Like many (most?) people interested in this book, I decided to read it because I enjoyed the author's The Martian. I think that any author's next work after a wildly popular book (especially if it is not a sequel) has a hard time living up to the hype, and that is certainly the case with Artemis. The adventures of a petty criminal drawn into dangerous intrigue in the only city on the moon has its good points, but it didn't wow me.

The edge-of-your-seat pacing of the criminal plots that drive the story was excellent and is what kept me reading. The pace only lets up when the author/characters describe the science behind what is going on (whether everyday life in the moon colony or the most recent criminal shenanigans). Personally, I love this aspect of Weir's style, but those who aren't into science might find it annoying. 

Most chapters ended in a cliff-hanger way where you could almost hear *dun-dun-DUN* suspense music, which was maybe a bit cheesy but kept me interested anyway. Some of the action, especially during the final crime and its aftermath, ranges into the unbelievable, but that's par for the course in a criminal caper kind of book so it didn't bother me.

What did bother me was the characterization. The protagonist/narrator was just not a pleasant person. She is an immature, angry, foul-mouthed, self-loathing petty criminal with a huge chip on her shoulder. Even though she is 26 she interacts with everyone as if she were a sullen teenager and continually makes monumentally foolish decisions even though she is probably a mechanical genius and apparently a criminal mastermind. Most of the other characters are pretty flat, and the way most people react to the final caper once the dust settles is not very believable.

Overall, this is probably worth reading if you like Weir's style (and don't mind quite a bit of profanity), but don't expect the same quality as The Martian.

2.5 stars.

*

Artemis is a fun and fast-paced novel with interesting characters. The witty banter is incredibly familiar, adding some lightheartedness to the action scenes and tense atmosphere of the story. The casual diversity is amazing and definitely the highlight of the book, which serves as a contrast to the inconsistent world-building and all the over-the-top jokes.

Andy Weir brings forth another quirky Sci-Fi novel with an unique and creative concept. The execution is well done for the most part, although a few moments and revelations fall flat due to the overall sarcastic tone of Weir’s writing. Even so, the story is entertaining and a quick read; it also once again focuses heavily on science and how cool it can be!

I had really really high expectations for this book, so I’m kind of bummed Artemis, for the most part, didn’t meet them. One pleasant and very welcome surprise is how diverse all of the characters are! I absolutely loved the way Weir wrote them, especially all the parts about Brazil — it was hilarious and such a delight to have those little bits pop up as the story progressed. There isn’t a lot of character development, though, which I think makes it a little hard to connect with the book.

One thing I had an issue with is the humor. It feels painfully familiar, but not necessarily in a good way. There are a lot of overtly sexual jokes, a bit of slut-shaming, and some other sarcastic insults that border on offensive. This takes a lot of fun out of the narrative, as it feels trite and ends up hurting a few important plot reveals and character moments.

The plot, when it manages to build up tension and a sense of urgency, is a bit of a lovely mess. It is intriguing and keeps you flipping pages, but it is a bit convoluted and choppy at times. With the fast pace, a few aspects of the world-building and character relationships are glossed over and underdeveloped. The ending also feels a bit rushed? It ties with a plot aspect I feel is choppy and not developed enough. One thing that is very well-written are all the science-y parts, specifically when a character has to figure something out; but with Weir, that’s to be expected.

Overall, Artemis is a good book, but a bit of a disappointment. It is a quick read and entertaining for the most part, the writing is good, and the science is super interesting. Science-Fiction fans who enjoy a heavy focus on the science aspect of the genre will like this, especially if they have a fondness for sarcastic characters.

Thank you to Andy Weir, Crown Publishing, and NetGalley for this ARC of Artemis. I looked forward to reading this very hyped novel, but it didn't live up to my expectations. I had to force myself to keep picking it back up. It just didn't hold my interest.

