Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC. An entertaining tale of a brash young lady with a lot of spunk. Weir's in your face heroine is a delight. Recommended.

Anyone who enjoyed The Martian’s wisecracking hero will be drawn in by Jazz Bashara, the heroine of Andy Weir’s new novel, Artemis. Like her predecessor, Jazz is flippant, wildly intelligent, and tends to constantly skate on the edge of disaster. Her loony tale unfolds at breakneck speed, and if you’re anything like me, you’ll be dragging your Kindle into the bathtub because you can’t stop reading.

A rollicking and fun ride from Andy Weir! In his sophomore effort, Andy Weir once again takes a trip into outer space, but this time it's to the rocky and desolate Moon where we meet his spunky female protagonist Jazz Bashara. Jazz Bashara displays the same characteristic rebel, sarcastic, can-do attitude that Mark Watney does in The Martian, but she adds a layer of sass to it. Artemis moves fast - almost too fast! - and can easily be devoured in one sitting if you aren't paying attention. The story flies by, and you get sucked right into the lives of several Artemesians, a population of people who have moved to the Moon. The story could do with a little more pacing, and a little more world building, but the trade-off is a story that never feels like it's dragging and moves at breakneck speed.

Jazz Bashara, a stealthy smuggler, makes her living by getting people things they need, that they shouldn't be getting on the Moon. But she gets caught up in a high-stakes scheme that threatens to put her life - and those around her - in danger, when her get-rich quick plan blows up in her face.

Andy Weir paints another cast of colorful characters in this book, making the Moon population come alive with vibrancy and humor. You can count on every character in the book to deliver some witty zingers as they weave in and out of Jazz's life. The dialogue is perhaps a bit *too* zingy, with a few groaners and jokes that feel a bit too casual (especially in the heat of what is meant to be an intense or near-death experience!), but overall there is a tone of light-heartedness and optimism that shines through and is becoming a hallmark of Weir's writing.

Again, Weir is not afraid to throw in a bunch - nay, a LOT, of technical jargon - as we navigate the complexities of lunar living: airlocks, rovers, EVA suits. Weir challenges readers to get familiar, and get familiar quick, with these terms and doesn't spend time dumbing them down for you. But rest assured, once you get the hang of it, hang on for a fun adventure with a protagonist you can root for, some faithful sidekicks that turn up when you least expect, and some baddies you'll love to hate. Who knew the moon could be so fun?

I read 'The Martian' and I enjoyed it, but I found that it was hard to get through due to its dense nature. 'Artemis' is much more readable, and I enjoyed the process of reading it more. Overall, I enjoyed the story a lot. My only complaint was that it felt like Weir couldn't fully write a woman as the main character - there were a lot of cringy moments and personalizations.

I'm probably the only person who has read Artemis without first having read or watched the Martian. I was a little concerned about that, but as it turns out, Artemis is not a sequel or in any way a continuation of the Martian. It is a fully self-contained story.

Forty years ago you couldn't catch most people reading a science fiction story. It's a genre that has really gone mainstream and has a wide appeal.

Having read lots of classic science fiction, this story really brings me back to Asimov and his Caves of Steel with an otherworldly crime story, to Herbert's Dune with his giant spice harvesters and the Fremen sabotaging them in the battle against the Harkonnens, and to Edgar Rice Burroughs' Princess of Mars and Carter's desperate efforts to save a dying world by breaking into the atmosphere factory. This is not to say that Weir consciously copied ideas, just that I can hear the echoes and feel the shadows of earlier giants.

What I've always liked about this particular genre is that the author can create an entirety new society with entirely new rules and traditions and here Weir gives us a new city on the Moon with new ways of doing things brought on both by conditions on the moon and by the human need for reinventing society. Weir really excels in painting details about how things work. He's quite technical.

But the hero -or rather heroine - of this novel is no James T Kirk. Jazz is a small statured woman who has cornered the smuggling market and kind of feels like some hip skateboarding chick on the moon. Although she has her own code of conduct, she gets involved in quite an unusual caper with devastating consequences.

