Artemis
Andy Weir
Genre(s) | Science Fiction
Goodreads Rating | 3.67
Humpo Show Rating | 2.0
Published: 2018
Publisher: Del Rey
Jazz Bashara is employed as a porter on Artmeis – the first and only city on the moon – and has a sideline smuggling contraband. She has debts to pay off as well as the rent of her very basic sleeping quarters. But, when she is given the chance to earn enough money to live a life of luxury, it is too lucrative to turn down. But the job she is tasked with leads her down into a conspiracy worth trillions of dollars.
The premise immediately drew me in – a heist on the moon. Sounds great, right?
Unfortunately, it didn’t translate into an entertaining or interesting story. Maybe it sounded better in Weir’s head rather than in book form?
The science, engineering and technical details (there is a HUGE amount of them) made it hard to understand what was happening, especially towards the end when the ‘heist’ is in progress. It detracted from any sense of danger or excitement that Weir evidently wanted to create. I really struggled to visualise what Jazz and Dale were doing for pretty much every part of the heist: smelting, joining, gases, valves, airlocks, gravity… there was too much to understand for it to be entertaining.
Jazz’s tone of voice was very off putting throughout – I never really connected with her character – the throwaway comments that were meant as humour missed the mark every time. None of the jokes, insults or banter made me crack a grin. It all felt very forced and off putting, especially when she is in a life and death situation – you just wouldn’t have time to stand there and make jokes, any normal person would be trying to save their life as fast as possible! She’s meant to be 26/27 woman but has the personality of a fourteen-year-old boy…
All in all, I was very dissatisfied with Artemis. Having been a fan of the film version of The Martian, I was very keen to read this, especially as I love heists. I thought it would be right up my street, but unfortunately, Weir’s writing, the characters and to be honest, the plot as well, were very underwhelming. Has definitely made me hesitant to pick up another sci-fi book soon.
The Humpo Show | Richard
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