Right up front - do not compare this to The Martian. Weir has, this time, created an interesting female character, Jazz, who lives on the moon and is looking for more of everything in her life. It's an entertaining premise and an entertaining fast read. My quibble is that Jazz occasionally seems quite immature. That said, I likely would not have picked this up if had it not been written by Weir, who has a nice, comic touch. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Try this for a good sci-fi read.

This was so disappointing. The main character, Jazz, is so annoying that I hated spending any time with her. She didn't even read like a woman to me, more like a teenage boy. A horny, immature, self-centered teenage boy. The story keeps saying that she's smart, but that doesn't get you very far when you don't read or study or pay attention. This girl, however, has knowledge of physics, chemistry, geology, the list goes on and on. She's a real MacGyver, but how is the question. Don't waste your time on this one.

I really enjoyed this book! I haven’t read through a book this fast since reading Ready Player One in a day. Well thought through characters, and the world building was great! I want to visit Artemis. A great follow up to The Martian and honestly I can’t wait for anything else Andy writes.

Jazz Bashara is a porter transporting packages for the residents of Artemis, the first city on the moon. Porter is one of the lower paying jobs in the city which is why she subsidizes her income by smuggling in contraband from Earth. Wealthy entrepreneur, Trond Landvik, is one of Jazz's best clients. When he offers her a job to sabotage a business competitor with a payout she can't refuse, she quickly gets to work on her plan to commit the perfect crime. When her plan gets out of control she quickly realizes that she was part of a much darker agenda...one that might get her killed.

This was such a fantastic novel; I cannot recommend it enough! I love a strong female protagonist and Jazz is vivacious, intelligent, sassy, and sometimes hilarious...the perfect combo. This novel is an action packed, on the edge of your seat adventure set in a place where everything can and will kill you. I loved so many of the characters I am kind of sad I finished it so soon. I can't wait to read more novels by this author and maybe a comeback for Jazz and the gang in a future novel. I loved every second of this book, a top read for me this year. I will definitely be adding this one to my library as soon as it's available.

I was really excited when I was granted access to an advanced reader copy of Artemis, because I loved Andy Weir's first novel The Martian. Although, since I am not that knowledgeable in science it was a real challenge for me. I love science-fiction but when it comes down to real hard-science, I struggle with understanding. I had the same problem with Artemis at times, but in context it didn't make the book hard to get. I kind of just took all the science stuff to heart and assumed it was correct! My brother is a physicist so I forced him to read The Martian and tell me what he thought, so I might do the same for this new novel!

I thought it was interesting that the author chose to do his second novel in the female perspective. I think he did a pretty decent job with being accurate with Jazz's world view. I kind of loved that she was brash woman that swore a lot. I am always here for blunt women that say "fuck" a lot. Jazz pretty much doesn't give a crap about anything, and I loved that about her! She's just out to make her next slug. I don't know what that says about me that I love characters like this. One thing that I really appreciate about her character is that she knows her situation is 100% her fault. She doesn't try to blame anyone else for where her life ended up. She is where she is just scraping by because of a series of bad life choices that she made.

Going into this novel, I knew it was heavy on the, "It's a heist novel...but on the moon!!" so I was pretty amped for it. I just didn't know it was going to turn into an espionage/thriller too! That was really interesting. There was a lot more going on in Artemis, and somehow Jazz finds herself in the middle of it and she has to use her smarts to get by.

Like Matt Watney, in Weir's first novel, Jazz uses humor as a defense mechanism. I have seen others criticize this book to say that she just seemed TOO much like Watney, and I think that is a fair assessment. I don't know if I immediately thought she was too much like him, but I did think her little quips and dumb jokes later in the novel just seemed to be too forced. I don't know if it was just because I had been peppered to death with these things throughout and it was starting to annoy me, but I think this should have been toned down a little.

All in all, this is a good book, and I enjoyed reading it. Jazz is an anti-hero, and I adore characters like that. She's a criminal, but only petty and she does have a moral compass to know when to do the right thing. I think if you enjoyed Weir's first novel you will probably enjoy this one too!

*I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for my honest review via NetGalley.com. This in no way influenced my review.