Crown Publishing provided me this advanced readers copy and it is quite an enjoyable read. It should have wide appeal.

I'm between 3 and 3.5 stars here.

Although it has been a few years since Andy Weir published The Martian, he hasn't been missing from the literary world, thanks to his sharing a number of free super-short stories with the reading public. (Annie's Day remains my favorite of the bunch.) Even so, I was anxious for him to come out with a new novel.

Artemis is the first city on the moon. While wealthy tourists get to experience the city's luxuries, for the ordinary citizens living there, it's almost like any other city—the struggles between the haves and have-nots, corruption, violence, crime, the usual. (Almost like any other city except for the gravity, and the fact that everything is encased in bubble-type structures to keep the extreme radiation and space dust out.)

Jazz Bashara is a low-level porter on Artemis. She longs for a better life but doesn't have the motivation to do anything more than what she does, even though she has the brains and the talent for much more. Instead, she ekes out a living as a criminal, smuggling in contraband from Earth for anyone willing to pay her. She doesn't care that it's wrong; in fact, she's more than a little proud to be gaming the system.

One day, one of Jazz's wealthy regular customers offers her a part in a scheme that seems almost too good to be true, but her part of the spoils would be enough to give her the type of life she has always dreamed of. Of course, what seems too good to be true usually is, and it isn't long before Jazz realizes she's in the middle of something much bigger than a get-rich-quick scheme—there's corruption, and people are willing to go to any lengths to protect what they believe is theirs. Jazz is going to need more than just her street smarts if she's going to survive this.

Jazz is a pretty fascinating character. She's pretty tough, smart, wily, and not embarrassed about her sexuality or her general laziness. She knows she could achieve more, but for the most part, she isn't motivated to do so through legal channels. I love the fact that Weir created a multi-cultural cast of characters without batting an eye—Jazz is a Saudi Arabian Muslim (albeit non-practicing), and there are characters from different races, religions, cultures, and sexual orientations that don't adhere to stereotypes.

Until I read Artemis, I somehow forgot how science-heavy The Martian was. But while all that science seemed to work in The Martian it seemed to weigh this book down a bit. (And no, it wasn't the gravity.) Weir has created quite a world, and certainly the descriptions helped paint the scene, but I felt at times the lengthy scientific diatribes pulled the plot off course.

The other thing that frustrated me about the book is the fact that Jazz speaks and thinks like a teenage boy. Even though you're rooting for her, after a while her lack of maturity started to grate on me.

Those criticisms notwithstanding, Weir knows how to tell a story. Even though I thought the caper (and that's the best word to describe the scheme Jazz finds herself in) was a little silly, I couldn't stop reading Artemis. It's a fun and interesting book, and you have to wonder how close to reality Weir's vision of life on the moon will come, if it ever becomes a reality.

NetGalley and Crown Publishing provided me an advance copy of the book in exchange for an unbiased review. Thanks for making this available!

This novel follows Jazz, a 26 year old Porter living on the Moon base Artemis. Although her dad is a welder and he taught her how to weld she decides to forge her own way. Jazz realizes that being a Porter is small beans but it does get her to met various citizens on the moon. One such citizen offers her a proposition that she instantly says yes too due to the enormous financial payout. Things don’t go as well as she had hoped as Jazz is forced to fight for her life.

Jazz as a character was well-developed. She is smart, overall a good person, swears a lot and just wants to make things right no matter the cost. This leads Jazz to make some fool hearted decisions that almost kill hundreds of people. Jazz does make it right in the end though. Jazz as a character was okay. I found she was odd at times. She is portrayed as super smart yet she acts so dumb and childish sometimes, especially whenever she thinks about sex or how sexy she was. Jazz in this aspect was written like a teenage boy not a young woman. I also didn’t understand why Jazz wouldn’t ask her father for help when she so desperately needed it, instead of being a smuggler why didn’t she become a welder or a scientist?

