Thank you Net Galley for the free ARC.

Yes, another great book from Andy Weir! This one takes place on the moon in the colony Artemis. The main character is Jazz, a porter and smuggler. Jazz gets an offer she can't refuse and gets tangled up in a plot to overtake Artemis. Good thing she has loyal customers and friends.

I received an ARC via Net Galley in exchange for an honest review. I loved The Martian, which I know Mr. Weir wrote over a long period of time, posting sections online, soliciting feedback and then making improvements. So when I heard the plot for this book, I almost did not request it out of fear that I would learn Mr. Weir was a one-hit wonder.

Well, I'm happy to say this book is very good. Think Ocean's Eleven, but in a moon city. There is quite a bit of science in the story, and it is key to the plot, but Artemis is not relentlessly about the hard science of the story like The Martian was. Instead, the story revolves around a 20-something named Jazz: a clever, funny profane rule breaker and smuggler who gets in over her head when her initial crime spirals out of control. There are a half-dozen other solid characters, all of whom are very funny, but the book works because of how likeable Jazz is. Recommended.

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for the privilege of reading the ARC of Artemis, by Andy Weir. What an exciting book! I couldn't put it down. Jasmine, known as Jazz, is an intelligent, no nonsense, spunky character. Jazz, a Saudi Arabian, moves to the moon city of Artemis with her father when she is six. Her life was on Artemis and she loves her city, but discovers that smuggling earned her more money than ordinary jobs. She became involved in trying to stop the people who want to take over her city and the action never stops! I loved this book.

Weir has done it again - captivated my attention absolutely and already has me contemplating the much-needed movie! The writing style was very similar to "The Martian," which I both liked and didn't like. I like how things that are "over my head" are described so I don't feel like a moron but also don't feel bogged down by the details. However, I didn't think the book needed all the cursing (felt the same way about "The Martian"). The story was lightning fast, adventurous, and kept me turning pages to see what happened next. As a layperson, I found the details about life on the moon exciting and plausible and wasn't concerned about getting bogged down with the reality of "is this really accurate." I felt the same way about "The Martian." Loved the condom invention and dialogue and appreciated the lack of resolution. Keep writing, Mr. Weir; I'm more than happy to keep reading.

What would it take to live on the moon in a domed city? "Artemis" gives you a lot of ideas as to how it might vary from your traditional earth life. From the physics of movement in an EVA suit to the chemistry of the life support systems, you can learn a lot of accurate science from this story of a smuggler.

Yes, a smuggler. A smuggler who moves certain classes of contraband and specialty items, earning significant profit when things go well. This person also has a legitimate job of parcel delivery, which helps cover up the smuggling.

The smuggler would like a better life than to live in a coffin sized sleep compartment with a bathroom down the hall. That better life can happen if there's a really big score. And then someone steps forward with that really big job and a really big score. That is, if somebody doesn't kill the smuggler first.

Crime is rare on the moon. The human community is small, and a lot of people know each other. It makes it trickier to get away with something. This time the stakes are high enough to make the game worthwhile.

Andy Weir, who blew me away with his first book- The Martian- returns once more to space. I was primed to like this book. Like his first book the action takes place off planet, this time on a lunar space station. All of the action, science, and suspense are here. But unlike The Martian, I felt disconnected from the main character. Though his character Jazz is resourceful, tough, and smart, I just did not connect with her. I felt the need for more character backstory in order to really appreciate the deeper motivation for her selfish and unethical behavior. Though this story is well written, I cared more about secondary characters and just found her annoying.

I enjoyed it, but I didn't think it was as good as The Martian. Andy Weir is clever, and he makes me laugh. I liked Artemis enough to keep an eye out for future books by this author.

