Artemis by Andy Weir is the story of the struggle for control of the first lunar city and how a young smuggler got caught up in the deadly fray. There is lots of action and a main character I loved but would get so exasperated with. I have to give lots of kudos to Mr. Weir for another great story.

Jasmine, aka Jazz, immigrated to the moon with her father when she was just six years old. She is a bright young woman but suffers from poor life choices. She currently works as a porter, though she could have chosen almost any career path given her intelligence. Being a porter allows her to smuggle in contraband from Earth with the help of her friend Kelvin. But Jazz has standards, no guns or drugs, just a few harmless items to make a bit of extra cash on the side. A girl has to make a living. Right?

When one of her regular clients offers her a chance to make one million slugs (moon currency), Jazz sees it as the opportunity to finally get out of poverty. So what if she has to move up in the criminal world from smuggler to saboteur. No problem, for a resourceful girl like her. What could go wrong? Everything of course, and she ends up unwittingly messing in the mob’s territory and the stakes are high and the consequences far reaching.

There is a lot to like about this book. My favorite aspect was the main character of Jazz. For someone so brilliant, she could be so stupid and arrogant about… well most everything. I wanted to reach into the book and just slap her sometimes and tell her to grow up and put her big girl panties on. It is always a good thing when I get this invested with the character(s). Also, the plot was well thought out and the action and twists kept the reader full engaged with the story.

I was expecting a more science oriented story, given Mr. Weir’s reputation, and there is a fair amount of science in the book but not overly so. Since the story is not hard core Science Fiction, I think it will appeal to not only to sci-fi fans but fans of young adult and general fiction readers.

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

Thanks to the publisher for an advance reader's copy.

Artemis isn't nearly as compelling as The Martian, but what could be? It lacks the cinematic plot and high stakes that made The Martian so riveting, but it's still an enjoyable caper with plenty Andy Weir's signature tone. His greatest talent is packing a book full of hard science while still maintaining clarity for those of us who couldn't care less. I'm left in awe every time!

Now female characters...not so much. I'm not sure that making Jazz a woman really added anything to the book. The same character could easily have been male and hardly anything would have changed, which is a shame. I appreciate that he's trying to not only write about white men, but it seemed strange that he thanks several women for helping him write a plausible female character when so many of the times her sex is pointed out felt clunky and forced.

Do not expect another "The Martian" in this new title by Andy Weir. In "Artemis" he takes a stab at redemption and introducing a female protagonist. That on top attempting to make his story more"accessible" (i.e. less science-y) results in an enjoyable yet somewhat disappointing read.

To be fair, any follow-up to a successful debut title will suffer some comparison let down, but the biggest success of his first book was the main protagonist; Mike Watney was a solid character that every reader rooted for. In "Artemis", Jazz's motivations were completely predictable and while, as a female reader, I appreciate Weir's attempt at writing a female character, she rang a tad false. Why the author seemed to believe that readers needed, what I found, unnecessary reminders that Jazz is female a bit off-putting. The scenes of her getting "hot and bothered" around the station Security Chief and comments about her perceived sexual promiscuity were eye-roll inducing and perhaps revealed more about the author than the protagonist. At least he made her smart.

The lunar escapades were what saved this title for me. The tasks that had to be accomplished while in a vacuum, micro gravity, and by someone with less than professional experience resulted in rather hilarious hijinks. This is where Weir's strengths are; illuminating the human experience in an environment seemingly designed to murder them. That's what I wanted more of and sadly did not get enough to satisfy.

Overall: Recommended with reservations.

This was an ARC given to me for free by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. The fact that this was free, did not make me like it more or less. Hell, I mean, the last free book I got I hated, and felt like I wasted my time with. But, this book is a lot of fun, and I strongly recommend it.

First off, I would like to say that, I didn’t like The Martian. I felt The Martian was a good story, and it made a fantastic film, but I didn’t like the way the book was written or characterized. I also found parts of the plot for The Martian to make me suspend my disbelief too much. That being said, it is still a good story, and I’ve been waiting for Weir to return. When Weir announced Artemis, I was excied. A moon city with moon crimes, count me in! Let me tell you, this is a fantastic book.

