What could Andy Weir do to follow-up on his great first book and the movie that followed; he wrote Artemis. Set on the moon, it provides a glimpse of what living on the moon and how the earth has changed after less than 100 years. An entertaining book, cool story, and some interesting characters. Whoever provided the technical information did a nice job and it’s a book that will appeal to all ages.

ARTEMIS (2017)
By Andy Weir
Crown, 320 pages.
★★★

The Martian, Andy Weir's debut novel, was a smashing success. His follow-up, Artemis, is too good to be called a sophomore slump, but it's at best a mixed bag. Fans of nerdy science will find plenty to contemplate, the literature side of it yaws more toward Dan Brown than to Ursula K. LeGuin or Robert Heinlein.

It is set in the near future in Artemis, a small city of 2,000 clustered in five bio bubbles on the Moon (Armstrong, Aldrin, Conrad, Bean, Shepard) that has solved the problem of producing enough oxygen to keep everyone inside alive. Artemis is run by the Kenyan Space Corporation (KSC) and headed by Administrator Fidelis Ngugi, the woman who figured out how to make Kenya a leader in the space program. She is one of the many politically correct boxes Weir ticks off; there are also gay characters, Latinos, Scandinavians, a hunky Ukrainian researcher, Brazilian and Chinese baddies, our protagonist, Jasmine ("Jazz") Bashara, is of Saudi extraction, and her welder father, Ammar is a devout Muslim for whom Jazz is a disappointment. Jazz, aged 27, has lived on the Moon since she was six and considers herself an Artemisian. She's certainly not a good Muslim; she's a hard drinker, sleeps around, and walks on the razor's edge. Her biggest fear is that head of security Rudy DuBois will someday bust her small-scale smuggling operation and deport her back to Earth.

Artemis is like a big extended village, but it's not a utopia—more like Deep Space Nine set on the lunar surface and stripped of its aliens. Lots of Earth stuff is conveniently ignored: the legal drinking age, corporate monopolies, petty crime, casual sexual relations, etc. Only its wealthiest members get to eat anything other than Gunk, flavored algae, and everyone is in one way or another in thrall to KSC as the Artemisian currency, slugs, is credit from the KSC. (It's shorthand for soft-landed grams and each one is pegged to a gram of Earth cargo.) Still, tourists fly to the moon to gawk and bounce around on the surface in "hamster bubbles," and many of residents such as Jazz prefer its Mild West vibe of drinking, hookups, cussing, libertarian values, and improvised ways of making a living.

Jazz, however, wouldn't mind having a bigger living space, and that sucks her into a Get Slugs Quick scheme from a regular smuggling customer, the ridiculously rich Tron Landvik. All she has to do is slip outside the city and destroy four mineral harvesters belonging to the Sanchez Aluminum Company. As such things go, Tron's stated reason for wanting them taken down isn't his real reason. Let the caper begin. It will involve murder, a crime syndicate, geeky technology, double-dealing, hair-raising danger, an unlikely set of partnerships, and beat-the-clock scenarios.

How you'll feel about all of this takes me back to my Dan Brown analogy. Do you buy into computer-like minds that are able to do the science, overcome physical threats, and concoct improvised solutions in a parsec, or does it stretch your credulity? I can't assess Weir's science—my Ph.D. is in history, not STEM—but his solutions at least sounded logical to my right-brained thinking. His human responses, however, often rang false. To me, this novel has Hollywood thriller written all over it. Its central drama is pretty much the template for such projects, especially the put-aside-existing-prejudices-for-the-good-of-all setup.

Mind, I have no objection if Artemis becomes a good Hollywood thriller, though somehow I doubt it has the capacity to match the gravitas of Blade Runner or even The Martian. Artemis is a decent read and bad girl Jazz will grow on you as she evolves. Ultimately, though, Artemis is a pretty standard thriller dressed in enough respectable scientific garb to make it appear weighty in a setting with 16% of Earth's gravity. But, hey, I like Dan Brown.

Rob Weir*

*Note: Though we bear the same last name, to my knowledge I am in no way related to Andy Weir.

