Jazz Bashara wants a life of luxury, complete with real bed, a bedroom she can stand up in, and a private shower. On the moon's only city, that's asking for a lot. And despite being a border-line (if not actual) genius, Jazz doesn't want to tax herself beyond making 416,922 slugs with her on the side smuggling business and part-time portering job. But when a wealthy client offers her one million slugs to destroy rock harvesters for a shady aluminum company, Jazz agrees—and her entire world is turned upside down.

It's fun. It's political in places. It's a caper in places. It's a book where the MC's world erodes away and she must pull it together—first to save herself, then her family, and then the entire city. It's billed as a heist space-caper, but it's really just an adventure on the moon with lots of science thrown in to make it plausible. This novel is really nothing like The Martian aside from an incredibly snarky heroine. While I liked Jazz, there were a lot of times where it was hard for me to believe she was female, based on her attitude and some of the comments she made and how she described herself. Aside from that, I liked the snark and the sarcasm, and I enjoyed that she wasn't an entirely trustworthy narrator.

I loved the city and the world-building, although I was super confused why the Kenya Space Corportation named all of their domes after American space pioneers instead of, oh, another country that also did space-y things...first.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

If you can get past the fact that this character feels the same as Weir’s main character in The Martian (I was able to) I think you’ll enjoy this story! I loved the adventure of it and the setting of the lunar town, Artemis.
Thanks to NetGalley and the Publisher!

This is another humorous book of sci fi action from Weir. A great narrator leads you through a fun cast of characters to deliver you to a satisfying ending.

Andy Weir is not a one-book-wonder. Artemis, his follow-up novel from The Martian, is set on the moon and is a brilliant novel of humanity's "keep-on-keepin'-on" along with a smattering of avarice, greed, and survival. Highly recommend!

Disclosure: Received e-copy from publisher and NetGalley in exchange for honest review.

Ok, so friends said it wasn’t good. I read it anyway and I liked it. Jazz kicks ass and solves her problems with her brain; any strong female lead character is a good one in my opinion. Plus, any mystery/heist book that is set on the moon and therefore has to take zero gravity into account (and does it right!) gets my vote.

I would encourage anyone who has read “The Martian” or seen the blockbuster movie to put aside any preconceived notions about what Andy Weir’s second book “Artemis” will be like. “The Martian” generated so much advance buzz, in part because of the unusual way it achieved bestseller status, that it wouldn’t be fair to compare the two books.

Jasmine Bashar is a struggling independent delivery person on the moon base of Artemis where she engages in small-time smuggling in order to improve her marginal and mundane existence. Then she’s offered a chance at a big-time payoff and the wild ride is on. Essentially this is a fast-paced action caper with plenty of humor and science thrown in, but setting the book on the moon enriches the story. Jazz is a resourceful and clever problem solver (think a female MacGyver) and the perilous situations she finds herself in kept me racing through the book. I felt that the extensive scientific descriptions somewhat slowed down the pace, but other readers may appreciate that level of detail. “Artemis” is a fun and fast read that allowed me to focus on lunar shenanigans instead of the problems here on earth.

My review was posted on Goodreads on 11/26/17

4.5/5 Stars

Like a lot of people, I think The Martian by Andy Weir is one of the best books written over the past few years. It took a little while to become as popular as it did, considering Andy began releasing the book in parts on his website, but with the inclusion of a film starring Matt Damon, it garnered a ton of attention, and deservedly so. It had a perfect mix of hard science, space travel, humor, and a character you could really root for. So now we have Artemis, Andy's follow-up ( not a sequel to ) to The Martian which just so happens to also take place in space (surprise surprise).

Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara is a porter in Artemis, the first and only city on the Moon. Though it generally takes large amounts of wealth to enjoy the city's many hospitalities, Jazz scrapes by with her meager salary and side hustle, smuggling in contraband to some of the city's wealthy. One day, a client of hers offers a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make some serious dough, but getting caught can lead to her deportation back to Earth. What begins as a wonderment of life on the Moon unfolds into a life-altering and dangerous heist, one that uncovers more than she asked for, but one that could end up giving Jazz all she has ever wanted.

Weir does a fantastic job setting up the entire city in the first couple of chapters, beginning with Jazz attempting her EVA exam outside of the bubble to life in the underground and above. He also gives Jazz plenty of redeeming qualities that will resonate with a lot of readers. The only downside of the book is Jazz's personality: you will either love or hate her. While she is introduced as a twenty-six year old with genius level smarts, she comes off as a angsty teen in most instances which can be a turn off to some. But I will say, Rosario Dawson makes up for any shortcomings because she really brought Jazz to life in the narration.