The plot was full of action and suspense. There were a few slow parts in the novel though. Once I got 90% of the way through the novel I was sure that all the details had been wrapped up nice and tightly until two elements were sprang on the reader. I liked the first one but I felt the second one shouldn’t have occurred. I was upset Jazz survived as I felt it was too much of a Duex-Ex moment. Although it would have been sad to see Jazz die I felt it would have ended the novel perfectly. After mulling the novel over though I am not sure if I still believe that as the reader would have missed Jazz making things up with her father by rebuilding his workshop.

The relationship between Jazz and her father was well written. There was amazing depth, love and worry between them. I felt this was a truly accurate way to portray a relationship between father and daughter.

Overall this novel was enjoyable but I still enjoyed The Martian better. Thanks to NetGalley for an advanced copy.

*I received this book free from NetGalley.com in return for an honest review.*
All spoilers will be tagged.

While deep down, I know that every book should be judged on its own merit, it was practically impossible for me to not go into this with sheer excitement after the absolute treat that was The Martian.
If you were like me and hoping for a spiritual successor to The Martian, then you might be disappointed (but not too disappointed!).

The story follows the exploits of a young smuggler who lives on the only city on the Moon.

What Artemis does right:
Jazz is a great protagonist; impressive yet flawed. The supporting characters are also enjoyable. You felt like there was genuine history between them. They were complex and conflicted and reacted naturally in many of the situations.
The setting and premise was, for me, the highlight of the story. This is where, I feel, The Martian fans will appreciate this for what it is. Weir did a fantastic job of making Artemis seem real and accurate and totally believable to the casual un-scientific reader. He has a fantastic way of not holding back on scientific ideas or jargon without making the story inaccessible.
Pacing was great. I never felt like the story dragged or lacked excitement.

What it could have done better:
I would have loved to have seen more regarding the relationship between Jazz and her pen-pal on Earth. it served to explain the nature of the smuggling business but it could have been so much more. He was one of the characters that attracted the most empathy and I genuinely feel like there could have been an amazing sub-plot there if it was explored a bit more.
[I also struggled for a little while with dealing with the basic plot of Jazz committing millions of dollars worth of damage. It just seemed like a dramatic leap from her usual business.
If there was more than just monetary motivation then maybe it would have been less jarring. (hide spoiler)]

This is not The Martian sequel, but, if you liked The Martian, give this a go. If contains many of the same lovable characteristics; the science, the problem solving, the quirky characters. I also feel it is a more accessible novel and will probably get the attention of a wider demographic of reader.

4/5, would certainly recommend to a friend.

I really enjoyed this book a lot - Jazz was such a great character, and her story was super fun to follow. I did feel like maybe Weir was trying a bit too hard to follow up on The Martian - where the science explanations in that book were fully integrated into the story, here they were often really noticeable and they took me out of it. It's a minor quibble though - Artemis was a lot of fun and I'm happy to recommend it!

<blockquote>“<i>Himmelen er ikke grensen</i>. It means ‘The sky is not the limit.’”</blockquote>

When I saw that Andy Weir was coming out with a new book, I was understandably excited. I enjoyed <i>The Martian</i> immensely, especially the fact that the author tried to stay true to science as much as humanly possible (you can find my short review here). Although the plot for <i>Artemis</i> didn’t sound <i>quite</i> as intriguing, the idea of a heist on the Moon did sound pretty cool.

<i>Artemis</i> tells the story of Jasmine (Jazz) Bashara, a criminal (aka a smuggler) who lives on Artemis, the first base on Earth’s Moon. She does not make much money as a porter, so when the opportunity to make 1,000,000 slugs (aka a lot of money) arises, she jumps at the chance to commit the “perfect heist.” But there is no such thing as the “perfect heist,” and she soon finds herself deep in a conspiracy that she must find a way out of, or else face terrible consequences.

