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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
kipiekie's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
ariep's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I enjoyed this read! It was really fun and I liked the group of characters. It really held my attention! But, its very obvious that Jazz was written by a man... I appreciate the diversity, but it wasn't always very well done.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Violence, and Sexual content
miagic_tome's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
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
3.0
Once I got over the awe of the sciency-ness of space and world building, the repetitive reminders of moon gravity and air got old. The main character, Jazz, is also very obviously written by a man because no woman thinks or talks about herself like she does. The weird anti-union sentiments popping up every couple chapters were out of place. Only rating it as high as I am because I really did enjoy a good deal of the space talk and main character aside, there were a good handful of cool women in this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
Minor: Vomit
leahhartjacobs's review
adventurous
funny
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, and Alcoholism
Minor: Suicide, Pedophilia, and Death of parent
leona's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I don't have a whole lot to say about Artemis, I felt generally quite meh about it.
It definitely wasn't the best book I've ever read, and it definitely wasn't as good as The Martian and Project Hail Mary and I think that is because Weir didn't play to his strengths. I appreciate his attempts at trying to write a more diverse book and choosing to have a female led narrative, but I just don't think he is that good at writing women.
I didn't hate Jazz, I still kind of enjoyed her bravado and charisma and she did have her own character qualities and struggles but I do think Weir struggled to detach himself from Mark Watney and Jazz is pretty similar to him. She can also be kind of selfish, arrogant and stupid but generally I feel like she did grow as a character and had a pretty good arc. Jazz kind of does that weird character thing where they tell you what they're wearing and say stuff like 'I looked sexy in this', yeah... I'm pretty sure most women don't think like this. The side characters were average but were generally quite enjoyable.
Another thing that bothered me bit was that the swearing in this one was just excessive, and that's coming from someone who swears quite a lot. Generally I don't mind swearing if it is used sparingly to emphasize something. In The Martian the swears were justified as Watney's situation was so bleak but in Artemis it just felt a bit unnecessary.
The plot was pretty interesting, kind of had an unsatisfying ending in my opinion (it just felt too easy to me) but still relatively meh. I don't feel like there was a great deal of extensive care or thought put into this book, it just felt kind of rushed to me.
I think that's all I have to say but I rate this 3.5 stars.
It definitely wasn't the best book I've ever read, and it definitely wasn't as good as The Martian and Project Hail Mary and I think that is because Weir didn't play to his strengths. I appreciate his attempts at trying to write a more diverse book and choosing to have a female led narrative, but I just don't think he is that good at writing women.
I didn't hate Jazz, I still kind of enjoyed her bravado and charisma and she did have her own character qualities and struggles but I do think Weir struggled to detach himself from Mark Watney and Jazz is pretty similar to him. She can also be kind of selfish, arrogant and stupid but generally I feel like she did grow as a character and had a pretty good arc. Jazz kind of does that weird character thing where they tell you what they're wearing and say stuff like 'I looked sexy in this', yeah... I'm pretty sure most women don't think like this. The side characters were average but were generally quite enjoyable.
Another thing that bothered me bit was that the swearing in this one was just excessive, and that's coming from someone who swears quite a lot. Generally I don't mind swearing if it is used sparingly to emphasize something. In The Martian the swears were justified as Watney's situation was so bleak but in Artemis it just felt a bit unnecessary.
The plot was pretty interesting, kind of had an unsatisfying ending in my opinion (it just felt too easy to me) but still relatively meh. I don't feel like there was a great deal of extensive care or thought put into this book, it just felt kind of rushed to me.
I think that's all I have to say but I rate this 3.5 stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Violence and Vomit
sophie42's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
kayleyhyde's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
1.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Gun violence
Minor: Ableism
iestynx's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Not the best of books. The main problem was the main character, Jazz. I really don’t like her, and we’re living this story though her eyes, so there’s a lot of Jazz.
I hated the cliche writing, the book is full of it. “In this bar you could get anything you wanted to drink as long as it was beer”. And the whole “best” narrative though the book was a pain, “my dad was the best welder on the moon”, “my friend was the best EV pilot on the moon”, “this is the best parking job I’ve seen”, “my friend had the best…” whatever. I wish this was the best book ever too Andy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Violence
lilacsophie's review against another edition
adventurous
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Police brutality, and Cursing
Moderate: Gun violence, Pedophilia, Murder, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
Minor: Sexual content
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