Rupam Shyamal
This should straight out be among the top of the nominees for the Hugo Award 2021. It's that good! Project Hail Mary is an emotionally stirring hard Sci-Fi adventure about an astronaut who is on the most critical mission to save mankind but has suffered severe amnesia. He is the sole survivor in a spaceship and has forgotten what he is supposed to do, what his name is, and even where in the solar system he is !! To summarise without giving any spoilers, if you took inspirations from Memento, Interstellar, Arrival, and The Martian, put it in a mixer and made a mind-bogglingly good novel out of it - Project Hail Mary would be exactly that!
Not only it turns out to be one of the best books I've read this year, but it will also definitely be among the best Sci-Fi novels I've ever read. This is the first Andy Weir novel I've read and I loved his writing style. I'll check out his other novels later. The Martian was adapted into a great sci-fi film; so, I can definitely expect some quality books from him. Great stuff! Highly recommended! <3
The year is 2131; Project Spaceguard has found that a 50km long asteroid has entered our solar system and hurtling toward the sun. Upon closer inspection scientists found it defies any known properties of asteroids. The unknown object, codenamed RAMA, is not a natural object at all - it's artificial and very old, far older than the oldest object ever made by mankind.
Rendezvous with Rama is one of the most recommended books when it comes to classic science fiction and deservedly so. Its take on the theme of first contact is surprisingly relevant and enthralling even to this day. Just like 2001- a space odyssey, Rendezvous with Rama will surprise you with Arthir C Clarke's grip on science and hardcore sci-fi concepts. You can even spot some inspiration that Chris Nolan had got for his film, Interstellar; for example those tidal waves and cooper station.
“Applying twentieth-century solutions to seventeenth-century problems affords either absolute success or absolute chaos; there is no middle ground”
- This statement sums up the theme of Riptide perfectly. When a modern treasure hunting company, flexing its assortment of latest techs, ventures to recover the legendary Ragged Island treasure, which, for 300 years has successfully evaded recovery by countless treasure hunters, things go horribly wrong. Some say the treasure is cursed, some say that no human will ever be able to recover that treasure. But can a 300 years old, masterfully hidden treasure really stand a chance against cutting edge modern science? Preston & Child have woven a plot so gripping, it's unputdownable. A thunderous read! Brilliant.