I really liked <i>Artemis</i>, though maybe not quite as much as <i>The Martian</i>. The overall plot was interesting. It was a little slow in the beginning, but it soon picked up once Jazz agreed to perform the heist. From there, it was interesting to watch Jazz’s train of thoughts as she figured out the technicalities of said heist. I must say, as a chemistry student, Weir’s attention to scientific detail is something I can really appreciate and is probably one of my favorite aspects of his books (even if it does sometimes go over my head).

There was a diverse cast of characters, both in terms of personality as well as nationality. Because Artemis is on the Moon, it attracts wealthy (and sometimes not-so-wealthy) people from all over the world. Jazz herself was from Saudi Arabia, while other characters hailed from counties such as Kenya, Australia, Ukraine, Russia, Hong Kong, Brazil, Vietnam, Canada, etc. Artemis was a true melting pot of culture, and even though there were conglomerations of people of specific nationalities (for example, those that worked at the Life Support Center were Vietnamese), there was no sense of tension or animosity. Everyone was an immigrant of sorts, so everyone was equal, in a sense – except for their monetary standing, that is.

However, although I enjoyed the integration of science and a heist on the moon, I wasn’t impressed with Jazz’s voice. I feel that it’s something male authors often struggle with: satisfactorily narrating in a woman’s voice. I felt that Weir didn’t want to limit Jazz, and so he gave her a unique personality. Although she was definitely flawed, I feel that she was trying to be too many things at once: she was intelligent, didn’t live up to her potential, abrasive, crude, furtive, a definitive badass, didn’t care about her appearance but took pains to point out her “plainness” multiple times, selfish, loyal, and a loner. Unfortunately, Weir’s characterization of an obviously cool but messed up character kind of put me off a little from the story.

However, that was really my only complaint about the book. I really liked all of the characters – even Jazz – and I thought they were pretty well-defined. The plot itself was intricate and kept me sitting on the edge of my seat.

I heard a rumor that the rights to this script have been bought, and plans are currently in the works to make <i>Artemis</i> into a movie. If it’s anything like the movie <i>The Martian</i>, I absolutely can’t wait to see it!

Thank you to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an advanced copy of this eBook in exchange for an honest review.

I WILL BE POSTING MY REVIEW ON OTHER MEDIA PLATFORMS - NAMELY MY BLOG AND GOODREADS - CLOSER TO THE NOVEMBER 14, 2017 RELEASE DATE! I WILL UPDATE THE LINKS BELOW AT THAT POINT!

An interesting book but not as good as The Martian. Similar type of main character except this time, a bright, but more wreckless, snarkier female. This was corporate espionage and corruption...on the moon. I enjoyed the author's sense of humor.

This new book is a solid follow-up from The Martian. I enjoyed the female protagonist and her vivid internal thoughts- I'm not certain it was entirely convincing as an authentic female voice but Andy Weir is brilliant at internal monologue and capturing the nuance of the brilliant but flawed character. Jazz has a head I enjoyed being in for the space of the book, and the adventure was vivid and (as in the Martian) believable as could be for a tale of life and intrigue on the moon! The story opens with us seeing the heroine fail- what seems to be a new experience for her, and of course the event that plummets her into the escapades to follow. She is a smuggler, but she has a strict code of ethics, and that (plus the incidental and delightful coverage of nationality and sexuality in the new world of the moon) made it a compelling and fun read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Crown Publishing for an e-ARC of this novel.

Honestly, I don't think I've ever been so disappointed when reading a book. Partially that has to be because I loved the previous book written by this author so much and I expected to be reading something along the same lines as that when it came to the qualities of writing, plotting and character development. No. Artemis has a main character that represents practically everything I dislike in a main character. I struggled with bringing my star rating up to 3, but if you can keep reading until approximately the last 25% of the book you will find what I did, namely a problem of catastrophic proportions which had to be solved with intelligent reasoning. Was it worth all the time I spent annoyed by it? Probably not.