Happy Reads Everyone!

A hit like The Martian is hard to follow up, but it seems Andy Weir has no trouble keeping the good ideas coming, producing another yet novel with realistic hard science and entertaining adventure. Still, while comparisons will no doubt be drawn between his debut and his new novel Artemis, it’s important to note that the two stories are very different, not to mention his new protagonist is a heroine cut from an altogether different cloth than Mark Watney.

Meet Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara, a twenty-six-year-old who has spent most of her life living in Artemis, the only city on the Moon. It’s a nice place to live if you’re wealthy enough to afford all the amenities, but as Jazz puts it, you can’t expect J. Worthalot Richbastard III to scrub his own toilets. Of the two thousand or so residents in the city, a bulk of them are the support staff and people who keep the place running, and Jazz is one of them. A genius who could have been anything she wanted, she instead chose to become a porter, a job that barely covers the rent, though she does occasionally supplement her salary with small smuggling operation on the side, sneaking in harmless bits of contraband.

Then one day, one of her richest and most trusted clients offers her a lucrative business proposal. The job, however, requires Jazz to pull off a crime that goes far beyond the limits of petty smuggling—one that, if she gets caught, can get her kicked out of Artemis and deported back to Earth. Having been on the Moon since she was six, Jazz can’t imagine a life anywhere else, but with this much money on the line, she can’t afford to say no either.

Like The Martian to some degree, I think whether you enjoy this book or not will largely depend on how you feel about the protagonist. While she may be exceptionally intelligent, Jazz lacks is the aspiration and drive of a traditional hero, preferring to stay under the radar instead of applying her smarts to achieve something greater. However, that’s not to say she shies away from a challenge, for as unambitious as she is, Jazz also has a rebellious streak and seems take secret pleasure in using her intelligence to break the rules. Coupled with her sense of humor that tends to skew towards the juvenile, this admittedly makes her character feel much younger than her twenty-six years. I think Weir probably tried for “bold, cheeky young woman” but only managed “childish teenage girl” instead, ultimately giving Jazz a narrative voice that you’ll either get used to or you won’t.

Now with that warning out of the way, let’s get on to the good stuff. Weir has apparently created something that many readers—and not just science fiction fans—seem to be missing in their lives: a speculative genre that blends thrilling adventure and fun with realistic and believable science. Once again, he appears to have gone to great lengths to get everything as scientifically accurate as possible, beginning with a bit of insight into the day-to-day life of an average citizen on the Moon. Weir allows Artemis to unfold before us, presenting it in a creative and reader-friendly way through Jazz’s eyes as she spends the first few chapters 1) failing her EVA Guild exam, 2) traversing the city while carrying out her duties as a porter/smuggler, and 3) pitching in to help rescue workers at a factory fire. In one fell swoop, the story has not only introduced our protagonist but also managed to convey all the wonders and dangers of lunar life. Artemis is a place of dichotomies. It’s a vibrant ultra-modern city in the middle of a desolate landscape. The rich and the glamorous exist beside the poor and drab. And while authorities may take a lenient stance on some matters related to the law, on matters of safety they are unbending and resolute. Everyone takes the rules seriously when it comes to maintaining the integrity of the city’s framework or life support systems, because it could mean the difference between life and death.

Once the setting is established, that’s when the real fun begins. The story picks up considerably as soon as Jazz agrees to take on her wealthy client’s job. Her immature personality notwithstanding, Jazz is a force to be reckoned with when she puts her full mind into a task, and her problem solving process is an incredible thing to see. But of course, nothing ever goes as planned. Gradually, the excitement builds as Jazz unwittingly stumbles into a web of conspiracy and backroom dealings, putting herself and the people she cares about in danger. The action crescendos and doesn’t stop until we reach a boiling point in the climax, giving rise to some of the most intense chapters I’ve ever read, with the added bonus of making you want to fistpump the air yelling, “GO SCIENCE!”

