Gabriel's Ghost

Not sure if this is the right fit?

Consider Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. Recommended by 20 sources.

“Project Hail Mary opens with an amnesiac astronaut waking on a spaceship, and the fun is watching him piece together his identity and apocalyptic mission. The book is driven by scientific puzzles—every crisis met with experimentation and calculation—but it’s buoyed by a warmth that arrives with an unexpected alien ally. What works best is a clever, can’t-put-it-down plot laced with optimism. The limitation: for some readers, the frequent, detailed science asides will feel like lectures that stall the momentum.”