The less known about the plot of this novel, the better. Let me say, it follows a snarky smuggler named Jazz who helps gets contraband on the moon and sells it to try to make a profit. One day, shes offered a job that pays so much money, she can’t refuse. This book is a fun page turner. Weir was able to write a great sci fi thriller, make it believable, give us characters to root for, and conclude everything really well. It feels weird to say, but this is one of the best sci-fi thrillers I’ve read in years. Weir has a great sense of pacing and kept me glued to the page until I finished. Did I mention the pacing? Yes? Well, it’s fantastic, this book flows so well, it’s like I’m reading a hard sci-fi Don Winslow book. It’s wonderfully paced, but not as political or violent as a Winslow book, maybe that’s a bard comparison, but it’s true when it comes to the pacing.

The only thing that kinda irked me about the book is the ending which I won’t spoil. It fits, but it just didn’t jive right with me. Another thing that really irked me, which I don’t want being taken the wrong way. I love representation in literature. I just don’t want to read about straight white dudes, doing straight white dude things, and Weir creates this great multi-cultural moon colony with a fantastic Saudi main character who isn’t a practicing Muslim, but comes from a Muslim family. Many other characters in the book as well, Brazilians, Kenyans, Chinese, all wonderfully represented. Then there’s one character who’s sexuality comes into the conversation, a lot. Almost every scene with that character, they mention the sexuality. I found it to be a bit overkill, and more harmful than helpful. In the end, it was kind of humorous, but it still got under my skin and irked me a little bit.

That being said, this is a fun sci-fi thriller, and I can’t wait for the movie to come out.

4/5
Observations: Don’t fuck with Mounties.

Great characters, interesting plot, cool science going on, lots of humor. I will definitely be recommending this at my library.

I had a love-hate relationship with Jazz. Her motivations just didn't make complete sense to me sometimes, so it was hard to get a handle on her. I love that she's strong and wicked smart, but her reasons for her actions didn't always jive with me.

My biggest beef with the book was the technical info. It really gets bogged down in details about welding and mechanics. I understand some readers might love it, but I need a mix of visual and written instruction for that stuff, otherwise I'm lost. If that element weren't so heavy, I think I would have enjoyed this more.

I do also feel that while the last quarter has some great action, the beginning plods along and not much happens. I'm glad I read it, but this totally feels like a movie, so I wonder if Weir was writing with that in mind.

An ARC was provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. *Thank you so much!*

Let me start with this: I do recommend, and it's nothing like The Martian (which I LOVED!! FYI). It's got comedy, murder, smuggling, and lots of sciency geek speek, lol. I enjoyed the female protagonist, and all the side characters too.

Brief (I hope) synopsis of the book.
Jazz lives on the moon and has since she was 6.


When I moved here I was six years old - that was the minimum age for residency back then. Since then they've bumped it up to twelve. Should I be worried?

(I think I snorted when I read that line. :) )

She makes a living as a smuggler and thru this met billionaire Trond Landvik. Long story short, Trond outlines his plans for world moon domination and offers Jazz an opportunity to make some money.


"I'm sorry, but this isn't my thing," [Jazz] said. "You'll have to find someone else."
"I'll give you a million slugs."
"Deal."

She is clearly a business savvy smuggler. ;)

The nefarious plan (in a nutshell) is for Jazz to break the "dump trucks" that bring moon rocks to a smelter which as a by-product create oxygen which is then used to provide breathable air on the moon. The reason Trond wants Jazz to do this is so he can then take over the contract (there are reasons, which you will learn when you read the book way beyond this point. But it's related to something called ZAFO.).
"What's ZAFO?"
"Suck a dick!"

Unfortunately Jazz's plan doesn't go according to plan and her once clandestine mission is discovered and she needs to figure out how to finish the job. Incomplete job=no money. BUT!! As she is working on a plan, she discovers something.


I walked up to the Landvik estate's main entrance and rang the chime. No answer. Huh. That was odd. .... That's when I noticed the damage to the door. ... I pushed open the door and peeked into the foyer. No sign of Irina or Trond. A decorative vase lay on the ground...a splash of bright-red blood on the wall-
"Nope!" I said.
I spun on my heel and stormed back into the hallway. "Nope, nope, nope!"