At first I thought this book would be like any other syfy. Boy was I wrong! The characters are lifelike, and the plot is realistic and uncomplicated. The heroine, Jazz, is like many woman: complicated, has issues, and flawed. However, she has many redeeming qualities: self serving but selfless, loyal, loving and quirky, smart but ingnorant, honest with herself and those around her. She is the friend who tells it like it is, gets into trouble constantly and you find yourself along for the ride. The supporting characters were also well crafted and show depth of character. The descriptions are so thorough that you are transported into the environment and can practically see the scenario unfold around you.
The plot was well thought out and written. The book keeps you interested from beginning to end, then has you wanting to find out after it has ended. I would love to read a sequel!

Artemis is a fun story with diverse and unusual characters. I'm less enthusiastic about the reckless, sexually driven female trope than I used to be - but I did enjoy Jazz Bashara at the helm of this story. At least she was complex! But unlike Weir's expertly rendered Martian, his newest novel felt too heavy handed with the technical details. I drowned a little in the complex science.

A fun read with a spirited female lead character. What will the first moon colony be like? How will permanent residents make a living? How will tourists and residents interact? How will income impact living conditions? Okay, forget the economics that play in the background and enjoy the story of Jazz Bashara, a brilliant and savvy young woman who is just trying to make a living as a porter, with a few shady, well, criminal side pursuits, who gets caught up in something way bigger than she ever intended.

I love the premise of a community on the moon, and think this is a fast read. Jazz is entertaining but a little hard to like. I like the science of the moon and the dust and rocks and EVAs, great engaging detail. But sometimes it was too jam-packed with research and not enough action. I enjoyed it, but not as much as The Martian.

I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

When I heard Andy Weir had a new book coming out, I couldn’t wait to read it because, like pretty much everyone else, I thoroughly loved The Martian. Artemis is not The Martian so I don’t want to compare them.
Pros:
I enjoyed the humor in this book, lots of sarcasm and snark, quite a few grins and laugh out loud moments too. I did enjoy the relationships as well, this book showed how relationships can get messed up easily and are much harder to mend. I also enjoyed all the problem solving we saw and how science works to solve a lot of these issues. It was interesting to see HOW people could live on the moon, not just saying on the first page “I live on the moon somehow, don’t ask me…science or something”. We really got to see all the issues that have to be dealt with in order for humans to live on the moon in reality.
Cons:
I feel like the characters, even the main one, could have delved a little deeper. Some were a little flat for me and I could have used a little more insight and motivation for these characters. Also, as much as I feel the author “dumbed down” most of the science and physics for the layperson, like myself, I still got slightly glassed over eyes now and then. It wasn’t too distracting, I just tried really hard to understand or just kept going with the plot.
To me, Artemis is a good book about solving problems, from small ones, to life-threatening ones, to relationship-threatening ones. What I took from this book is that any problem can be solved, you just have to look for the solution.
*3.5 Stars*

Having read Weir's The Martian a few years ago (much like everyone else 😀), I was really looking forward to his next book.  After a hugely successful debut, a lot of times readers can be disappointed when a follow up is different than the book that introduced them to the author.  Artemis is different than The Martian, but I think a lot of the most charming "Weir-y" things from The Martian are still there. 

Artemis is about a smuggler with a heart of gold, Jazz (Jasmine) Bashara.  She is intelligent, intuitive, scrappy, but (as most people will tell her), she has not lived up to her potential.  The action takes place on the moon colony - the eponymous Artemis, which has a tourist attraction at the original moon landing site, a small city with different domes (neighborhoods) which correspond well to the right and wrong sides of the proverbial tracks.  Finally, there is a smelting and iron ore operation, which provides power and oxygen to the city and the landing site.  

Jazz seems to enjoy her "work" as a smuggler.  She's a complete sponge for knowledge of any type even if she doesn't notice or care about it.  When she is asked with breaking into the smelting works and destroying their machines, she comes up with a rather elaborate and scientifically intelligent plan to do so.  When that goes a bit wrong, she has to gather an Ocean's 11 rag tag team of people to finish the job and save the colony.  

Artemis is a fun spacey adventure like The Martian, but I think the points of interest that will bring Martian lovers over are the science and the intelligent scrappy heroine.  Jazz has had some hard times and is working towards a mysterious goal.  I really think readers will find in her someone they can relate to in some ways and admire in others.  

