I was already a fan of Andy Weir's other books, so when I heard about Artemis, I knew I had to read it. Like The Martian and Project Hail Mary, this book was a lovely blend of science and humor, all tied together with an exciting plot. In Andy Weir's Artemis, humanity has developed a city on the moon called Artemis, which houses about two thousand people. With parks, casinos, arcades, hotels, shopping malls, and trade shops, it's like any other city—except for the lower gravity, the high cost of living, and the unforgiving vacuum of space just outside the city's walls. For Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara, Artemis is the only home she's ever known and the only place she wants to be. Working as a porter while training to be an EVA master, Jazz hopes someday to be rich enough to enjoy a decent apartment in Artemis with its own kitchen and private bathroom (rarities in a moon city) and all the other amenities granted by wealth. The thing is, smuggling in contraband like cigars and pure alcohol won't do that very quickly. When Jazz is propositioned by Trond Landvik, a wealthy businessman and regular client of hers, to sabotage the city's aluminum smelting plant—which also provides the city's oxygen—she doesn't hesitate. A million slugs (the currency of Artemis) will do that. But as Jazz takes on the job, she soon discovers that it's not as simple as removing Trond's competition so he can take their place. The people who run the aluminum plant are into something deeper and much more dangerous than she first thought, and if she isn't careful, she won't live long enough to enjoy her newfound riches. I've been a fan of Andy Weir's work since I first read The Martian, so I knew I would enjoy Artemis. It has his usual snarky hero, witty banter, and surprisingly accessible science. While I'll certainly never be an expert anytime soon, I understood most of the science Weir uses in the book. It gives the novel such authenticity that I have to remind myself that it's fiction—that's how real it feels, like it could easily exist in our world (well, perhaps in a few decades or so). Funnily enough, I almost wanted more science. Compared to Weir's other books, Artemis has the least amount of science. The Martian is about one man's journey to survival on an inhospitable planet, and Project Hail Mary is about another man's journey through the cosmos to find a way to stop the sun from dying, but in Artemis, most of those life-or-death heavy technical issues have already been solved by the book's beginning. The city is established, so the science mostly comes from Jazz's sabotage and the basic explanations of how Artemis works. This left more time to focus on the characters, their relationships, and their backstories, which made it feel like a typical novel. In a sense, that's what I disliked about it—it didn't feel as "Andy Weir" as his other books, and I missed that. No one can write the way he does, but I would have believed it if someone had told me that another author wrote Artemis. Despite that, I still enjoyed the book. Jazz is a great character whom I loved learning about. As she comes from a Muslim family, it gave me a chance to learn more about another culture—since Artemis is entirely an immigrant city, there were opportunities in the book to learn about many cultures. The stakes kept escalating, and I was hooked until the end, and I would definitely read a sequel were Andy Weir to write one. Jazz is such a relatable character—she's doing what she can to make the best out of a difficult situation, but she's human and makes mistakes. I can only hope we all have people in our corner to help us out when it gets bad, just like Jazz does. I give Artemis by Andy Weir 4/5 stars. If you're a sci-fi lover, and especially if you like Weir's other works (or even the 2015 movie adaptation of The Martian starring Matt Damon), add Artemis to your list.
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