Author: Andy Weir
Series: n/a
Genres: Sci-fi, Thriller
Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
Release: 2017 November 14th
Source: AudioBook
Pages: 305
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BLURB:
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.
EXPECTATIONS: When I've read the blurb first I thought "wow, okay, gangsters in space", which is a concept very hard to imagine, to tell you the truth. I ended up expecting ruthless criminals, guns, and all that bloody mess one would receive with those, forgetting, it seems, who wrote this book. For Andy Weir and his Martian just don't fit the image I had in my head. Ended up surprised, I did, and in a very good, refreshing way too!
THE WORLD: Artemis is the only lunar city in existence. Sort of a big experiment that is going well. But having no export economy means their general economy isn't growing much, so there's little to no way for the city to expand beyond the current capacity and amount of people. But they get by as it is. They make their own air, and the by products of the smelting processes give them the required materials to live comfortably in the outer space, and entertain tourists to that. Tourism is their main source of income, for it takes the rich and the mighty to afford the luxury hotel on the moon!
CHARACTERS: Jazz Bashara and her Muslim father (pointing this out, because he's practicing, and she's not, which is always interesting: will they work it out, or will one of them try to force their views on the other?) came to Artemis from Saudi Arabia when Jazz was merely 6 years old. They came here to start a new life, and all was going well. Jazz got herself a penpal on Earth, and soon, together, they started dreaming bigger than what their parents have intended for them, teen years and all that. Fate wasn't kind for either of them, but they made due, found friends, and are both now in control of the smuggling business from Earth to Moon, dealing in limited supplies, illegal supplies, and just, you know, the supplies you can't get here that easily. The two of them were very careful about it, especially Jazz, since her punishment would be deportation back to Earth, and she's committed to rather be homeless on the Moon, than live comfortable on Earth. Yet when a million slug deal (their money) is dropped on her metaphorical table, well, you can't blame a girl for dreaming big now, can you?
ROMANCE: Romance was, romance will be. Jazz was in love with a man, who fell in love with another man. Her heart was broken in the process, and she's having a very hard time in attempting to forgive either one of them, and it's really understandable. Eventually, her heart is mended by another man though. There's no to-your-face romance or anything here, it's all very kind and mild, so if you don't like romance in books - it's easy to barely notice it existing.
GOOD: Knowledge can save your life! No, but really. All characters are written amazing. They're strong, they're smart, they're quirky. Some more than others. Jazz in particular is one hell of a smart survivor, who found ways to make it happen in situations that just did not inspire any will to live. She's a very refreshing character, if you ask me.
BAD: I guess the biggest bad is: this is not Martian 2. You have to come into this book prepared that it will not keep you awake, the way Martian might have done. The wit is not as strong, the tension of whether they'll live or die is no longer as great either.
OVERALL: I really did like this book, no matter what. I've never encountered a perspective like this one, nor criminal activities justified the way they were here. I like that the character wasn't a white Merry Sue, and that her first love found love in another man's arms. Most of all, it's great to see clever people work with their heads, not with their feelings. Nobody just "knew" or "had a feeling" about anything.
What do you think about ARTEMIS?
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