Ok, I know this one came out last year, and I got approved for an ARC copy over a year ago, but I never heard anything good from other people who got an ARC copy, so I just kept putting it off.

After finally reading it, I have to say I wasn't super impressed. I really, really, really wanted to like this book. And there were some really cool parts. I loved all the science and thought that was put into this book, and how it was all explained so that I could understand it. The whole premise of the book is brilliant, and parts of it had me hooked.

But I was so put off by Jazz that I couldn't enjoy the book. She kept making terrible choices that just seemed like someone who is young and inexperienced in the ways of the world would make. Not those of a 26 year old who is living on her own.

It wasn't terrible, but I wasn't blown away either.

Thanks to Crown Publishing, the author, and NetGalley for a free, electronic ARC of this novel received in exchange for an honest review.

It took me a while to get into this book, but once I got past the initial set-up I was hooked. Similar to The Martian, there was a bunch of science involved and a main character whose schemes wouldn't always turn out the way they hoped. What I really liked about this book was the world-building - how would a colony get started on the Moon? What country would control it? What would people do on the moon? What laws would there be? Andy Weir came up with a pretty interesting take on how a country could start such an enterprise, and how it would be sustained over the years, and the type of society that would evolve there.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to more stories from Andy Weir in the future!

Jazz Bashara is one of those characters that you know you shouldn't like. She's a criminal--smuggler and saboteur, yet there's no way that readers aren't cheering her on from one page to the next.
Jazz finds herself in the middle of a conspiracy in her hometown of Artemis, a city of 2,000 people on the moon. Jazz is far from innocent in the events that lead up to her knowledge of the conspiracy; however, she is ignorant of the larger conspiracy until she is in way over her head. While trying to take down the conspirators, Jazz nearly extinguishes the entire city and finds herself in a race against time to save the home she loves.
There's a mix of good and bad guys--a definite fight between good and evil set on the moon.
Some of the science/space terminology was a bit over my head, but the story is still understandable and suspenseful without the NASA/chemistry knowledge. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC.

Metaphorosis Reviews, 3.5 stars,

Summary:

Jazz Bashara, brilliant ne’er-do-well, has a get rich quick scheme on the Kenyan owned Artemis lunar base. Unfortunately, so do a clever entrepeneur, a mysterious cartel, and a host of others.

Review:

Sadly, in his second commercial book, Andy Weir doesn’t stretch, or even try to. After writing a technically accurate, hands-on, credible technology story on Mars, he now does very much the same on the Moon. It is credible, the story itself is fairly sound, and the characters are engaging. But it’s very much in the same lane as the Martian, except with more characters. Unfortunately, the characters are what trip him up.

Any book in 2018 that includes the phrase “I’m too gay to enjoy this [fight between two women]” suggests that the writer hasn’t quite caught up with the times. He might get away with the line if there weren’t so very many others. The book contineus the line of capable, slightly macho, can-do men writing about bright, irreverent teenage girls in space – Podkayne, Melpomene, Carmen – to name a few – and now Jasmine. Heinlein’s Podkayne was the only one that really worked, and that’s only because it was a different time. The rest have felt largely past their prime. While I have no issue with the idea of men writing women (or vice versa), Jazz never really feels credible. Perhaps if there had been fewer references to sex, or how she looks to men, it might have gone over better. The same is true of the one gay character, who spends a lot of time pointing out that he’s gay, so he’s not excited by Jazz undressing, etc.

Weir delights in getting his technology right, and he’s very good at it. But what was a strength of The Martian, with its focus on puzzle solving, fares less well here. Too often it’s clear that Weir turned up an interesting fact, and just couldn’t resist putting it in the story – for example, the thick electrical cable shifting due to magnetic forces caused by current. It’s really neat, has virtually nothing to do with the story, and doesn’t really fit. To his credit, I get the impression Weir genuinely thinks these things are cool – he’s not just showing off his research – but the jumble of them get in the way of the story.

I wanted to like Artemis, and I did, but nowhere near as much as I expected to. In the end, it’s a clever, well-told story brought down by an attitude that feels more 1970s than 2000s. Here’s hoping Weir steps a little further from his comfort zone next time, and aims for slightly more modern characters.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

I was not a fan of this. I heard so many people getting hyped about this and upon starting I just was not captivated. Of course my hopes would be that this would captivate me more than The Martian but that didn't end up happening

I enjoyed it, but it didn't resonate with me the way The Martian did. I'm not going to compare the two, as this was a good read and is perfect for fans of heist stories and science fiction.

On a scale from one to ‘invade Russia in winter,’ how stupid is this plan?