Those who are looking for The Martian, Part 2 will be disappointed, but there is still plenty of sciencing to go around. Weir does not let up on the amount of over your head, over the top hypothesis/experimentation/success or failure and that is what I have come to love about his work. It gives me something to do when I finish the novel: research and learn. He also brings just enough humor for those who loved Whatney's antics. The "moon" building is fantastic and you can picture what life could really be like on its surface.

I had high hopes for this book after being completely engrossed by The Martian. Weir's storytelling and scientific writing is still A+, but I found myself lacking any interest or emotional connection with the characters themselves. Ultimately, I didn't even finish it. I've spoken with a few other patrons at my library that had the same experience. I would still recommend it to patrons who enjoy science fiction, but if they've read The Martian I'd warn them that they might not have the same experience.

It’s rare that a film adaptation is as good as the book and even more so for the movie to be better, but that, I thought, was the case for The Martian, and I’m guessing will be true as well for Andy Weir’s sophomore effort Artemis, the film version I’m assuming is just about ready to start shooting based on the huge success of its predecessor.

The title shares its name with the moon’s sole city, home to 26-year-old Jasmine Bashara, whose job as delivery person is a big plus for her real money-making job: smuggling. When one of her regular clients proposes a much more lucrative (and risky) job, one that is a big jump up in criminality, she takes him up on the offer. As one might expect, things don’t go as planned and soon she is running and hiding for her life, pulling friends and not-friends into the ever-escalating danger, and eventually risking the lives of everyone inside Artemis.

Though on the surface Artemis appears wholly different from The Martian – Muslim female vs. white male protagonist, working together vs. working (mostly) in isolation, big crime organization vs. big govt. organization — the two share a lot of the same DNA, for both good and ill. There’s a lot of sharp banter and internal quipping; a good amount of science, math, and engineering; both characters fix, jury-rig, or take apart a lot of machinery, often on the fly; there’s an urgent deadline or bad things will happen, and so forth. All of these are executed to varying degrees of success. If you loved The Martian, my guess is you’ll like Artemis, probably quite a bit. If, like me, you found Weir’s first book enjoyable but held back to just above middling thanks to its flaws, you’ll probably have the same criticisms here.

Jasmine is an engaging if not always likable (just the opposite on many occasions actually) character, and her voice is mostly fun to follow along with. But her character is marred by not really feeling like a 26-year-old Muslim (non-practicing) woman but more like a 19-year-old male version of one (maybe cutting down on her blowjob jokes would have helped ameliorate this). And she’s a bit too brilliant and handy, making it hard to feel any true concern when she ends up in a sticky situation.

Which she does. A lot. One of my criticisms of The Martian was the repetitive nature of the plot: crisis — “oh shit” explanation of just how bad it is — Math + Science + Tools + Handiwork — crisis solved —new crisis — repeat. The same pattern holds true here, and while individually the scenes are well done, the cumulative impact is that they start to pale and rob the later scenes of true suspense.

On the other hand, despite issues with Jasmine’s character and super-skill, I have to give props to Weir for stretching himself authorially, not just with gender and ethnicity, but also in the way he presents more of a dark/depressed side to Jasmine than we ever saw with Watney. Again, the execution is mixed, but her hardscrabble life, her estrangement from her father, her troubled love life and current isolation make her a richer character in lots of ways, and I would imagine this bodes well for his next work.

Beyond Jasmine, the other characters lack any real definition, serving more as necessary props to the action, sometimes in predictable fashion. The science is often interesting in itself (such as why coffee on the moon would be so bad), but often feels a bit clumsily inserted, and bogs the story down in too many spots. Similarly, Weir relies a bit too many times (or for too long at a time) on wholly expository scenes that also slow the pace. Finally, there were more than a few times where acts seemed just too implausible, beginning with Jasmine’s easy acceptance of the client’s proposal. As one more specific example, a hotel security guard explains that he didn’t chase someone because “He had a knife. Best to let him go.” This in a half-kilometer wide bubble in a city where two people were just brutally stabbed to death.

I breezed through Artemis in a single sitting, so despite the pacing issues it’s a fast read, and it’s certainly something I’d recommend to fans of The Martian. If you thought The Martian was just OK, I’d say you'd say the same here. But the film version on the other hand . . . .

Andy Weir the author of The Martian has just released his second novel, Artemis. This second book is not a continuation of The Martian. It is a standalone sci-fi crime novel.

As someone who enjoys mystery/thriller and also Sci-Fi, this book was a good blend of both worlds. The story takes place on the moon and deals with a young woman named Jazz. She is a delivery person who moonlights as a smuggler.