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I liked the premise of a heist on Mars involving science. But the characters, especially Jazz, felt stilted and awkward at times. Jazz just didn't read like a women in her 20s. It just felt unnatural which dampened my enjoyment of the novel.

Good read, but not quite what I was expecting. I liked the character Jazz, but there was a lot of filler in the story about the science behind everything so that made it hard to get through for me.

Favorite quote:
“It’s all part of the life-cycle of an economy. First it’s lawless capitalism until that starts to impede growth. Next comes regulation, law enforcement, and taxes. After that: public benefits and entitlements. Then, finally, overexpenditure and collapse.”“Wait. Collapse?”“Yes, collapse. An economy is a living thing. It’s born full of vitality and dies once it’s rigid and worn out. Then, through necessity, people break into smaller economic groups and the cycle begins anew, but with more economies. Baby economies, like Artemis is right now.”“Huh,” I said. “And if you want to make babies, somebody’s got to get fucked.”

Artemis by Andy Weir Is another out of this world read! This novel takes place on the moon and features the main character of Jazz. Jazz is a bit of a rebel. She operates a smuggling operation with the aid of her long time pen pal who lives in Kenya. Jazz is asked to mess with some important moon equipment in exchange for a large sum of money. This is where her troubles begin. Jazz sets off a chain reaction of events that will put not only her life in danger but also the lives of the 2000 citizens of Artemis. This tale concludes with a riveting ending that will have you up reading all night in order to see what Jazz's fate is. Read and enjoy!

I expected great things of Artemis, having thoroughly enjoyed The Martian. I was ready for space moon adventures, with a colorful supporting cast, and a new, plucky, heroine! I was looking forward to Andy Weir giving Jazz, our protagonist, a refreshingly unique voice as he had done for Mark Watney in The Martian! And, course, I was ready for more science! Oh the potential, the expectations!

And yet, here I am, trying to think of something better to say than “Well, it had an interesting premise”.

Jazz Bashara, a genius who hates to apply herself and despises the “but you have such potential” hang wringing from all of the adults in her life, is supposed to be a 26 year old woman, but is written like a petulant, tween-aged boy. On one hand, she’s a small-time smuggler, looking to make ends meet in the baby economy of Artemis, the lunar city; on the other hand, she’s secretly running the entire smuggling business from Earth to the moon with the help of her childhood pen-pal. She’s such a genius that she can learn complex engineering and chemistry in an afternoon, but it’s heavily implied that she refuses to apply herself either because she’s too busy seducing anything that moves or because she’s still heartbroken when the love of her life turned out to be gay.

Spare me.

Nor can the other characters save this novel; although the ensemble cast is diverse, each one feels like a cardboard cutout only meant to interact with Jazz at key moments. They are plot devices, not people, who show up to lecture Jazz (and by extension, the reader) about what’s happening now, serving as exposition, and telling, rather than showing.

The science at the heist itself was definitely entertaining, and as I did with The Martian, I enjoyed Weir’s more detailed glimpse into the details of why everything worked (or didn’t). And while that was certainly a small saving grace, it couldn’t carry the weight of the whole novel, even in moon gravity.

(I’m sorry I felt compelled to include that joke.)

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I found the plot to move quickly, and it sucked you in from the very beginning. I loved how much science (although I have no idea whether any of it was correct or not) was woven into the plot. The only thing that came to annoy me (and the reasoning for a 4 star, rather than a 5 star review, was that the main character's voice started to annoy me by the end of the book. Because she and her thoughts drove so much of the plot, it felt like there was never any change, and her voice was very distinctive and very strong. I can imagine that it will turn some readers off from the book.

Before I started reading this book I snuck a peek at some of the reviews on Amazon. Of course there were negative reviews and so I thought, hmmm should I or shouldn't I read this. I did read The Martian (Loved it!!) and that alone convinced me to read this book. I really enjoyed reading this book, sometimes the main characters inner language bugged me, a bit too snarky for my taste. Other reviewers have commented on the plausibility of some of the events that take place, and I say "who cares". Read the book for the poor enjoyment of reading a fun read, that takes you to the moon, keeps you on edge with a cast of colorful characters. I recommend this book.

