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withlivjones's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
After loving Project Hail Mary, I went into this book with some very high expectations. It didn’t quite live up to them but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
The worldbuilding is phenomenal. It’s clear that Andy Weir knows his stuff, and his explanations of the science and politics behind the operation of Artemis makes a city on the moon seem totally feasible (why isn’t it a real thing? NASA get on this asap pls). The book is vivid and action-packed, and it feels like I’m watching a sci-fi miniseries.
I think that Jazz is a pretty good protagonist. She’s smart, unapologetic, and confident but also flawed, and I know a lot of people think she’s annoying but I quite liked her sarcastic quips and asides - or maybe I just really enjoy Weir’s narration style. I also thought that the amount of diversity included in the book was refreshing since Project Hail Mary and The Martian (which is on my TBR!) are very “white man goes to space”, so I’m glad Weir took the opportunity to include a wide variety of identities in Artemis’ ensemble. A personal highlight was definitely Jazz’s father, who is Muslim, using his welding skills to create something that makes it easier for him to practice his religion on the Moon - an ingenious use of worldbuilding.
My only criticism is that you could definitely tell that Jazz was written by a man - she’s pretty “not like other girls” (because most men don’t realise you can be feminine and badass at the same time) and her body count is constantly commented on in a negative way, even though she never has sex in the book. It’s not a terrible portrayal of a female MC, but it’s also not fantastic.
Overall, though, this is a fast-paced and fun sci-fi heist thriller and I really enjoyed it!
The worldbuilding is phenomenal. It’s clear that Andy Weir knows his stuff, and his explanations of the science and politics behind the operation of Artemis makes a city on the moon seem totally feasible (why isn’t it a real thing? NASA get on this asap pls). The book is vivid and action-packed, and it feels like I’m watching a sci-fi miniseries.
I think that Jazz is a pretty good protagonist. She’s smart, unapologetic, and confident but also flawed, and I know a lot of people think she’s annoying but I quite liked her sarcastic quips and asides - or maybe I just really enjoy Weir’s narration style. I also thought that the amount of diversity included in the book was refreshing since Project Hail Mary and The Martian (which is on my TBR!) are very “white man goes to space”, so I’m glad Weir took the opportunity to include a wide variety of identities in Artemis’ ensemble. A personal highlight was definitely Jazz’s father, who is Muslim, using his welding skills to create something that makes it easier for him to practice his religion on the Moon - an ingenious use of worldbuilding.
My only criticism is that you could definitely tell that Jazz was written by a man - she’s pretty “not like other girls” (because most men don’t realise you can be feminine and badass at the same time) and her body count is constantly commented on in a negative way, even though she never has sex in the book. It’s not a terrible portrayal of a female MC, but it’s also not fantastic.
Overall, though, this is a fast-paced and fun sci-fi heist thriller and I really enjoyed it!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
crunchylettuce's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.75
If you're gonna have a slavic character can you PLEASE make sure the audiobook doesn't butcher their surname? It hurt to listen to.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
jesterbrooks's review against another edition
adventurous
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I haven't read The Martian, so whereas many reviewers have that to weigh it against, this was my first Weir book.
I enjoyed the setting, the theoretical science moving the plot along, and some of the interactions with the characters, but as with others' opinions I've read, I didn't feel many of the characters were very "real." There were many attempts at witty dialogue and clever action that read more as clichés or "Hollywood" lines; I didn't feel much realatability to the characters, and some of it made me outright roll my eyes. Some of it may have been from the clash of a male, non-muslim author writing a female, muslim (or at least from a muslim family) character.
There was alsoa twist/development that was fairly predictable and in my opinion, not very well delivered.
All that being said, I also couldn't put the book down. The plot moved along at a pretty gripping pace, while keeping a pretty good balance of not throwing too much of the theoretical science stuff at you. I appreciated the world building to a solid degree, and would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fun sci-fi romp, with light social commentary to consider along the way.
