About the book:
The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller a heist story set on the moon. Jazz Bashara is a criminal. Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you’re not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you’ve got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent. Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she’s stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
My review:
I have mixed feelings about the new book of Andy Weir. I must say I was a big fan of The Martian, like many of readers. I also love Matt Damon in the movie. Speaking of Artemis, good sides still overweigh the bad ones. But when the bad things are all about the main character, it’s not good, right?
Artemis is the first and the only city on the Moon. Who else can describe this better than Andy Weir! Completely belivable, pictured in so many details, a little bit dystopian place on the Moon.
I absolutely loved all the technical and scientific details that make this book so real and so alive! As much as the life on Artemis seems so real, the main character Jazz is completely lacking the realism and female nature. At some point I tried to imagine that in the future, in a dystopian society the Jazz’s character could develop as it is portrayed in the book. But I failed every time. Absolutely random facts and qualities of Jazz don’t make you like her or feel connected to her. I honestly don’t even know what would I like her for…
I don’t want to think that real heroines of the future are like Jazz, greedy for money, rude, non-feminine, troubled young women with no real principles and aspirations.
The story itself is quite interesting and captivating, but it doesn’t attract interest from the start. I found it hard to be genuinely interested in a criminal behavior motivated by greed. I think honest and noble intentions would be more appealing in this book.
Completely agree with the article from the Washington Post about the 5 worst scenes from Andy Weir’s new book, ‘Artemis’.
I still recommend to read Artemis if you loved The Martian. Technical side of the book and details are brilliant.
My score is 4* out of 5*.
Books may well be the only true magic 