Surely you’ve heard the news? Andy Weir, the author of The Martian (see my blog post Companions in Adversity, aboutbigbooks.tumblr,com, 2015), is out with his second sci-fi novel, Artemis (320 pp., November 14). Artemis, a moon colony, needs an asshole, and Jazz Bashara got drafted. A self-proclaimed “little person” who lives in a cubicle and pays the bills by exploiting the grey market, Jazz is tired of people telling her to stop wasting her potential. Fortunately, she has a lot of it, because she has to save the day with the tools at hand: "Me, Dale, and a bitch I didn’t like. A rover. Two EVA suits. Lots of spare air, though not enough to feed a city. Welding equipment."

Not to mention some unconventional swear words such as fusumitch and funt (“I think it’s pretty clear from context.”)

How do you live up to The Martian’s Mark Watley? You don’t. Weir made a good call in making Jazz the opposite of Mark in many ways: she’s a woman, an underachiever, and has a darker sense of humor. Weir once again brings the best of geekdom and a sense of humor to outer space.

Read if: You want the same kind of scientific ingenuity from The Martian and you’re not counting on a protagonist exactly like Mark Watley.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for some more great readingin exchange for honest reviews.

Written by the author of The Martian, Artemis takes places in the near future where humans have been able to colonize on the moon. The story’s heroine is Jazz, a witty Saudi Arabian girl who moved with her father to the moon when she was a little girl. She’s been living as a fairly successful smuggler, but then she gets brought into a fairly dangerous scheme.

OVERALL, I ENJOYED THIS BOOK.
It was fast paced and definitely a page turner. The quirkiness of each character was great. I also loved the little details about living on the earth vs the moon.

Before reading the book, one thing I heard mentioned a lot was how Andy Weir would handle writing a women’s first person perspective vs a man’s. Honestly, that part didn’t bother me at all. The only part that really irked me was Weir made the choice to make his main character a Saudi smuggler. I applaud him for choosing to make his main character an incredibly intelligent woman and weave her and her father’s heritage into the story….but it just rubs me the wrong way that he then had her become a smuggler. I’m curious to hear what other’s thoughts on this are.

Overall, go read the book. It’s a lot of fun and the ending is clearly set up for more books (if he chooses to write them).

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read "Artemis'. I was enthralled with Andy Weir's previous book "The Martian", and I did see echoes of the humor and attention to detail that was prevalent in that book.
However, "Artemis" really did not 'do it' for me. I found the story to be a bit uneven. To be honest, I don't know if I'll ever finish it.

Artemis is set on earth's first lunar colony (of the same name), a cultural mixing pot of former earth citizens (you can't be born on the moon). It is narrated by the protagonist, Jazz - a twenty six year-old genius alcoholic who lives in the city's underbelly as a kind of self-imposed atonement for mistakes made in her teenage years. When the opportunity to make a large payday morphs into a struggle to save her city from outsiders, Jazz rises to the challenge. I got this book as an airport read and was pleasantly surprised - I found myself glued to it well after I returned from my trip.. I thought I had the story pegged in the first twenty pages but the author kept surprising me. Looking back and comparing it to the Martian I realize that Mr. Weir is consistently talented in that department. This sci-fi tale of a young woman outcast is fast moving and entertaining. The casual narration style is comfortable and easy. There are a lot of colorful characters and, while they aren't very deeply developed, they have the etchings of personality and depth. .I admit to being slightly frustrated by the main character in that I found to the premise of a genius working as a porter to slowly scrape together savings unsupportable by her obviously talents - I was left wondering why she didn't amass savings quickly by applying her intellect.

Haven't read The Martian. Only saw the movie adaptation and loved it. Was so so excited to see Artemis on NetGalley and get it to embark on this journey on the moon.

The last half if this book was more exciting for me and I started appreciating Jazz in those chapters. At first I was quite annoyed with Jazz's voice and humor.

I didn't really like the storytelling in Artemis. It was all first person with Jazz narrating word to word. Made it more cartoonish or in your face kind of but that might be just me. And I don't think I have made such a fine job in explaining what I really mean by that. Ha!

This wasn't a heist on the moon. This was more like outright destruction. This didn't involve any stealing so that was misleading. But this I guess had a tiniest bit of hesity features.

I was disappointed with Artemis because it didn't thrill me with its superior heist or crime quality. It wasn't that exciting as I thought it would be. Artemis is quite cool as a place I liked how it was also divided into places with people according to their income. But I kinda don't like that either as I think being on the moon should remove that hierarchy. But alas.

Anyway, this was ok for me. I will be reading more Weir and a movie on this must be cooler than the book but that's it from my thoughts on this.

Special thanks to NetGalley and the Publishers for this review copy.

I admit that I am not a sci-fi fan but this book was great! I enjoyed the story and could visualize it as if I was watching a movie. Well done.

I've always been a science fiction buff, and I especially like sci-fi stories set in the near-distant future.  I'm also a person who loves to watch those videos about how astronauts do things in space.  The 'How Do You Wash Your Hair in Space?' video really grabbed my attention because it's a question I've often wondered myself.  I mean, how do you wash your hair in space?