The plot involves her getting an offer from a regular smuggling customer to help with a shady business deal. She agrees but quickly her part of the plan goes sideways. Quickly she finds herself on the run from both the moon’s only cop and corporate hitmen. I don’t want to give any spoilers but there is more to the deal and the hitmen, you will just have to read it to find out.

Eventually to fix her problem she gets a group of friends together to help pull a scam. Her plan is very reminiscent of heist movies like Ocean’s Eleven.

The story has a good place. There is some decent world building without having heavy infodumps. There are also a number of action scenes each one building more risk to Jazz and her team.

My only complaint about this story was that Jazz seems like a YA character. Yet to appeal to older folks she has streaks of vulgarity and sexuality added. One moment she is just an insolent youth the next she is a foul-mouthed slut.

Overall I would recommend this Artemis to anyone looking for something to read. It has the right amounts of sci-fi, mixed with mystery and crime caper to keep the pages turning.

Solid sci-fi read. I enjoyed the setting of Artemis, a town on the moon. The author did a great job of making it feel real. As for characters, our protagonist Jazz was the only one we really got an in-depth feel for, which to me wasn't a negative since she was very entertaining. She definitely doesn't fit the mode of your typical heroine. In other words, she is bitchy, lazy, a criminal, and smart (feel like females really only get to be intellectually smart OR street smart-she's both- and she lacks emotional intelligence so yay getting past archetypes). Jazz definitely didn't set out to be the heroine either, her life goals are to smuggle, make money and be lazy. But when a heist Jazz is working on goes wrong, she finds that the alternative is even worse than her crime. She, and those she drags more or less unwillingly, make a plan to save Artemis to keep life the way it is in their little bubble. Definitely pick it up if you like sarcasm and action.

'Artemis' by Andy Weir is his follow up to 'The Martian.' I loved that book, and this one wasn't too bad either.

Jazz Bashara lives on the moon in a city named Artemis. The city is made up of a series of domes named after famous astronauts. There is a booming tourism business to visit the moon landing site nearby. But Jazz is struggling to make money. On the legal side, she is a courier. On the criminal side, she smuggles things in from Earth for citizens of Artemis, including a crazily wealthy client who likes his cigars. He proposes a job for Jazz that will make her a lot of money. If you think everything will go perfectly, you didn't read 'The Martian.'

Comparisons are inevitable. Mark Watney and Jazz Bashara are both wise-cracking protagonists who are also very good at solving problems. Mark does so with more discipline and rigor, Jazz, less so, but in both cases this is in keeping with her character. Mark is more of a loner by circumstance and choice, but Jazz has a whole group of friends, enemies, and former ex-lovers.

I loved 'The Martian' as well as the movie that was made from it. This book took me a bit longer to get in to. I really didn't care for Jazz's particular brand of coarse humor, and, I felt, it took away from the character. Still the book gets to a point where the narrative whips along and I found myself turning pages wondering what was going to happen. I wasn't disappointed.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Crown Publishing and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

First off, I enjoyed the story. Living on the moon, how cool would that be? From the sound of it, not much. Jazz Bashara, is a 26-year old smuggler. Living in a room the size of a coffin, she is struggling to make money so she can pay for a debt she feels she owes. When a wealthy businessman offers her an illegal job where she will make a million slugs, Jazz can't refuse. However, things don't go as planned.

I only recommend this book if you loved The Martian. I enjoyed the movie a lot more than the book. Everything I disliked in The Martian is tenfold in this book. Once again all the science knowledge bored me. But the worst part about this book was the protagonist herself, Jazz. She was so annoying! Half the time I thought she was 16 years old and I had to keep reminding myself that she is in her 20s. Mr. Weir needs a lesson on how a woman's mind really thinks.

I felt like I was reading a YA sci-fi book. This is my 2nd read from this author and I'm not sure I will read any more from him.

Thank you to Netgalley and Crown Publishing for the opportunity to read a copy of Andy Weir's "Artemis" in exchange for an honest review.

DNF. The premise is a good one but it's lacking the charm of The Martian and instead of Watney's humor we get Jazz's sophomoric humor that might appeal to a 12 year old boy. The book was full of eye-roll inducing "humor", to overly technical information that I cared nothing about (welding). In between, my intelligence was insulted by Jazz over-explainging everything in a sarcastic annoying way.

I applaud the author for choosing to make a female protagonist but why such an annoying skanky one as Jazz with the forced humor and cheesy dialogue?