I have been looking forward to this book since I heard about it because I loved The Martian so much. I was excited to get a copy of this early through Netgalley. Unfortunately my enthusiasm began to wane as soon as I started it. The last 2/3 of it are the strongest part of the book and even then I skimmed quite a bit. Andy Weir excels at making science fiction sound like science so this book is at it's best when our characters are putting their minds together and solving big problems in very detailed and technical ways. Andy Weir does not excel at writing from the perspective of a young woman so this book is at its weakest when we are in Jazz's head, hearing her thoughts or listening to her interact with other people on a personal level. She makes quite a few face-palm inducing statements. To me she feels more like a 16 year old boy than a 20-something woman. I did like the world that Weir created on the moon. Just like in The Martian, the tech involved feels very realistic. The political aspects of the day-to-day running of a lunar colony also feel very realistic. As much as I love to see female led books the fact that this is a female led book is ultimately its downfall for me, because in my opinion, Weir fails to write believably from the perspective of a woman.

Another great read from Andy Weir! I was very excited to get an advance reader copy of this, but I didn't love it as much as The Martian. This book was different from The Martian in setting, characters, and theme (the majority of the novel is centered around crime). Lots of science again, but it didn't take away from the novel for the most part. The book is mainly about Jazz, a 26 year old woman who lives on the moon. She has a side business of smuggling, is super smart, and has a foul mouth. She is offered a considerable amount of money for an offer she can't refuse and this is where things get crazy! The humor was great and I had a lot of laughs. The setting was well developed. It made living on the moon seem possible and fascinating. I didn't find Jazz as likable as Watney, but again different books and setting. The smuggling and heist were very interesting and I loved the ending.

Jazz is a petty criminal who gets caught up in a job that’s over her head, and she has to call in every favor she can just to stay alive. She’s funny and flawed, and above all, she’s determined not to be exiled from the moon–the only real home she’s ever known. I loved Jazz’s character and her motley collection of friends (and enemies).

The best words I can use to describe the plot of Artemis are MOON HEIST. That’s not totally accurate, but that’s certainly the feel I got from the story. Again, I’m no scientist, so I have no idea if the technical details of the plot make sense, but even if they don’t, the fast-paced plot kept me engaged the whole time. Who doesn’t want to read about a moon heist?

I loved so many things about this novel! I really loved the setting of Artemis, a town on the moon, and I loved all of the scientific detail. I found to story surprising, compelling, and satisfying – well worth the read. But, there were two major problems that continuously pulled me out of the action of this novel.

First, I absolutely could not stand Jazz’s voice. It was so painfully clear that she was a young female character being written by a man. Anytime she talked about sex (which was literally every time she interacted with a man), it was just so unrealistic that I couldn’t suspend my disbelief. One scene in particular sticks in my mind – when a friend finds Jazz wearing his shirt, she thinks “I was pretty sexy, I have to admit.” UM, NO.

The second thing that really bothered me was the way that the book was narrated. It was as if Jazz was speaking to the reader (sometimes), but there was no conceit to explain why. Was she writing her memoirs? Was she telling someone the story? There was never any satisfactory explanation for the way she would break that fourth wall and speak to the reader sometimes. Honestly, it felt lazy – as if the only way to explain what was happening was to have Jazz break from the action and explain something. The thing is, The Martian had that conversational, sarcastic, self-aware tone because the main character was writing in a diary or communicating with Earth. It made sense. It doesn’t in this novel.

Aside from those two major issues, I really did enjoy this book! If you’re really annoyed by badly written female characters, this may not be for you. But, if you enjoyed The Martian and you can suspend your frustration with Jazz sometimes, you may still really enjoy it.

Now, how do we convince male authors who are writing female characters that they need to have lots of women offer very critical feedback?

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an advance copy of this novel!

Enjoyed this book. I will recommend recommend this title through Readers’ Advisory, book clubs, events, etc. My library is likely to purchase a copy.