This was a great concept and for the most part a good story. However, I was so bored. Also, Jazz was a girl. I don't know why that shocked me so much but it did. I was reading the whole story thinking she was a man. Then there's talk about a ponytail and later someone mentions she's a girl. I was so confused. I don't think she sounded like a girl at all and for some reason my brain is staying on that subject. It's like a plot twist but not really. It's more of a trick. Also, all the talk of welding. WAHHHHH! I was so bored, did I mention that already. I needed more action less talk of welding. Or more welding and less talk about about welding. Or anything but mentioning welding a thousand times!

I almost DNF this. I only kept going because it was free and I needed to finally review it on this site or never receive a book from them again. It took me a very long time to get through this.

I really enjoyed this book. It must have been daunting to follow up after writing The Martian, but Andy Weir gets it right. Jazz is a sympathetic protagonist who lives in such an interesting habitat on the moon that I was just sucked into the story.

The only negative for me was an excess of technical, explanatory jargon.

As much as I adored The Martian, Artemis didn't hit me in the same way.

I wish I could be a little surprised by this, but to be honest, The Martian seemed like one of a kind. A book written by someone that was writing EXACTLY in their lane and with the perfect background for it. Artemis, on the other hand, just fell flat for me.

Maybe it was Andy Weir writing a woman that wasn't convincing enough for me. This happens plenty when men write women, and while he's not guilty of writing a woman terribly, he just didn't write her convincingly.

I really liked this book! Ok - let's get it out of the way: this book is not The Martian. It is, however, a good story with an engaging and resourceful heroine. Can't wait for Mr. Weir's next book!

This was a good old-fashioned science fiction novel, and I loved it! It’s not The Martian, but it’s hardly a second book slump that people are calling it. Very fun!

Weir loves the tech! Jazz Bashara scrapes by on Earth's first lunar colony, Artemis, but she barely makes enough to afford the nasty algae compound that serves as her main food source. She doesn't want to rely on her dad, but she also hasn't passed her lunar guide test. As a messenger, her big scores come from smuggling. But she's run afoul of the law one too many times, and now she's managed to land the attention of some contract killers. It's not even about avoiding deportation to Earth, now--Jazz has to solve a mystery and stay alive. The story's here, if you can get past Weir's fascination with the mechanics of the setting. His first book, The Martian, was all about the mechanics of the setting, and hacking them to get along. In Artemis, Weir works harder to find a balance, and this affects the pacing of the book. Still, the words "enjoyable romp" were coined for this, and it would be hard not to like Jazz.

3.5 stars from this space cadet!

Life on Artemis would be so much fun! I would love to be a tourist to go visit this Moon colony. This part of the story was not lacking for me. I enjoy sci-fi and this was right up my alley.

I was accepted to do an ARC on this last year. I’m finally finishing the book and review!
It has been published for some time now but I kept putting the book on hold because of the conflicting reviews and I just loved The Martian! I knew it wasn't going to be the same but I wanted to go in without any expectations and over-realistic hype.

No, it’s not on the same speed of light wavelength at all to The Martian. The problem with Artemis is not the space information, the cool heist that happens in the book and the science information of smelters and reactors.
The world building of Artemis was well thought out and Andy Weir did his homework with all the chemistry and moon atmosphere information. He was actually able to explain all of this for the reader who doesn’t have a background in these topics. Well done sir!

The problem with the book was the main character, Jazz Bashara.
I just didn’t like her. I like feisty, smart-ass characters but I felt like she was too forced to have these attributes. I liked that she was smart and fearless but I could have done without the consistent snarky comments.
Give me a few but don’t have the whole characters’ dialogue be this way. I would have enjoyed her much more with her fearlessness and snark when it actually came up in the story!
I actually liked the secondary characters more then the main character and that’s a damn shame.

The story is engaging and had some fun plot twists. Over half way through, you didn’t know who to trust and just how this epic disaster of an misunderstanding was going to play out!

I just wish Weir had given Jazz more humility and vulnerability though. I would have rated this higher.

I would encourage readers to read Artemis especially if you loved The Martian. I just wouldn’t hold it on the same comparison and don’t be disappointed if Jazz gets on your last ever-loving nerve.

A worthy sequel to The Martian. While it does involve peril in space, there is an ensemble cast--not to mention a female lead. Jazz Bashara is a smuggler who is hired to commit a crime on Artemis, the human habitation on the Moon. It turns out that the crime involves her in a power struggle that goes right to the political basis of the colony--far more than she bargained for. The caper itself is a pulse-pounding action scene, with the added spice of a decidedly inhospitable landscape.

“I received this book for free from NetGalley for this review.”

I'll admit that I preferred The Martian, but this one was not bad. I would hope for more like his first in the future.

