PROJECT HAIL MARY.

• Author: Britschgi, Christian

Anyone still eager for world-ending drama after the past 18 months of doom, gloom, and death might want to pick up Project Hail Mary. The latest novel from The Martian author Andy Weir (famous for turning a self-published novel into a huge hit, then a huge hit movie) puts readers in the shoes of Ryland Grace, an extremely overqualified middle school teacher who has predictably been called upon to save the world.

The plot treads some pretty familiar sci-fi ground: a mysterious existential threat from space, robots, aliens, and a last-ditch mission to save humanity, all delivered with enough ready-for-cinema twists and turns to keep the reader interested.

Weir, as usual for him, manages to give enough...