Space Yourself: 5 Books to Read After You See Project Hail Mary

Like Project Hail Mary, this exciting sci-fi thriller features a dangerous problem that only one man on Earth can solve. A team of DARPA scientists invents a device in the desert that seems to be able to teleport people, but it also seems to have some issues they’re not willing to mention. Enter Mike Erikson, a quiet man from a quiet town who might be the only one who can keep it from destroying the world.

This debut sci-fi thriller is also about peril, but this time, it’s aboard the ship sent out into space to find a new habitable planet. When an explosion knocks The Phoenix off its course, it’s up to the carefully-selected people on the ship to figure out a way to correct it because, no pressure, but the fate of humanity rests on their shoulders.

And here’s more stimulating ship shenanigans and sabotage! (Say that three times fast.) As the Earth starts to fall apart, the first all-female mission heads off in search of a new habitable planet. They are on course for the Goldilocks Zone, where they can find a new planet that is just right. But when things start going wrong on the mission, it becomes apparent that not everyone is on board (pun intended) with the plan.

This one has a reverse problem: when the homeland of an alien society is destroyed, they realize their only chance for survival is to ask for help from the indigenous life forms on their adopted planet. Soon, it’s a race to keep the species from dying out, while long-kept mysteries are unraveled and the two cultures are forced to work together.

And finally, a junior anthropologist sent to observe life on an alien planet must break the rules and get involved with his subjects. The locals think he’s a sorcerer, but Elder Nyr is just a scientist trying to report his findings, who realizes he must interfere if he wants to save them from what they think is a demon that has been terrorizing their lands.