Review of Artemis by Andy Weir

So… sci fi books aren’t really my (space) jam but I decided to try this book set on the moon. Yes, I’ve heard of The Martian. No, I’ve never read it or seen the movie. What did I think? Here’s my Review of Artemis by Andy Weir.

Artemis by Andy Weir

To be published on November 7, 2017 by Crown Publishing. I received an eARC for review.

Synopsis adapted from Goodreads: 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.

My Review of Artemis by Andy Weir

I have a confession. Like many formerly YA-only bloggers, I knew I had to branch out or I’ll burn out.  So you may have noticed that over the past year I’ve been reviewing more thrillers, adult fiction, TV, etc.

As part of my get-out-of-a-rut-program, I requested this book. I have heard of The Martian but haven’t read it. I do read some sci-fi, but I’m not the most science-y person. My sci-fi picks need to have a strong plot and the right amount of explanation.

What did I think of Artemis?

Overall, I enjoyed it. I’d call Artemis a futuristic caper story set on the moon. Jazz, the main character, is a twenty-something woman with roots in Saudi Arabia who grew up in Artemis. Jazz is brilliant but an underachiever. She trained as a welder and wants join the guild. In the meantime, she works as a porter and makes ends meet by working as a small-time smuggler.

When a rich resident of Artemis offers Jazz a fortune to do a small job for him, she quickly agrees. But she soon finds that taking the job put her in huge danger. Her only way out? Assemble a team that includes a bunch of guys she has complicated histories with and pull off a daring caper.

What I liked:

Jazz was smart and snarky, which I love in a character. She’s definitely not a girly-girl. She has a rocky relationship with her father, her ex, this other guy with a obvious crush on her, and a pen pal in Kenya (Artemis was created through the Kenyan space industry.) And I always love a good caper story.

What I appreciated but couldn’t really appreciate:

the world-building about life on the moon. There is a lot of fun, imaginative stuff there. A lot of the caper involves very technical stuff that was a bit too yawn-inducing for me at times. I don’t think I needed or ever wanted to know that much about welding….

I recommend this for fans of caper stories, fans of stories set in space, and science-y types. I look forward to reviews that compare this to the Martian – if you’ve read that or this, let me know in comments!