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Need something new for your reading list? Here are two titles we think are worth checking out. This week, we've got Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary and The Thing on the Doorstep, an H.P. Lovecraft adaptation for Image Comics.
Ballantine Books
Project Hail Mary: A Novel
The movie adaptation of Project Hail Mary opened in theaters this weekend, so as a book nerd it's my duty to say, you should really read the book it's based on. The novel by The Martian author Andy Weir came out a few years back, and it's the kind of story that will sit with you long after you finish it. In Project Hail Mary, a man wakes up in a strange, sterile room hooked up to medical equipment beside two long-dead bodies, and has no idea where or who he is, or what's going on at all. As memories start to return to him, he learns that he is Dr. Ryland Grace, a microbiologist and science teacher on a mission to save Earth.
It's a brilliant work of science fiction that follows humanity's desperate attempt to prevent what would amount to an apocalypse on Earth, caused by the dramatic dimming of the sun. As Grace puts it, "The sun is dying. And I'm tangled up in it." Then, a development in the second act changes things for Grace in a pretty big way, putting him in a position that's quite different from the one he started out in. The movie trailers spoil what this is, but I'm going to refrain from getting into any detail about it for those who aren't yet in the know. Project Hail Mary is a grand adventure that is, at its core, extremely human.
$15 at AmazonExplore More Buying Options$15 at Bookshop.org
Image Comics
The Thing on the Doorstep #1
This new miniseries by Simon Birks and Willi Roberts for Image Comics adapts the H.P. Lovecraft short story of the same name, following the unusual events that led a man to seemingly murder his life-long best friend. It's Lovecraft, so there's black magic, hints of creepy fish people and a gnawing sense of dread that builds with each chapter.
If you're already familiar with the story, go in knowing it's not a 1:1 adaptation. Whereas the original is told from the first-person perspective of Daniel Upton, who is recounting the events that led up to him killing his best friend, Edward Derby, the comic series zooms out to the third person and adds some scenes to illustrate the story of their lives. It does not open with the absolute banger of a first line from the short story — "It is true that I have sent six bullets through the head of my best friend…" — but it instead shows you that moment, then goes back to the start to trace the full history of Daniel and Edward's friendship, and Edward's macabre unravelling.
The comic series gets off to a lighter start (aside from, you know, the grisly murder), but the Lovecraftian dread starts picking up in the second issue. Here we get some really great unsettling visuals thanks to the introduction of Asenath, Edward's love interest who has a "something's not quite right about her" aura. I love this story and Willi Roberts' art really does it justice, especially when it comes to Edward's gradual deterioration and flashes of embodied evil that hint at what's really going on beneath the surface. There are two issues out so far, with three more to come over the next few months.
$4 at Amazon