Artemis is the only moon colony and it survives financially from tourist and mining revenues. There is a small permanent resident population of approximately 2,000. The main character is 26 year old Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara who has lived on the moon with her father since she was six years old. She may be 26 but she acts more like a petulant 18 year old fighting against any authority simply because it's there. She is also a smuggler, obnoxious, feckless, a smart aleck, and completely annoying throughout the entire novel. Those are all hot buttons for me and I don't read novels where that type of character holds center stage because, just like Jazz, these are characters who are always allowed to get away with any ridiculous and dangerous prank or plot or joke they come up with. Naturally Jazz is the one who takes on a job of sabotage. Having done such an incompetent job at that, she is then the one who has to go in and fix things. Hmm, wonder how that's going to turn out?

Author Andy Weir could not have gone in any different direction with this book from his first success if he had tried. Quite honestly, it felt as if I was reading the manuscript for a film coming to a movie theatre near you soon.

Jasmine Bashara is a citizen of the Moon's first city, Artemis. Raised by a hard-working welder, but independently employed as a freelance porter (aka smuggler), she finds herself at the epicenter of an elaborate conspiracy and must use her quick-thinking problem solving skills to stay alive.

Despite the inherent pressure in being the sophomore novel following an international bestseller, Artemis truly delivers as a gripping page-turner clearly cut from the same cloth, but more than able to stand up on its own. The novel is kinetic, engrossing, and an engineer's wet dream (whether you get your kicks from reading about mechanical processes or from pedantically picking them apart). My only criticism is that the characters, endearing as they were, could be a bit immature. I curse like a sailor and love witty banter as much as the next guy, but at times the dialogue felt a little under-cooked, like the sparring of teenage affectations rather than adults conversing.

Weir continues to fill that Michael-Crichton-shaped hole in my heart with his take on thrilling lab-lit, i.e. going into excruciating amounts of detail when describing scientific and chemical processes. Honestly, Artemis takes up the torch even more than The Martian as it unravels a slightly wider spread of world-creation and plot: without giving too much away, we're talking geo-political and economic maneuverings on top of all the knee-deep science jargon.

Admittedly, though, my review may be a little skewed because I went through a tumultuous time in my life while reading this novel- the first half, anyway. By the time I got to the second half my messy life had calmed down a bit and coincidentally I enjoyed the book much more than I had previously.

This book is fun and modern in its story- I love the sci-fi tech and the city on the moon. I love that the main character is a female Muslim who is sex positive and is doing less than legal things that I would more likely picture a male character doing. Jazz Bashara is an awesome character and she's strong and independent with morals and values when they matter. She's also looking out for numero uno (herself!) first and foremost. I really like Jazz, she seems mostly good natured and the the type of woman I could throw a few drinks back with.

To make a million slugs (slugs = moon money), Jazz makes a deal with a billionaire to do some destruction to help him make even more money by taking over a contract. It's a lucrative proposition that Jazz can't resist. This story is about her destruction and what comes next.

If you liked The Martian I definitely recommend Artemis as well. I just wish it didn't take me so long to find interest in this book. Halfway is just too long to have to read before a book gets exciting. Once again, however, that might just be because of my own things happening.

As a side note, I love the cover of this book.

It took me a while to warm up to Jazz Bashara, the protagonist, a young Saudi woman living in the first moon colony and working as a smuggler. But she has the same sense of humor as the hero of The Martian and the same scientific bent.

The bad news, in a way, is that there’s a lot of science in this book, too, though it’s entwined with the plot in a way that means you have to at least understand the basics in order to know why things matter. Weir’s research is fully on display here, but I felt like it was better integrated into the story—or perhaps the editor trimmed it down to the essentials.

There’s much more of a crime fiction plot here—what begins as a caper motivated by greed morphs along the way into something more meaningful and thought-provoking

I have to say I came in to this book pretty worried about Weir's 2nd book. The way The Martian came into fruition was one of those lightening in a bottle stories of blog to self publishing to publishing deal. It was interesting to see how his followup would compare.

