Artemis by Andy Weir

3.5 Stars

Hey look. It’s “Mark Watney Goes To The Moon.” Now with 100% more vagina!!! 

Artemis is the story of Jasmine (Jazz) Bashara, a young woman who has lived on the moon ever since her family immigrated there when she was six years old. Jazz’s only dream is to rich, a goal she is trying to achieve one “slug” at a time working as a porter (with a little smuggling on the side). When Jazz is offered 1,000,000 slugs to sabotage the local aluminum company’s anorthite ore harvesters she can’t refuse. That’s when the poo begins to hit the proverbial fan and Jazz finds out that someone out there is willing to do anything - including murder - in order to keep what everyone thought of as a nearly obsolete industry going. But why????? 

As I said before, if you enjoyed The Martian, there’s a solid chance you’ll like this too. Dial back your expectations a bit and know before going in that you haven’t experienced a caper like this since . . . . .



The jokes and antics of the cast of characters are very much over-the-top, and – much like its predecessor – Andy Weir proves that . . . . 



I’m not one who researches the “what ifs” when it comes to books. I am smart enough to know dinosaurs probably can’t be created from fossilized, prehistoric mosquitos, but that didn’t make me love Jeff Goldblum Jurassic Park any less. That being said, I have a feeling that the majority of Andy Weir’s science might be real. And boy does he like talking about it! In case you were wondering, yes I am fully aware of the fact that I’m saying there was “too much science” in this one after giving 5 Stars to a book that taught me (in great detail) how to grow potatoes with my own poop.

The good news is, Artemis is inclusive without being super IN YO’ FACE about it by having not only a female lead, but one who is also Saudi Arabian, and who is surrounded by a cast of characters of various races and sexuality. Not to mention, you haven’t seen a bad guy like this one in space since . . . . . 



I have to admit, I was a bit terrified that Weir’s sophomore novel wouldn't hold up after being somewhat inundated by his super shorts that have been released en masse since The Martian hit it big. The positive side of that was, (1) he didn’t take advantage of his fans by charging for those little few-pagers and (2) he kind of hit one out of the park with Annie’s Day. All in all? I give Artemis two thumbs up . . . .



ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you, NetGalley!