Jazz Bashara is always on the lookout for the big payoff. Fiercely intelligence with an excess of snark, enough charm to get by, and a fluid definition of right and wrong, she is determined to make life on Artemis- the only city on the moon- work for her. When she is given a chance to get in on a once in a lifetime con, she eagerly gets on board despite the dangers involved. Inevitably, the job goes south and Jazz must rely on her wits, her friends, and a little luck, to get herself out of trouble- and possibly save the entire colony of Artemis.
While more of a heist caper than a survival story, Artemis is a worthy follow up to the meticulously researched and engagingly entertaining The Martian. Readers will be quite thrilled with Weir's latest out of this world read.

I loved, loved, loved The Martian. I recommended it to many people, and actually bought 6 copies to give as gifts. When I heard Andy Weir had a new book, I was so excited. Sadly, Artemis is not in the same league as his first book. It did still contain his unique sense of humor, however, it seemed crude and crass in this new book.
The plot was simply OK. It did not hold the "life or death" scenario in The Martian.
Please Andy, get back to work and give us another fantastic book. Artemis was not it.

This is a really interesting book about day-to-day life on the Moon, well after colonization is established and the scary threat of being deported to Earth, an essential death sentence, if you don't totally conform.

This is an excellent book with an interesting story, great characters, and I loved the ending. My only complaint is that I didn't want it to end!

Let’s just get this out of the way: this is not The Martian. I think there are many people who are going to go into this book and will have The Martian on their minds — understandable, but ultimately unfair to this novel. This is not a one-man survival show, and the only thing that Jazz Bashara and Mark Watney have in common is their penchant for sarcasm. I completely approve of this, by the way.

What I find most interesting about this story is that characters’ specific cultural origins are explicitly stated in the narrative. I state that only because I found the very lack of such information (for the most part) an interesting aspect of The Martian. It made visualizing the characters physically almost unnecessary: they could, again for the most part, be any race, religion, origin in my own head — in anyone’s head — and that’s that. Having that grounding in Artemis is a different experience, but also an interesting one, especially as it plays into the personal mores of each character.

Jazz is a rip of a protagonist — I loved her sass and her frankness in dealing with people. She uses her sharp tongue both as weapon and armour, and is a right proper rogue. I liked her a lot, as you can probably guess. Her host of fellow characters are just as colorful and interesting, which makes this book nothing short of good fun.

Where it stumbles a little for me is in the plot. The mystery is good, but it feels…incomplete. A little unsatisfying. Perhaps it is the brevity of the novel, and while that certainly keeps the pacing snappy, it leaves me feeling wanting, as if some parts are missing. Perhaps this is a result of having read an uncorrected proof and not the finished copy, but perhaps just some more details about the world of the moon base, about the corporations involved — more than just the information we receive at the end.

Nevertheless, Artemis is a fun ride, because Weir has a unique ability to make science fiction feel a little less like fiction, and I chalk that up to what I’m sure is a good deal of research.

I wasn't able to get very far before I had to stop, unfortunately. I think that my quibbles, though, are likely things that many readers won't care about; for one, I think that Weir excels at writing white men like in The Martian, but here I didn't care for how he wrote the female and child narratives. I also find myself distracted by the amount of exposition and some kind of wonky things going on with the tenses. Example: "life support is one of the few places in town that has genuine security protocols. You don't want just anyone wandering in. The door had a panel you could wave your gizmo over, but of course I want on the approved list."

Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara was born on Earth in Saudi Arabia, but has spent most of her life, from age six, on the Moon. After a falling out with her Dad, Jazz moves around and make a "living" as a porter. With her side "job" as a smuggler she earns a enough for her own place.

Jazz has a lot of ups and downs in her life. She is always looking for ways to make her life better. This always gets her into more trouble as she moves from one scheme to another. She finally thinks she has made it with one final scheme.

Jazz is a smart, funny, and sassy woman. She has an attitude that is, at times, hard to look past. In the end you'll find yourself cheering her on.

A good blend of science, humor, and adventure. This is a quick read with something for everyone.