And from that perspective, Artemis was a dead-on hit for me.  Weir has a great way of being scientific without being dull.  There were so many interesting details about living on the moon that I had never even considered.  Things like dealing with low gravity and what the moon-dwellers would eat and even how their monetary system works.  The world-building in the book was phenomenal.

I also enjoyed the plot.  Although this was a pretty typical heist story, the sci-fi elements made it new and exciting.  Every page brought a new challenge, and by the end of the book, I was on the edge of my seat wondering how everything would come together.

The one flaw in Artemis, however, was the main character, Jazz Bashara.  She wasn't believable.  In fact, she was the female version of Mark, the main character from The Martian.  It was as if Weir added some boobs to Mark, and called him a young woman.  The shtick and snappy patter undermined all of the excitement and drama in the plot.  Weir would be describing a potentially-lethal situation then try to lighten the mood with a lame joke.  That turned me off.

I'm at a dead even split on this book.  The setting and plot were amazing, but the main character grated on me.  Had Weir been more serious and dramatic with his writing, Artemis would have been a five-star read.  Instead, I'm giving it a three-and-a-half.

Thanks to Negalley and Crown Publishing for the review copy.

I thought this was a great book by Mr. Weir and I will certainly be reading whatever he writes next. If ye have a hankerin' to visit the moon then I suggest ye pick this one up. Just be prepared that it's a crazy time to visit.

I really hate to give up on a book. But after reading a third of this one, I just wasn't interested in the story. I loved The Martian and had high hopes for this one. Perhaps I will try again later.

Thoroughly enjoyed this read. Weir has an amazing way of making science "sexy". Recommending this work to my students along with The Martian as a good crossover read.

I enjoyed this book. I haven’t read The Martian, but I enjoyed the movie (it is one of my son’s favorites). Jazz is perhaps not as likable as Mark Watney, but there’s still plenty of plausible space science (and space welding, which at least one of my followers will enjoy) and intrigue to go around. Artemis is a quick read that should satisfy people who can deal with Jazz’s smart-ass-ness and enjoyed The Martian. Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy.

felt thin. and while the story is a solid adventure tale, I can't help but feel it could have been meatier.

I read this thinking I shouldn't compare it to The Martian, and I ended up liking it! It was engaging and the characters were enjoyable. I wasn't a fan of Jazz's sense of humor, but it didn't stop me from liking the book.

Words cannot describe how excited I was for a female smuggler as a main character in a sci-fi novel. I was so excited to delve into the world of the awesome protagonist Jazz. However, I thought that Jazz, who is supposedly 26, read like a teenager. It turned me off a bit when reading. It was obvious that a male had written a female character, which led to a lot of cringy moments. I never really connected with the characters in the book, but I did love the world they were in. The city of Artemis was amazing. I loved the background information of the founding of the city, the class differences, the descriptions of the city, and learning more about the moon they were on. Plus, learning how life as a smuggler on the moon was fun too. It was fascinating and extremely interesting. Plot-wise it was a whirl-wind and completely crazy but I had a fun time with it. And that ending though! Unfortunately, this book was not for me, but only because I did not enjoy the characters.

Note: I received this copy from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of 'The Martian', I knew I needed to give Weir another shot. While 'The Martian' was difficult at times due to its technical details, the humor and suspense kept me reading. 'Artemis' was very similar in these strengths. I kept reading mainly because I had to know what happened next. Unfortunately, one of the biggest other strengths of 'The Martian' did not translate to this story: the main character. Mark Watney was fantastically sarcastic, intelligent, intriguing and more. Jazz was sort of annoying, wasted her potential and would have been more suitable as an antagonist. The fact that she didn't get her comeuppance at the end almost made me give up on reading the last portion of the book. I will give Weir another chance, but I hope his main characters are more Watney and less Jazz in the future.

I love everything about this voice! I love Jazz. I love the writing. I love the science in it and how believable the world of Artemis is! It was easy to get lost in this book and to enjoy the momentum of the story. It was always moving forward.

I don't know what happened, I was so excited to read Artemis and it was in one of my top anticipated novels of the year, but this one fell flat for me. I couldn't get through enough chapters to give a thorough review, it just wasn't grabbing my interest and I didn't want to read any further. Hopefully, in the New Year, I can pick it up again and give it another go.

More like Ocean's Eleven than The Martian but still a 4 star read!

The only similarity between Artemis and The Martian is the main character's inventive use of science to solve their problems. Jazz is a smuggler on Artemis, the sole city on the moon. She is whip smart but just wants to get rich quick with minimal work. When an opportunity presents itself, Jazz is in. Jazz needs to use all her resources including her intelligence to complete her well-paying scam.

The planning and execution of Jazz' plan is fascinating due to the use of real science to achieve her goal. Jazz is a great character that feels genuinely different for a caper plot. Some of the science is enthralling--reusable condoms, gizmo Apple Pay/iPad knockoffs, remote-controlled HIB climbing spiders, etc. Overall, a great read for caper fans and a good read for everyone else. 4 stars!

Thanks to the publisher, Crown Books, and NetGalley for a review copy.

Likeable and engaging characters that are very true to life. Love the location the details and all the science facts.