This book is a rollicking good time. Jazz is the complete opposite of Mark Watney in most ways except that she's similarly resourceful and intelligent. She's a smuggler and petty criminal on the moon just trying to make it to the lunar upper class, hired to do some major sabotaging. It was interesting how Weir made her sympathetic as a character.

Yes, there's a great deal of science in the book. However, it flows a lot better into the narrative. In fact the book as a whole feels like it flows better than The Martian which could never escape from it's web series roots.

With the action being the draw for the book, the characters suffer. The Martian had similar problems. However, the main problem is how Jazz is clearly a female written by a male writer. It's clear that Jazz could easily have been a male character so Weir threw in "female thoughts", it's kind of weird.

I have my theories on how people who liked The Martian will like this book, especially with that recent Google letter. But for people that are interested in reading about a space heist with science details, it's worth a read.

For those of you who think this book is going to be exactly like "The Martian" you need to know that they are very different but there are some similarities. Both books have many scientific explanations so everything feels very real and both are definite page-turners. This book has a female protagonist who is in her twenties. I really wanted to like her, but her character annoyed me too much. I felt like many of the things she said were not what a woman of her age would say. Additionally, it was hard to feel the same level of tension as in "The Martian" at the beginning of this book when the main character is not trying to survive but trying to sabotage equipment. Of course things change later in the book. I loved the city Weir creates on the Moon as well as learning how it was built and how it was governed. An overall enjoyable book with a main character I had frustrations with.

Oh my, I was expecting more after THE MARTIAN which lead me back to reading science fiction again. Unfortunately I couldn't relate to the character, Jazz, she didn't come across as real. All in all it was a good read, just wasn't quite up to my expectations.

Thank you to the publisher, author, and NetGalley for the opportunity to preview the book.

I loved The Martian. LOVED it. So I was understandably hesitant when I began reading Artemis, because...what if it isn't as good as The Martian? And I have to be completely honest - it's not. And that's okay.

I started reading Artemis and was relieved to discover that the trademarks of The Martian are all present: Sarcastic protagonist? Check. Technobabble that is immensely readable and actually enjoyable? Check. Over-the-top space action? Check. I strapped in for an enjoyable ride. And it was enjoyable - for the most part.

The main character - Jazz Bashara - is sassy and fun, and I was rooting for her to succeed. She really reminded me of Mark Watney from The Martian. A lot. She's pretty much just a gender reversed Mark Watney. However, in The Martian, the reader's time with Watney is broken up by segments where the reader is transported back to Earth to get some outside perspective on the situation from various other characters. I found myself longing for segments like these in Artemis, because the thing about Mark Watney is that he is a great character, but a little of his personality goes a long way. And with Jazz Bashara, there is no break from the endless sarcasm and jokey inner monologues. They start out funny, and by the end they're a little grating. The supporting cast ranges from excellent (Jazz's penpal Kelvin is presented only in e-mail snippets, but I found myself looking forward to those to get a little insight into the world outside of Artemis) to painfully two-dimensional (don't get me started on quirky Ukrainian scientist Svoboda and his "project" for Jazz), but it is a diverse and mostly interesting group. I feel like the book would have benefited from multiple perspectives, even if they only switched off every few chapters.

The plot itself is a lot of fun. A heist on the moon! I went into the book skeptical of how interesting that would be, and was pleasantly surprised. The action is intense but not drawn out, and there are only a couple of instances where I had to suspend disbelief entirely (when characters are on a do-or-die time crunch and seemingly manage to do a hundred tasks in various sections of the city in ten minutes, I roll my eyes a little). The plot never lagged or felt bloated, and I kept wanting to return to the book, even if I didn't devour it nearly as quick as The Martian. As always, Andy Weir's technological know-how is presented in an interesting and accessible way, which really sells the book to readers who may want their heist story with only a light peppering of technical jargon.

All in all, this was enjoyable and it feels like a solid follow up to The Martian, even if it doesn't live up to the hype of its predecessor. It's accessible to people who are not fans of science fiction, and has the same "reading a movie" feeling that made The Martian so much fun.