All in all, I had a great time with Artemis, a story which was as fascinating and enjoyable as I expected from a brilliant mind like Andy Weir’s. The true test, really, is Jazz and how you’ll react to her personality and narrative voice. She’s one of those characters who would either endear herself to you or give you a raging headache, and where you fall will no doubt affect your experience with this book. If Jazz can win you over though, like she did with me, then I have no doubt you’re going to love this highly entertaining caper set on the moon.

I thought this was another great book! I wrote more on Goodreads. I could see this becoming another blockbuster hit!

Having heard of Andy Weir's The MArtian novel, I was looking forward to this book being set on the moon.

I really liked the setting and themes of this book. However, I found the protagonist to sound more of a teenager than an adult in her mid-twenties. Furthermore, the science part of the book was a little draggy and I felt like I was slogging over a science lesson.

Three stars for worldbuilding and setting!

This is a locked room mystery. Artemis is the one and only city on the moon and bad things are happening. Jazz makes money on the side smuggling but when she is offered a very large sum to sabotage a industry she just cannot refuse. Jazz is a interesting character. She loves her city but skates on just the edge of the law. There are people that keep telling her that she is not living up to her potential. She is very smart and her definition of living up to her potential is different from others. However, this time she goes too far and causes a very big disaster. In the end she makes a big save and as the book ends she shows that she is still true to herself.

I received a free copy of the book in return for an honest review.

In Artemis by Andy Weir, you follow Jazz as she goes from smuggler to saboteur in her quest to liberate Artemis from future mobsters.

Artemis was an enjoyable novel. While it wasn't my favorite read, I found it both funny and entertaining.

What did I like best about Artemis? It’s very well written, full of witty humor and clever dialogue. Jazz is a riot—her humor is dry and she speaks her mind (even when she shouldn’t). I found myself wanting to read quicker, just to see what witty one-liner she’d spout off next. I like that Jazz is unconventional. She does as she pleases and doesn’t listen to anyone who tells her she should be doing otherwise.

While Jazz very witty, I had a hard time believing she’s in her mid-20s. The book reads like a young adult book, so I had her pegged for late teens. No matter how much I tried to wrap my mind around her being her mid-20s, I couldn’t shake it. Jazz is immature and reckless, and no amount of swearing or sex-talk could make me think she’s much older than 19. I struggled with this throughout the book.

I also thought the plot was on the weak side. It felt more like a sub-plot to something bigger and greater. The “so what” just wasn’t doing it for me, and I hard time caring about the outcome. The fiber optics venue seemed forced, and the fiber optics’ relationship to the smelting operation felt messy. So while the book was well-written, I wasn’t sold on the plot.

Despite my hang ups about the book, I would still recommend it to others, especially those with an interest in space.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing the Kindle version of this book in exchange for an honest review.

(This review will be posted on my blog, Facebook page, and Twitter tomorrow morning, 11/10/2017)

Interesting characters, interesting plot! and very interesting setting, too!

The attempt to make Jazz the next Mark Watney was too forced. Also, it was a bit too "sciency" for me.

Artemis by Andy Weir.  I really don't know much about anything science or space, but enjoyed the imaginative descriptions of Artemis and what a future moon colony would look like.  The book was entertaining to some extent but lost the sense of excitement about this book due to the personality of the main character. I liked the characters and their depth, knowledge and interactions. But honestly did not care for the main character. I found her to be rudely sarcastic and inmature for a mid to late twenty something.  To me her behavior was what I would expect from a young male maybe 14 or 15.  I finished only to see how they dealt with her because she was really the cause of all the drama.

I adored "The Martian," so I was disappointed when this book just wasn't as good. Don't get me wrong, it was a fun, fast-paced read, but I could not for the life of me connect with the main character, Jazz. She just felt too . . . forced. Some male authors can write fabulous female leads (Wally Lamb with "She's Come Undone" comes to mind), but Weir just didn't make me believe the book was taking place around a 20-something woman. Also, there's a pseudo romance thing Weir tries to make happen, and, to me, it fell flat. The story gained nothing from this "romance."

