The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon.
Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.
Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time.
So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down.
The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.
Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city.
Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal.
That’ll have to do.
Propelled by its heroine’s wisecracking voice, set in a city that’s at once stunningly imagined and intimately familiar, and brimming over with clever problem-solving and heist-y fun, Artemis is another irresistible brew of science, suspense, and humor from #1 bestselling author Andy Weir.
To start out with the elephant in the room: Artemis is not The Martian. But that's okay. Very few books can be The Martian. Despite that Artemis is an extremely enjoyable, energetic, easily consumed sci-fi romp.
The story is simple, fast-paced, and exciting, and is written in a manner which allows it to take centre stage and be those things. There is little unnecessary depth, and most of the exposition along the way relates to the story in some way. And while all these things could also have been criticisms of a book, Artemis just does it so well. It's perfectly paced, it's crafted in a way where the setups go on just long enough for the twists to be perfectly baked when they come out of the oven, and it's never boring. And, impressively for a story like this, it never gets predictable. Most of the time I had no idea what would be coming next, and if I did the book proved me wrong. It also has some great characters. While none of them are given much depth, they are all that they need to be. The main characters are likable, smart, and very enjoyable to follow. As with the book itself, they're just good fun.
Sure, anyone expecting The Martian will be disappointed, but if you're looking for a quick, easy, satisfying, forgettable-but-fun summer read, you could do much worse than Artemis.
