Artemis

I LOVED this book! More than I loved The Martian (and I loved that book too). I just devoured this book - finished in about 2 days -didn't want to put it down ever.

And for those who are wondering - yes, he did turn down the science a little bit and added more story, and damn it was a good one. Part action, part science, part mystery, part super snarky, smart, and strong female lead (who isn't white either!!!).

Jazz is an amazing character and I was laughing out loud at some of the one-liners in this book. Dialogue VERY well done.

The book still had science, still had explanations of how stuff would function on the moon - very easy to understand and it wasn't as heavy as the Martian was. Very cool to read about how we might just live on the moon one day.

TL:DR - Read this book! It's amazing!

Andy Weir writes fast-paced, engineering-oriented scifi well. This heist on a moon colony, featuring a vaguely Saudi, lapsed Muslim protagonist was a quick and light read. There's welding and problems with low-gravity/zero atmosphere and family bonding and shady business dealings. So, almost perfect.

But look, some people shouldn't be allowed to write books about women, and Andy Weir is one of those people. Also, mostly, I wanted it to be the Martian redux. And by trying to make a convoluted conspiracy plot, Weir has wandered away from what he does best: MacGyvering in Space! books.

Andy Weir has made Science Fiction one of my favourite genres.

I took a while to warm up to the main character, but grew to become very fond of her. The world-building is fantastic (as always) and intelligent. In the beginning, I did get the secondary characters confused as I didn't get a sense of their personality as quickly as I would have liked. Some of the science talk went over my head too, but it didn't break the flow of my reading.

The pacing of the book was just right, and it was an enjoyable and easy read. I was always happy to find pockets of time to pick the book up and continue reading.

I liked this book, but Jazz as a character didn't exactly work for me. I kept thinking she was Mark Watney if Mark were a 26 year old Arab woman. Fun read. I bet it's better as an audiobook. I think I would've been very disappointed if I had read it. Rosario Dawson was amazing. Her accents were so good. I truly believed she was an African man.

I received a galley of this book from NetGalley to read and review. My comments and opinions are in no way influenced by this.

It's tough to follow up a hugely successful debut novel, and unfortunately I found Artemis a bit disappointing. I enjoyed the action that picked up in the second half of the book as well as the secondary characters, but I don't understand why Weir decided to write from his main character Jazz's perspective. It's not that I think that white, cisgender men can't write convincing female POC characters, but it was tough to rally behind Jazz since she wasn't a convincing voice. Since the book is told primarily from her first-person point of view, it was really distracting that the voice was off and unconvincing. The choice to select an Arab woman as the main character and main voice of the story seems a bit odd and I'm not sure that it added to the story.

It also felt like the evolution of Kenya coming to colonize the moon and the governance - or lack thereof - on Artemis

I also wish Weir had built this world a bit better. You get snippets of the politics and economics on the moon, but only in degrees. The book bills itself as a near-future space thriller that involves a heist on the moon, yet it feels more political than anything else. I also found it somewhat unbelievable that living on the moon would come with as few legal and tax-related restrictions as it did.

I loved The Martian for its humor and wit, and Artemis tried to recapture elements of that. The jokes felt flat and forced, which was another distraction from the plot at hand.

Ultimately I think that fans of The Martian will enjoy this book - it has the science, an interesting and action-packed plot, and a unique setting. But I had a very hard time accepting Weir's choice to write from Jazz's perspective and I suspect that will be a concern for others.

it was alright. i preferred the martian, suffers a bit from male writer of female character syndrome. overall a fun story and the narration was good.

i hope that there's fanfiction that gets to see those condoms that were constantly mentioned put to use bc i was very disappointed when they stopped being mentioned.

Didn't live up to the high expectations set by The Martian.

Artemis was enjoyable to read - the clean and simple scientific explanations are the strongest aspect of Weir's writing. Unfortunately, the plot was sub par. Jazz gets lucky at basically every turn, and even when something goes wrong, she's quickly able to weasel herself out of the situation. The most egregious example is when she returns to the Apollo landing site after disabling some of the harvesters and she's met at the door by Dale, charged to bring her to justice. Instead, Dale offers Jazz her freedom if she'll agree to try to be his friend again.

Entertaining, but not fulfilling.