The science, though, was great- just like "The Martian" (which, in retrospect had a greater quantity of great science, so maybe that's what I'm drawn to). The action was well-paced, too, so honestly, it was a fun read. I liked it. I just didn't love it.

Everyone has to make a living somehow. Even on the moon.

Jazz Bashara grew up in Artemis, the moon's only human colony. Tourists flock here for the chance to spend their life's savings on a guided tour of the lunar surface-- which involves wondering about in a high tech hamster ball-- and sampling the local delicacy known as Gunk, a flavored algae no one voluntarily eats a second time. But for the full time residents, Artemis is a small town with the same problems as any community. It's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone. And everyone knows Jazz Bashara is up to no good.

Jazz has a brilliant mind, but saw more fit to rebel against her traditional Muslim father than to apply it to her future. At 26, she finds herself the lunar equivalent of a UPS delivery person, living in an apartment the literal size of a coffin, and smuggling contraband from earth just to make ends meet. She dreams of the day she'll have a home she can stand up in, and access to non-communal bathroom, but Artemis is expensive. There's a sharp divide between the haves and have-nots: those who can afford to have an earth standard of living shipped into city and those at the mercy of the natural restrictions of living on the moon.

So when one of the wealthiest haves, a sketchy businessman who employs Jazz's smuggling skills on the regular, offers her a huge sum to take out a competing business, she takes him up on it. What starts as a complicated, but doable, task quickly spirals out of control. Jazz soon finds herself in the cross hairs of some powerful enemies and discovers Artemis's dirty secrets.

Any expectations I had for this book were purely speculative, because, unlike most of the rest of the world, I have not read <i>The Martian</i> or seen the movie. That said, I was surprised 1/3 of the way through to realize I was reading a lightweight heist novel with some heavy handed commentary on wealth inequality. Yes, it's set on the moon, and the author does not let you forget it, but it's the backdrop to the real issue: Jazz needs money.

One of the largest problems of this book is Jazz herself. She's supposed to be a grown woman, but she narrates like a teenage boy. She's as obsessed with her sex life as everyone else in Artemis seems to be, and I have to wonder if author Andy Weir has ever met a woman before. She's also really chatty and familiar with the audience in a way that grates over time:

<i>"Getting the contraband to Artemis... well, that's another story. More on that later."</i>

<i>"Okay, you can stop pretending you know what a niqab is."</i>

The whole book has a very YA vibe to it. It's lightweight and the heist gets a bit ridiculous. I mean, they plan out every detail on an ipad like device that their enemies have proven to be able to hack, but I digress. Between chapters, we get letters between Jazz and her earth pen-pal that date back to when they are children, but this has little relevance to the story at large and often feels like filler. And we get moments that read like a bad cable movie:

<i>"He's right, Dad. I am an asshole. But Artemis needs an asshole right now and I got drafted."</i>

<i>Artemis</i> has it's moments. It's fast paced and often fun. The descriptions of the moon colony, and what life might be like were anyone to attempt settling it, are interesting. But if you're expecting anything more of this than a throw away caper tale, you're going to be disappointed.

I was so excited that there was a new Andy Weir book coming out this fall. I absolutely loved The Martian--and that is coming from someone who usually tries to avoid science fiction at all costs. But after reading Artemis, I was disappointed, I just couldn't get into the story, and didn't care for the plot or the characters. Overall, I'd say skip over this one. Or, if you're determined to read it, put it at the bottom of your to-read list and try something else first.

I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this new novel by Andy Weir. It was more than just a sci-fi novel. It also felt like a thriller. It had a lot of techie science that I enjoyed. It had nothing about growing potatoes — Yay! Seriously, it was an fast-paced story about a 20 something-year-old Arab girl who is also a smuggler. She also just happens to live on the moon and has since she was six years old. She gets into something a little over her head and the action is nonstop from that point on. Another great read from Mr. Weir.