(ahahahaha!!!)

So now Jazz has to find and stop a killer (because they are after her too).


"Goddammit!" I yelled to him. "Will you stop whining about your problems during my murder?!"

Thankfully Jazz has some friends (and father) she can rely on to help her end the whole drama once and for all.


I hopped off the roof and landed next to him.
"You shouldn't jump down that far," he said.
"You shouldn't fuck other people's boyfriends."
"Oh, come on!"
"I could get used to this new relationship we have."

(OMG, I find this whole relationship dynamic soooo hilarious! :-D )

Many shenanigans follow.


Crashing your pressure vessel into things is bad. It can lead to unscheduled dying.

(Bahahahahaha!!!!)

Of course things don't go according to plan - again.

This whole deal centers around Sanchez Aluminum, and Loretta Sanchez is the CEO and founder. When Jazz goes forth and starts her destruction, Loretta doesn't leave for safety, and instead stays to inspect the problem Jazz creates. Loretta isn't prepared to leave her smelter (it melts the rock which produces the oxygen).


"A smelter I poured my life and soul into, which you just destroyed, you reckless puddle of exudate!"
"Don't think I won't look that up!"

Jazz is a sarcastic and SMART woman who could have been a very successful (legal) businesswoman on Artemis. But through life choices she ended up being a smuggler instead and despite all she did (I left out A LOT!!! And it's a doozy of a thing, trust me - it's good), she isn't deported from the moon (she finagles a way to stay on the moon). Let's just say those million slugs she was promised to create all this havoc? She doesn't exactly get to keep it. :)

I thoroughly enjoyed Artemis and found it to be very entertaining. As I said before, it's not like The Martian, but it is certainly well written, and Weir's comedic talent is fully present. I didn't laugh as much as I did with The Martian, but I did laugh. The world building is amazing,


[Ngugi] made sure Kenya enacted special tax breaks and laws just for the new megacorporation. What's that you say? Favoring a single company with special laws isn't fair? Tell that to the East India Tea Company. This is global economics, not kindergarten.

and I felt I knew everything there was to know about living on the moon (the good and the bad - which I pray isn't what happens when the human race decides to be stupid and live on the moon). The science speak is definitely present in this book, which I will admit to skimming because I am soooo not a science person, but I read enough to know that Jazz is one smart cookie who is wasting her talents as a smuggler.

There is murder in the story, which is a shame, but it proves necessary to move the story along to the next point. I loved how Jazz didn't go into the house like the stupid heroines of horror movies. Clearly she watched YouTube and found "horror movies for smart people." ;) Yep, that is totally a thing - look it up.

Overall I do recommend you read this. Especially if you are already a fan of Andy Weir.

4 stars

And I leave you with something that should (I hope) make you smile.

"Is that a condom?"
"Yes!" he said proudly. "My latest invention."
"The Chinese beat you by seven centuries."
"This is not your everyday condom!"
"Why would anyone buy this?"
He grinned. "It's reusable."
"Are you shitting me?"
"Not at all!" ... "After each use, you turn the condom inside-out and put it on the cylinder-"
"Ew."
"Then you turn on the cleaner."
*
"I'm not looking for investors. I need someone to test it."
"And you think I've got the dick for the job?"
He rolled his eyes. "I need to know how it feels for the woman."
"I'm not having sex with you."
"No, no!" He winced. "I just want you to use it the next time you have sex. Then tell me how it affected your experience."
*
"I need data from a woman who is having sex for fun. The woman has to be sexually experienced, which you definitely are-"
"Careful..."
"And likely to have sex in the near future. Which, again-"
"Choose your next words wisely."
*
"Did you get a chance to use the condom?"
"It's been twenty-four hours! What kind of sex life do you think I have?"
*
"Did you get a chance to test the condom?"
"No, I haven't had sex in the two days since you gave me the condom."
*
"Hey, did you try out the condom yet?"
"Goddammit, Svoboda!" I said.
"What? I'm waiting for feedback here."
I threw up my hands and walked away.

Cheers!!