I really wanted to like this book. The premise is awesome, and I loved The Martian. But something about this book was just off. The science facts were still cool and intriguing, but it felt like the snarky humor I enjoyed in The Martian was missing in Artemis. And while I love that Jazz has a lot of technical and scientific know-how, the way she talks and thinks felt more like a teenage boy than a woman in her 20's and was really off-putting.

The actual plot was intriguing not just because of the action but also because of the politics moving behind the scenes. Weir clearly can world-build and seems to have considered many of the day-to-day problems living on the moon would entail. And the pacing and surprises were great. I just wish Jazz had been written as the adult she was supposed to be.

Another winner by Andy Weir. There was plenty of sharp, witty dialogue as well as a suspenseful plotline. One point deduction for the scientific jargon that I found myself skimming through. Otherwise, a very enjoyable read that I highly recommend.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC!

Artemis is a fun romp from the author of the bestselling novel The Martian. Weir’s book is dedicated to the Apollo astronauts who flew to the moon but didn’t get to land and walk on it, a nice touch.

The world building is good. I totally believed in a city on the moon. There are a number of ambiguous characters, neither good nor bad. The science seemed real enough to this non-scientist. I liked how currency worked on the moon and also how justice for minor infractions was handled by former Canadian Mountie Rudy. I’m not a big map person but the maps at the front of the book helped me visualize the layout of Artemis.

Weir has a way with words: “If my neighborhood were wine, connoisseurs would describe it as ‘shitty, with overtones of failure and poor life decisions.’” (p. 5 of the advance reader copy)

Although I’m sure I didn’t get them all, I enjoyed the references to pop culture (e.g., "Don't get me wrong, this wasn't the farthest I'd been from the Shire or anything....But this was the farthest I'd ever been from safety." (p. 102 of the ARC).

Artemis is not a perfect book. I kept forgetting the narrator was a woman; I don’t think Weir quite nailed a female inner voice. Although I applaud his attempt to add diversity to science fiction, Jazz also didn’t seem credibly Saudi Arabian. She acted and talked like a snarky American. (Although, who knows, maybe we’ll all think and talk like that in the future when we have a city on the moon.)

Jazz is on the run at one point and dresses up like a prostitute, which seemed like a clichéd choice. Also, there is romantic/sexual tension with a number of different men, and yet she is hung up on the gay ex-boyfriend who left her for another man.

The book was slow starting as Weir did his world building but once the action started it really drew me in. The biggest issue for me was probably the amount of science. I totally believed that scientist Mark Watney knew all the stuff he knew in The Martian, but Jazz is a porter and smuggler. Although several characters comment on how she has so much potential and could be doing more with her life, I had a hard time believing she understood all the complicated science that comes in to play by the end.

So, I can’t say Artemis is as good as The Martian, but it’s an enjoyable science fiction read if you think you’d enjoy a story about a slightly implausible adventure that contains a lot of detailed factual information about staying alive in a city on the moon.

I read an advance reader copy of Artemis. It is scheduled to be published in mid-November. It will be available at the Galesburg Public Library in print, as an audiobook, and as an ebook.

What a fantastic book! I tore through it in just 2 days. Andy Weir tells a story chocked full of science but makes it so fun that you can't even tell. The book makes me want to pack up and take a ride on the next shuttle out to the moon. I absolutely loved Jazz and friends and foes. This is a must read for anyone who loves a great sci-fi novel.

While the characters felt very weak, the story and the science behind it were very enjoyable and it was a quick read that kept me involved. I look forward to the audio version coming out as I feel that a narrator might help give more life and likability to the characters that fell flat in print for me, particularly the main character.

Enjoyed this more than The Martian. The story was way more engaging and the characters were more interesting to me than those in The Martian.

This is pretty much a caper novel set on the moon in a lunar city. The lead character, Jazz, is smart, funny, subversive, and a bit cheeky. Personally I enjoyed getting to know Jazz's character and Weir handles writing a young woman pretty well.

The book itself is a fast paced ride. Once the story gets going and the caper begins, everything moves quickly. There are quite a few surprise turns of event after which I found myself thinking "How will they get themselves out of this one??" but Weir makes it work. There is quite a bit of welding information in this book. For readers who aren't familiar with welding Weir does a good job of explaining most things. For those that are familiar with welding, you may be annoyed by the neverending explanations of welding terms. Can't please everyone.


I couldn't put this book down and I look forward to reading more about Artemis.