First, let me say that before The Martian was released I was chomping at the bit to get me hands on it! Not being an avid reader of sci-fi, I was nervous, but took a chance and as luck would have it, The Martian didn't disappoint. It became not only one of my favorite reads in 2014, but one of my favorite science fiction reads period! With that said, yes, I had high hopes for Andy Weir's second novel, Artemis. Unfortunately, luck was not with me the second time around.

Artemis is a futuristic story about a heist that takes place in the only city on the moon. Our protagonist is Jazz Bashara, is a smart girl, but also a small time smuggler. Jazz is offered the opportunity to take part in a crime that would set her up for a very comfortable life. The only thing is, pulling off this "job" will be nearly impossible.

Unlike, The Martian, which hits the ground running, Artemis is an extremely slow burn. The world building was mediocre at best. I would have loved more detail about the colony on the moon. The science that was very relevant to Weir's first novel, seemed a secondary thought to this storyline. It was somewhat important, but not nearly as interesting. The same goes for the main character. Mark Watney, was smart, sarcastic , and lovable. Jazz, just didn't seem as authentic. The sarcasm that was adorable in his first book, just felt snarky and forced this time around. Jazz didn't seem real, she felt like a character that a male author, who hasn't had meaningful relationships with women, was guessing at. It was like he didn't know how a smart and independent woman should speak and behave, it felt forced and artificial.  

Once the story hit it's climax (a boring one mind you), it had been such a monotonous journey that I just wanted it to be over. A forced (fake) female lead, boring science, not enough awesome details about life on the moon, and plenty of cringe-worthy attempts at humor that all too often fell short...I'm sad to say I didn't enjoy this one.

I received a promotional copy from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Remember how much fun The Martian was? This isn't that fun. There's still Wacky Hijinx In Space (TM), but it's not the same level of "oh man, this is great" that The Martian was. Jaz, to me, reads very much as a woman written by a man (and my husband noted this too), and it pulled me out of the plot a lot. Everyone wants to sleep with Jaz, she has no friends that she doesn't also use to her advantage, and she's in this mess because she's too proud to apologize.

Fun to read? yes. Written like there's already a screenplay coming? YES. Am I going to read it again?
no.

Jasmine Bashara is a young bad-ass smuggler who moved to the moon colony of Artemis at age 6, so Artemis is the life she knows and loves. Well, she loves her life, but would like to upgrade from her coffin-like bed room. For that she needs money. So she agrees to take on some risky (and illegal) propositions.
The narrative is full of action, fast-paced; the dialogue is irreverent. Lots of technical detail added to the realism. Having said that, I have no idea if any of the technical detail was accurate, but it sounded plausible.
I did enjoy this book, but I love sci-fi that asks the big questions about humanity--humankind's place in and responsibility for the universe.
While the storyline did get political, to me the book felt more like and action thriller set on the moon rather than true sci-fi.
Still, highly recommended for readers who are not committed sci-fi nerds.

Received from NetGalley for my honest review
Completed 7/10/17 & 2/15/08
322 page ebook

This is NOT The Martian, not even on the same level as The Martian, but it's still a GOOOOD book and it annoys me because people go into this book expecting magic in a bottle again and are disappointed when they don't get it. I don't think The Martain CAN be topped on all the levels it appeals, so expecting that magic again was a too lofty expectation.

Artemis on its own is a good book. Rating system of 1-5 fails in this regard. Is it a 5 star book? If you can only rate 1-5 it sure is. Is it the same kind of 5 star book that The Martian is? Hell no. So, Goodreads falls flat in this regard and that's while you'll see my rose system is more of a 1-11 type rating, rather than 1-5. On this one, if I could rate it 1-10, I'd give it a solid 8.

Jazz is an interesting character. She's flawed but not evil. She just wants to survive in a world where its not easy to survive and everything she's doing is for reasons she finds honorable, even if what she is doing isn't.

I'd definitely recommend this book to fans of heists and moon/space stories. Just don't go in expecting magic and take Jazz for who she is, which is still a really good character. She's not Mark Watney, but I think they'd be friends. :)

Setting = A+
Plot = A
Conflict = A
Characters = A
Theme = A+

I was not a huge fan of 'The Martian' so I tried my best to go into 'Artemis' with an open mind and I am so glad that I did. I really enjoyed Jazz as a character and just the entire concept of having to be a young adult rebelling against a parent ON THE MOON was amusing to me. Of course there are problems to living on the moon. For example: THE MOB. This, too, was a little amusing to me at first, but the book was well written and more than anything, Andy Weir is absolutely a scientist and engineer. This book did not have all the focus on potato poop farming (thank GOD) but instead had a plot line and action and was an entertaining read. It was refreshing. Thank you!