After thoroughly enjoying "The Martian", I looked forward to Weir's next book. Again, he writes a good science infused adventure....but I really felt like it read more as a YA genre.... maybe because of the attitude described of the main character, maybe due to the 'penpal like letters', or just the youthful description...... It was a good, quick read....offered an interesting window into that 'future'?! I do/did like all the scientific explanations/offerings. I'll look forward to his next offering too! It was good enough!
I did receive this e-galley free from NetGalley, in return for my own fair & honest review. All opinions offered are my own.

I'll definitely keep reading Weir.

_Artemis_ is not a rehash of _The Martian_, and it shouldn't be.. It does, however, use Weir's formula of a not-to-distant future, with well thought out, detailed, and believable technology. It doesn't require buying into a 'Weirverse' where "This ain't your familiar world," and we have to accept whatever deus ex machina solutions the author throws at us.. We understand these people and their culture. And we don't have to suspend disbelief to accept their technology.

Two weaknesses: First, _Martian_ entailed a long series of life-threatening situations and clever technological solutions, which were believable and what that story demanded. _Artemis_ uses and somewhat overuses the same formula: there have to be repeated life-or-death situations; the heroine has to come up with a brilliant techno-solution each time; all saves and rescues have to be accomplished at the last second. We even get a diminutive female heroine with no apparent self-defense training, able to repeatedly overcome attacks by a professional killer. In other words, it devolves somewhat into a trite, predictable thriller.

Second, Jazz's endless snarky responses grow tiresome. And they are the snark of 2017. The smart-assery of 50 or 100 years ago was different, and it will be different 50 or 100 years from now. She is a snotty smart-ass from a 2010s sitcom. It grates a bit, like characters in a Disney fantasy animation talking like today's teenagers.

But read it. And read the next Andy Weir book.

Andy Weir has another winner on his hands. It's quite different from his first book, The Martian, but every bit as enjoyable. Once again there's a fun mixture of comedy, drama, adventure, and science., and once again it's presented in first-person-- this time by a 26 year-old woman.. Artemis doesn't concentrate on the science as much as The Martian did, plus there are a lot more characters who interact with the heroine, so it's probably much more accessible. I'll be recommending this book to everyone.

Artemis

by Andy Weir

What’s better than being stranded on Mars and abandoned by your crew with only potatoes to live on?

Anything really.

Anything would be better than that.

But if we are talking in terms of Andy Weir’s brilliant first novel THE MARTIAN, what would be better that Andy Weir writing the witty and scientifically credible story of one character? That would be Andy Weir creating a witty and scientifically credible story about a whole city on the moon with an awesome no nonsense female protagonist smuggler. Which he did when he wrote ARTEMIS.

Having loved Weir’s writing voice in THE MARTIAN, I scooped up ARTEMIS immediately and summarily devoured it. The protagonist, Jazz, a citizen of Artemis, the moon colony, slaves away as a smuggler to save up enough slugs for a better life. Because moon real estate sounds pricier than New York and San Francisco combined. An integral player in the city’s sordid underbelly, Jazz is roped into a scheme by a wealthy benefactor while desperately dodging the ever-watchful moon cop and a new slew of moon mafia. Which, let’s face it, is kinda challenging in a city that’s literally under a bubble. (Note to self: this could be included in the genre: books that effectively employ domes as a device.) Let’s just say that oxygen is at a premium in zero G.

With a seriously diverse cast of characters, an entirely new take on moon landing and a unique pen pal scenario, Artemis is bound to launch to the bestsellers’ list immediately. Pun intended.

Kudos to Weir for introducing a minority female protagonist who is dynamic, intelligent, flawed, and beautiful - and incidentally, like a lot of the awesome dynamic, intelligent, flawed and beautiful female characters in my own life.

Plus, reading Weir is like taking a cool science class as an adult, just in a totally different atmosphere.

I think this will make a fun movie, It was not that great of a book. Bit of a let down from the Martian, the dialogue was clunky and I'm not sure Weir was entirely comfortable with the female voice. The moon colony setting was enjoyable though.