* I received a copy of the book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

I really loved The Martian by Andy Weir, so I was really excited to give this one a go. It's not a bad book, but I did not enjoy it as much as The Martian. Jazz, as a character, is pretty great. She's super sarcastic and not always likable, but I find I'm enjoying reading unlikable characters more and more. She has very human flaws and I can appreciate that. However, at times, as a woman, I didn't find her to be realistic. I can't really put my finger on why, but there was some authenticity missing for me in her voice. Despite this, she's a decent narrator and I found myself laughing out loud, and I always appreciate made up words like kaboominess (and they are there).

At times, it also felt like the narrative was trying to do too much. There's the heist part of the story, but that really came into play much later in the book than I imagined it would. In the beginning, it's basically following Jazz around, getting to know her, and snippets of her past being dropped like breadcrumbs. As the story continues, you eventually get backstory about her and various other characters, but some of the reveals felt stilted and off kilter. It also irritated me the number of times other characters made cracks about Jazz's sex life and how many partners she apparently has. It just didn't feel quite right to me, and I didn't enjoy that aspect.

All of this does not mean that I absolutely hated the book, though. The setting of the first city on the moon was pretty awesome. It was really interesting to see how it was run and how a society has been built there. I don't think I would want to live there, but it was interesting nonetheless. The story was also enough to hold my interest. Some of the action sequences were hard for me to read and also simultaneously picture what was going on enough to fully understand what was happening, but I still wanted to know what happened in the end. I really liked the other characters in the book from a nerdy scientist to Jazz's father to her ex-best friend, and the addition of her pen pal on Earth was also quite fun. I could definitely see this being made into a movie, and I would probably watch it, if it was.

So, basically, if you liked The Martian, you may like this. You might not. I've seen a lot of mixed reviews on Goodreads, and I have pretty ambivalent feelings about it as well. Some choices didn't quite work for me, but that doesn't mean they won't work for you. If you like sci-fi and heist movies like Ocean's 11, you may also enjoy this.

This is a great sophmore attempt from Andy Weir. It had all the pace and excitement of The Martian with intrigue, mystery, and a great caper to match. The main character was likeable and the love interests were not too much. I actually am glad with who she ended up with. I gave this book 4 stars.

Primary review posted to youtube (see link)
Written review c/p from goodreads:

3.75 *

ARC received in exchange for an honest review. Review will be forthcoming.

I think the best word to describe this novel is to say it's a "romp." If you're looking for complex, insightful, though provoking scifi this isn't going to be that. But if you're in the mood for something fun to sweep you away in the action of what really is a moon heist, then I think Artemis could fit the bill.

I have no read The Martian (I know, I know, but I saw the movie and loved it, does that count?) so I can't comment on how this sophomore novel stacks up in comparison. That being said, I suspect it shares quite a few characters (lots of action in a very hollywood blockbuster vein, lots of shit goes wrong, lots of science, and a constantly quipping protagonist that you might love or hate. i personally didn't find it overly LOL, but i wasn't especially annoyed by the humor either).

Andy Weir really shines here whenever he's describing the moon colony he's envisioned or discussing aspects of, I can't believe i'm going to say this but, welding. Like, yes, there's a surprising amount of welding talk in this book and you know what? I wasn't bored reading about it. I really felt like Artemis was a real place could exist in the near future and is the sort of near future space colony i'd want to visit even though realistically I could never afford it (also something touched on frequently in the story). Overall it felt very grounded in reality even though the plot was effectively a hollywood space action story.

My biggest criticism would be the choppy writing style. And this is probably just Weir's style, but it doesn't actually feel especially purposeful or stylized...it just feels choppy. There's nothing especially artful about the writing (particularly the dialogue or passages that don't deal with the science aspects of the narrative), which means that this book probably won't stick long with me. But this brings me back to my original point, if you just want to be entertained and don't care for depth of craft or complexity of ideas then it should fit your bill.

I can't give it a 4-star rating, but overall I think it was a pretty solid 3.75 and i'll be curious to see what he writes next.

Like many of you, I was excited to read Weir’s new novel although skeptical of how it would hold up. There was a bit too much science for my liking causing the story to be a bit boring/dry in those parts. The characters, especially Jazz, were overly intelligent so that the reader could understand

the story. I felt more of this could have been done through narration.

However, the descriptive language and background enabled Weir to perfectly create a new world who’s existence doesn’t seem so far off from the present day – ultimately allowing the reader to more easily understand and relate to the comings and goings in what should be an otherwise alien place.

The excitement and pace of the novel made this a quick read from me. I repeatedly found myself wondering where Weir would take the storyline next. I loved how Weir was able to throw in economics with science and a heist story, a little something for everyone. Perhaps this will be another Hollywood Hit.

**I received my copy via Net Galley in exchange for a fair and honest review. Thank you to the author and publisher for this opportunity.**