I enjoyed the setting, the theoretical science moving the plot along, and some of the interactions with the characters, but as with others' opinions I've read, I didn't feel many of the characters were very "real." There were many attempts at witty dialogue and clever action that read more as clichés or "Hollywood" lines; I didn't feel much realatability to the characters, and some of it made me outright roll my eyes. Some of it may have been from the clash of a male, non-muslim author writing a female, muslim (or at least from a muslim family) character.
There was also
All that being said, I also couldn't put the book down. The plot moved along at a pretty gripping pace, while keeping a pretty good balance of not throwing too much of the theoretical science stuff at you. I appreciated the world building to a solid degree, and would recommend this book to anyone who likes a fun sci-fi romp, with light social commentary to consider along the way.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Pedophilia
readwithria's review
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Artemis took its time, but once its string was taught it shot off like an arrow.
This book started a little slow and a little weird, but man did it do what it set out to do well. Andy Weir never disappoints, and while this was my least favorite of his three books it was still a master class is approachable science fiction.
I rarely say this, but I feel like this book could have been about 50 pages longer. The ending didn’t feel super rushed, but I would have loved to spend more time having the characters resolve their issues. There are a couple of people that are left out of the resolution section, and I wanted to see them again.
I really enjoyed the epistolary part of this books! Jazz and Kelvin have such an interesting friendship/partnership and I wanted to see more of it.
I did have a couple of issues with Jazz’s internal monologue, especially her weird take on sex/sex work. At the beginning of the book it was hard to remember that she was a woman, and then as the book went on she had some weird thoughts that made it very obvious that she had been written by a man 🤣 not enough of a problem for me to dislike the book, but it was definitely noticeable.
The writing was great, the story was tight, and the characters were as funny as I now expect Andy Weir’s characters to be. I am very much looking forward to his next book. 4 stars.
This book started a little slow and a little weird, but man did it do what it set out to do well. Andy Weir never disappoints, and while this was my least favorite of his three books it was still a master class is approachable science fiction.
I rarely say this, but I feel like this book could have been about 50 pages longer. The ending didn’t feel super rushed, but I would have loved to spend more time having the characters resolve their issues. There are a couple of people that are left out of the resolution section, and I wanted to see them again.
I really enjoyed the epistolary part of this books! Jazz and Kelvin have such an interesting friendship/partnership and I wanted to see more of it.
I did have a couple of issues with Jazz’s internal monologue, especially her weird take on sex/sex work. At the beginning of the book it was hard to remember that she was a woman, and then as the book went on she had some weird thoughts that made it very obvious that she had been written by a man 🤣 not enough of a problem for me to dislike the book, but it was definitely noticeable.
The writing was great, the story was tight, and the characters were as funny as I now expect Andy Weir’s characters to be. I am very much looking forward to his next book. 4 stars.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Medical content and Violence
Minor: Infidelity and Gun violence
readingelli's review
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Minor: Pedophilia and Adult/minor relationship
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content and Death
Minor: Pedophilia and Death of parent
mallorypen's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I adore this concept, and Andy Weir’s writing makes everything seem incredibly believable. The scientific detail, the clever design of Artemis, the social-economic power plays, the development of the world and the characters are all so well-done.
I listened to an audiobook version, and at the beginning I thought this took forever to get started; however, when I adjusted the playback speed to 1.2x, the story got a whole lot more enjoyable. I was still listening to it more slowly than I would read myself, but that’s the primary reason I gave the book 4 stars. I would need to read it to see if the opening pacing was slow or if I were more annoyed at the speed of narration.
I was mildly skeptical about a man writing a female protagonist; often, that isn’t done well and it’s obvious what the male author is missing. That being said, Weir’s treatment of Jazz was respectful, fleshed out, non-stereotypical, and done in such a way where I would forget this wasn’t a story being told by a woman. Again, the female narrator of the audiobook may have influenced some of that, but overall I wasn’t ever taken out of the story by some misstep from a female characterization.
