Artemis by Andy Weir
Artemis is about a young lady who gets into all kinds of trouble on the moon. No, that’s not the premise of a new animates kid’s show, it’s Andy Weir’s new book!
I want to thank NetGalley and Crown Publishing for providing me with an ebook copy of Artemis in exchange for an honest review.
“Jazz Bashara is a criminal.
Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.
Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.”
Please don’t throw moon rocks at me, but I never read The Martian. That being said now, I had no idea what to expect from Andy Weir’s writing. Based on what I saw in the movie (yes, I saw the movie and didn’t read the book. Put those giant moon rocks away) I wondered if I’d end beat down by highly technical explanations of things I was just too dumb to understand.
I’m talking ‘next level’ smart stuff. I mean, most of us think we’re pretty smart people. I can work my computer pretty well. When it goes on the fritz, I know how to troubleshoot most software problems. I can even crack the thing open and replace most of the hardware parts. However, if you leave me in the middle of a forest with some silicon and a soldering iron, I can’t make you a circuit board, let alone a computer.
But I was pleasantly surprised to find that wasn’t the case. There were some highly technical things going on in the book, but I never felt lost in it. Everything was dumbed down without it feeling like you’re being talked down to. It also helped that the man character, Jazz Bashara, would combat the super-technical mumbo jumbo with some good old-fashioned cursing and maybe a dirty joke.
Speaking of Jazz, she was the real highlight of this book. Not just because she was the main character. She was just unique and fun. She was super smart, and fairly talented, but she came off as someone completely relatable despite the fact that I am neither super smart nor talented.
She was snarky, and sarcastic, and made me laugh even when I was right in the middle of worrying about her personal safety. Life on the moon is no joke, you know. There were lots of situations where she tells you that if she makes one mistake it’s near-instant death. Tense. But then she makes a comment that puts a smile on your face and for a few seconds, and you forget about the instant death thing… until it almost happens.
By the way, when they make this one into a movie (come on, we all know they will. Put down the moon rocks) I vote for Lindsey Morgan from The 100 to play Jazz. She’d be awesome.
The plot mixes science fiction with heist, which is a far better combination than I would have thought. It’s not complicated or convoluted and there’s no big twists to knock you on the floor, but it will pull you in, get you invested, and keep you guessing the entire time.
If you’re on the fence on this one, jump in. It’s a very fun, very easy read. You’ll find yourself breezing through it in no time.
On an unrelated note, if you want to read something by Andy Weir that is potentially life-changing, may I present to you, the short story known as The Egg. And when you’re done enjoying that, some film students from the University of York did a fantastic video adaptation of it.
Great review!!! I may need a moon rock if this doesn’t motivate you to read The Marian though!! The movie was sub par compared to the book! The book has all the same humour in this one. I LOVE your choice for Jazz in an adaptation! I wish I would have read your review before reading the book becuase now I wish I had her in mind to put with the words!
The science is made so easy with Andy “Weird”!
Who were you picturing as Jazz?
Me! 😂
no one in particular actually but someone that looks a lot like her. She has the right attitude for that part! I don’t usually picture a specific person while I read. Sometimes, but not always
I don’t aim to picture anyone specific, but that’s who kept popping up in my mind
It makes complete sense! I got Laney started on that show last week but she’s not hooked yet. There are some parts throughout that I’m going to have to skip, but I know she’s going to love this show!
I kind of fell away from it after all the adults made it to Earth. But I always liked Raven.
I haven’t seen the last season. Or two. It definitely changed once the adults got there. Things got weird. There’s that word again!
Awesome review! The Egg was amazing and I loved the short film adaptation. Thanks for sharing!
Such a great theory behind The Egg. Glad you liked it!
I loved everything about the book with the exception of Jazz. i couldn’t connect with her as a character (and, despite what people said, it wasn’t because she was a girl: I didn’t find Mark Watney from “The Martian” to be anywhere near as irritating and childish as Jazz), and everything that came out of her mouth was pure cringe. I almost DNF’d the book, but I pushed through because I loved “The Martian” so much.
I’m really beginning to wonder if I’ve got something in my past that I’m mentally blocking because I hate Jazz so much and she reminds me of that person or something. The irrational amount of hate I’ve got for this main character is astounding.
I’ve heard others say similar, that they couldn’t get through because of Jazz. I’ve also heard people say they absolutely loved Jazz. I thought she was cool and funny, but it was getting to be a little too much by the end.
She was too much by like the fourth chapter for me.
I totally agree about Weir’s writing not overwhelming you with information. And I loved Jazz in this book 😀 Great review!!
Thank you!
You’re welcome!