I had fun with this book! The main character (Jazz) is very resourceful, and she is not afraid of taking risks. Sometimes I would think to myself "No, Jazz, that's too risky, don' t do that!" but she has a way of analytically thinking through a situation and concocts a plan that might work (with pros and cons). I loved the maps showing Artemis and how the bubbles were connected. Andy Weir has a way of skilfully explaining scientific ideas within the characters dialogues, it's super well done!

Andy Weir hit it out of the park with The Martian - leaving me to wonder if he would be a one-hit wonder. He's not. Artemis sets a tone that's different enough to feel new, but still like Weir. The setting: a future where the Moon is inhabited by 35,000 people - mostly tradesmen and service jobs who support the thriving Moon tourism industry. Like The Martian, what makes this book great is the attention to detail in the science and world building. Ever details makes sense - down to the science behind why coffee sucks in space.

I looked forward and was expecting this book after the success entertainment I got from The Martian (and it's movie) I think is unfair to judge this book by its predecessor in mind, but I'm human and I'm doing it.
I found the character not as smart as it claims to be, rendering his misadventures predictable and with the same narrative formula used with The Martian but without the appeal of Mark Watney leaving a legacy to the world, this narrator has no audience with boring science and detailed explanations of welding “in space”!!!

The science in Artemis is as weak as the character development in the novel.

It's often incredibly hard to follow up a successful book, but Weir succeeded. I would say, it's a slower start than the Martian, but by the time you hit the second half twist, it's petal to the metal all the way to the end. The characters were amazing. It was full of a diverse crew of characters. I loved it!

A good, entertaining read. It was likely hard for Weir to follow up a success like The Martian, but Artemis does a good job. It's not as focused a story. Where The Martian was a singular plotline driving everything (ie. Get off this planet.) Artemis has more intrigue and subtlety. The main character is a smuggler (who happens to know a lot about engineering), and while she is engaging and interesting, the rest of the cast feel very one dimensional. Still, it's a quick read... with lots of tense moments driven by (as was The Martian) an understanding of science.

Originally posted on bluchickenninja.com

I think the best way to describe Artemis is it's a heist story. Artemis is an established base on the Moon. Our main character Jasmine (Jazz for short) is a porter, basically a futuristic version of the DPD guy. Jazz is also a smuggler on the side and is asked to interfere with Artemis' oxygen supply so that another company can take over the contract to supply it.

Of course it wouldn't be a Andy Weir book without a heavy emphasis on actual science. Obviously I have no idea if it's accurate or not but he goes into quite extensive detail about chemical reactions and how airlocks work. It's actually very clever what he has managed to achieve by doing that.By basing this world in our reality as much as possible, by using real science and chemistry he has made the world feel real. You could almost believe this is what a base on the Moon would be like.

The most noticeable thing about this book is how diverse it is. Science fiction has definitely got better when it comes to diversity but it still has a long way to go. The main character, Jazz, is from Saudi Arabia, she states that she isn't religious though her father is. There is a little note about the problems of facing towards Mecca to pray while not on the same planet as it which I really liked.

The other characters come from a number of different parts of the world. It also features a number of LGBT characters and we see one person with a disability who actually chose to live on the Moon as it allowed her to be more mobile. I think the only thing I would have liked was to see Jazz with some female friends. Also there is nothing about the problems of having periods while wearing a spacesuit. Which I thought might get a mention considering the plot.

The book takes place on the Moon. Jasmine “Jazz” Bashura is a smuggler getting things to rich people that would not otherwise be allowed. She works as a porter during her regular hours and her father is very respected welder that she was trained to follow but is going her own way. She is of Saudi Arabian descent and has spent her whole life on the moon. She gets an offer too good to be true but pays so well that she has to do it. It affects her whole life and the lives of all on Artemis.

There is never a dull moment in this story and was a great follow up to The Martian. I won't be surprise to find out this is going to be a movie soon.

Andy Weir does it again. The Martian was great and Artemis looks to follow it. There are themes that are similar between his two books (ie; in space and a character using accurate science to get out of jams) but largely they are pretty different. The moon colony idea feels really thought out and cohesive. The thought and detail put into Weir's universes has become one of the defining characteristics of his writing. Basically, if you enjoyed The Martian you will enjoy Artemis.

I'm not too sure what to make of this. It had the same sense of humour and technical detail as The Martian, but I didn't really warm to the characters and I lost track of what was happening and why somewhere near the middle of the book. I certainly know a lot more about welding and smelting than before.