I listened to an audiobook version, and at the beginning I thought this took forever to get started; however, when I adjusted the playback speed to 1.2x, the story got a whole lot more enjoyable. I was still listening to it more slowly than I would read myself, but that’s the primary reason I gave the book 4 stars. I would need to read it to see if the opening pacing was slow or if I were more annoyed at the speed of narration.
I was mildly skeptical about a man writing a female protagonist; often, that isn’t done well and it’s obvious what the male author is missing. That being said, Weir’s treatment of Jazz was respectful, fleshed out, non-stereotypical, and done in such a way where I would forget this wasn’t a story being told by a woman. Again, the female narrator of the audiobook may have influenced some of that, but overall I wasn’t ever taken out of the story by some misstep from a female characterization.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Murder, Violence, and Drug use
Minor: Pedophilia
jselliot's review
adventurous
medium-paced
3.25
After reading The Martian, this book is honestly a disappointment ... and a textbook example of men/male authors showing their ass regarding prostitution. In the first legs of the book, before the plot even properly gets moving, the narrator (Jazz) decides it is important to inform the reader that there a prostitutes aplenty in Artemis, even after also stating that the city only has 2000 residents and one company employs over 100 people (and another company employs over 80). Most of those 2000 residents would be necessary for upkeep tasks in a high-risk environment, and those that remain still have the day-to-day living tasks outside of just survival. Restaurants, cleaners, the usual. Ultimately, math does not add up, and implies that men see all women as potential prostitutes. Is Jazz a prostitute? No, of course not. She's a porter and smuggler, whom most people that she interacts with see as brilliant. So this "flavor text" is sexist, useless, and only serves to pull you out of the story if you have any grasp on population maths. Needless to say, practically opening the book with this mess left a bad taste in my mouth and my review rating reflects that.
Moving on from that bomb dropped on the reader, though, I have to agree with some other reviewers who called Jazz immature. She really is, for being 25, but thankfully she learns a little humility along the way in the book. Her main redeeming factor is using her purported intelligence for adaptability, and is quick on her feet when it counts. (Even if there are some brain farts, but those do help to humanize hyper-intelligent characters. We all have them.) Once the story got going, though, it at least mostly got better.
In short, not Andy Weir's best book. I hope that Project Hail Mary lives up to his debut book's legacy.
Moving on from that bomb dropped on the reader, though, I have to agree with some other reviewers who called Jazz immature. She really is, for being 25, but thankfully she learns a little humility along the way in the book. Her main redeeming factor is using her purported intelligence for adaptability, and is quick on her feet when it counts. (Even if there are some brain farts, but those do help to humanize hyper-intelligent characters. We all have them.) Once the story got going, though, it at least mostly got better.
In short, not Andy Weir's best book. I hope that Project Hail Mary lives up to his debut book's legacy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Gore
loverrbboy's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
catch me reading the rest of andy wier’s books too…. he has such a fun writing style and the way the science is explained makes everything feel more plausible. moonbase life isn’t all it’s cracked up to be, and it was v fun to see this through the eyes of an underdog. love herrrr.. also MOON PHYSICS
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent
innerweststreetlibrarian's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this one, not as much as The Martian, but it’s still a fun read. I agree with the general sentiments from other readers that there’s something “off” about the character of Jazz. I think it’s possibly just Weir’s writing style, his voice is quite unique and I think it overshadows the voice of the character he is trying to develop to a certain extent. It doesn’t matter how many times you tell me who this character is if you don’t show me the evidence to make me really believe it. To me, Jazz was the same guy stuck on Mars. I really liked that guy, but it was strange trying to reconcile that voice coming from someone who was supposed to be a Saudi woman who grew up on the moon. I would love to see a visual re-interpretation of this story in film or tv though, there’s some really great roles for a very diverse and interesting cast that could be a lot of fun.
Overall, this was still a great read, lots of science, political and criminal intrigue and a really well constructed fantasy world that felt very believable.
Overall, this was still a great read, lots of science, political and criminal intrigue and a really well constructed fantasy world that felt very believable.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Confinement