BOOK REVIEW: Artemis by Andy Weir

Sophomore books are the hardest books to write after you've outdone yourself with an awesome first novel, The Martian, and Andy Weir, while making a great effort, falls a little flat.

That's not to say I didn't like Artemis, I did, but it's not as powerful as his first. Is it bad enough to not pick up a copy of Artemis? No. The story itself was interesting, and I enjoyed the characters and learning about lunar gravity. However, if you're looking for a life-or-death deal like Mark Watney faces in The Martian, let go of those preconceived notions, and allow Jazz Bashara take over the show.

She's a feisty one, that Jazz, and she lends an element of surprise, because she's the protagonist, and a rebel, and she's lived on the moon since she was six!! Yes! Oh, and she's Arabic!! I thought this was a nice touch to the story, because it allowed Jazz and her background come through with the main problem. Plus, she knows how to work machines and weld, so that's cool, too.

So what is the main problem of the story?? Let's just say that it involves Jazz, a crime syndicate, and welding, ALL ON THE MOON!!! And a hint: Jazz is not a part of the crime syndicate.

I do need to be honest here, in that I listened to Artemis through my Audible account while I was running on the treadmill. It's read by Rosario Dawson, and OMG, I could listen to that woman read all day!! However, sometimes I miss a thing or two while listening, but I found the story easy to follow, and very interesting. I mean, when I don't want to get off the treadmill after an hour, you know you have a good book!

Yet, I sometimes got ticked off at Jazz for continually making bad decisions, so I did take one star off my review. If Weir had made Jazz a stronger character, in that she ACTUALLY learned a lesson, I would be more likely to add that other star. But, seriously, sometimes Jazz was mean to other characters and their thoughts/ideas.

RATED: 4 Stars

NOTE: I bought and listened to this book through Audible, and did not receive any compensation for this review.