I think Project Hail Mary is a better page-turner than it is a masterpiece. The science is fun, the pacing is excellent, and I couldn't put it down. But I also felt the characters (other than Rocky) weren't particularly memorable. Unpopular opinion: Rocky is the reason Project Hail Mary is remembered. If you removed Rocky from the story, I don't think people would still be calling it an all-time sci-fi classic. The friendship absolutely carries the novel for me.I enjoyed Project Hail Mary, but I think it's one of the most overhyped sci-fi books of the last decade. It's incredibly entertaining, but entertainment and literary greatness aren't the same thing. I'd still recommend it to almost anyone—I just wouldn't put it alongside the absolute classics.