Interesting and action-packed novel with a backdrop of a colonized moon. Andy Weir has written another exciting adventure set in space—this time the setting is the moon's only established city, Artemis, and features Jazz Bashara, a total kick-ass, smart-ass, asshole of a woman. Just like with The Martian, Weir once again grounds his technical jargon with humor in what is clearly a more Young/New Adult-centric story.

Jazz feels a lot like The Martian's main character, astronaut Mark Watney (which makes me picture Matt Damon). In fact, I didn't realize Jazz (short for Jasmine, as it turns out) was female for the first 4% of the book. Jazz is hardened and tough, an overall fun character to read. Though she experiences little growth throughout the book, the steadfastness of her character is central to the effectiveness of the plot as the plot turns into supporting quite the caper.

So, as this version of The Martian transitions to be a moon-based Ocean's Eleven (also featuring Matt Damon interestingly enough), the novel's pace alternates between speeding up and plateauing out. This makes for an intriguing and unpredictable storyline. I was never quite sure where Jazz was headed with her plans, with her rash decisions, and with her crew. She's bold, impulsive, and yet a fascinatingly intelligent, strong female character. Her biting wit and caustic sarcasm was perfect for this role.

While the book did get a little mired down in technical aspects and actions required for Jazz's situations, not much steam was lost and the story chugged along to a humorous and satisfying ending.

I really enjoyed the snarky attitude of Jazz. She was a great character. I really really liked this book.

Crafting a follow-up to runaway phenomenon The Martian had to be an incredibly daunting task, but Weir has for the most part avoided the dreaded sophomore slump, even if the highs of this book don't match the dizzying ones of its predecessor. Although the events also take place in space, this time the setting is the moon, where a fairly straightforward heist quickly spirals into something much bigger and more sinister. Protagonist Jazz is well rounded and interesting, but Weir clearly has difficulty writing from a female point of view, with an end result of her sounding more like a teenage boy than a 26-year-old woman. The technical aspects become a little too pronounced during the climax, which sadly bog down the story and make it confusing to follow instead of servicing it like in The Martian. Despite its shortcomings, this was a joy to read, and I love the humorous style of writing that Weir employs as well as the colorful cast of supporting characters on display here.

Fast-paced and sarcastically funny like "The Martian", I really loved the world-building of a town on the moon and the details Weir included to make it realistic. Like many readers, I tended to skim the science-y parts to get to the MacGyver-like action, but overall, enjoyed it and tore through it!

I love how realistic Andy Weir makes space travel! He thinks of all the questions I could possibly think up about life on the moon (or, in his previous book, Mars) and answers them. This is a great one to add to collections, especially when fans of The Martian hear Andy Weir has a new book! I'm looking forward to sharing it with patrons at the library.

**I would like to thank the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review**

When I was approved for Andy Weir’s new book Artemis I was over the moon (pun intended) with excitement. Like most of the world I loved The Martian and couldn’t wait to read his next book. And when I heard the synopsis for Artemis, I was in love. What an innovative concept! Blend that with a good old fashioned heist story and I’m certain Mr. Weir has himself another massive hit on his hands.

This book was entertaining the whole way through. Written in the same whimsical style as The Martian, Weir keeps the reader laughing and manages to impart interesting scientific factoids along the way. As a main character Jazz was a stroke of genius. I loved this character! Her roguish charms will no doubt draw comparisons to Han Solo in the most flattering way. Weir brought his city on the moon to life with great characters to support Jazz, and fantastic visual details that more than once made me wonder if this city could actually be up there!!

The only negative I had with this read was the odd choice of pen pal letters at the end of chapters. While they gave the reader some back story, they felt unnecessary and broke the story up too much I felt. I found myself rushing through them just to return to the thrill of the main narrative.

A definite 5 star read… or maybe 5 stars and 1 moon (no purple horseshoes or green clovers though lol). This is a must read from a fantastic author.

Really excellent! This novel is about a young woman who has lived on the moon since she was six years old. After a falling out with her father, a devout Muslim, she has carved out a place for herself as a porter and smuggler. She's always looking for the next buck, the next big score, and she is handed an impossible task with a potentially huge payoff.

I enjoyed this novel as much as the author' previous book, "The Martian,". The ending seems to be open to a sequel. I hope that is the case.