A review by metanav
Artemis by Andy Weir

adventurous funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.25

really is just eh, quick and easy read and entertaining enough at points. the voice of the protag was slightly different but too similar to mark's in the martian and though her identity as a woman of color played a major part into her character, she reads like she was written by a white man. there's nothing wrong with a female character embracing her sexuality, but she doesn't deliver that in the way it would from a female perspective, which is especially noticeable since this is first person. 

not to mention the focus on the racial identities of the other non-white characters, while never dipping quite into offensive territory and admittedly having some relevance to the story (in some cases), felt unnecessary and othering coming from a white author. it reads like a white person who knows juuuuust enough not to be offensive, but not quite enough to make it meaningful. 

the world building was enjoyable enough though, and while i do love hard scifi, the scientific focus actually felt somewhat off for this story compared to the martian despite the fact that jazz was all but confirmed to be a genius or at least a quick study in multiple fields since it wasn't really expanded on in an interesting way. 

i've heard better reviews from project hail mary, and the martian was enjoyable enough, so i'm not necessarily writing off weir's other books, but i think this one was just not for me and not for him either. 
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