Did you think Ryland was being an asshole when he was squeamish around the test Monkeys?
4. Was it more shocking or sad to discover that Rocky has been alone for 46 years in space?
5. Rocky's lifespan could be 600 years. Is that weird?
6. Rocky's world has 72 years before things get really bad, while Earth only has 14. Would that be too much stress for Ryland?
7. Ryland discovers his trip isn't one way anymore thanks to Rocky having extra fuel. How can he ever repay Rocky?
8. We discovered who the people were for the main crew and backup crew. Why isn't Ryland on either crew?
9. Ryland is going to be teaching the science to some of the crew. Is he really qualified for that?
10. Why didn't Stratt tell Ryland that he has the genes for surviving comas?
11. What did you think of DuBois sharing with Ryland unprompted that he was having sexual relations with Shapiro?
12. Astrophage might have a predator! Do you think their solution will really be this simple?
13. Is it funny that Ryland has become almost second in command in the eyes of the Hail Mary crew?
Chapters 19 thru 21
1. They had calculated a lot for this retrieval of a possible predator to Astrophage. Would seeing your calculations be correct in real time be satisfying?
2. What did you think of Rocky sacrificing his life for Ryland?
3. Would you be willing to do what Rocky did for Ryland?
4. What did you think of Ryland letting his emotions take over and working on a project to help Rocky?
5. If you could choose the way you died, how would you want to die?
6. What did you think of the methods that the 3 primary crew members chose for their deaths?
7. Ryland almost kills Rocky, are we mad at him?
8. The two scientist leads for the mission are now dead. How do you think we end up with Ryland going?
9. Why would the lights go out on the ship?
Chapter 22 thru 24
1. Do you think Rocky has always been anxious, or did his experience on his ship give him anxiety?
2. The Taumoeba escaped somehow. Why didn't Ryland think to keep them sealed up?
3. Do Rocky and Ryland make a good team?
4. So we find out Stratt has just kept Ryland around as the 3rd science specialist. Is this a betrayal?
5. Do you agree with Ryland that Stratt was murdering him?
6. So knowing that Stratt drugged and forced Ryland onto the Hail Mary Mission, could that be the reason Stratt seems like a more menacing character throughout most of the book?
7. Ryland is going to breed Taumoeba that are nitrogen resistant. Do you see any issues with this plan?
8. Ryland is trying to see if he can eat some of Rocky's food. Why would he waste time on this?
9. If the public knew about how Ryland originally was forced to go, would that taint his legacy? Is he a different man now?
Chapter 25 to Ending
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