Artemis, by Andy Weir, is a science fiction novel revolving around the first
lunar colony, specifically the main smuggler in the colony. Jasmine Bashara
(Jazz) has lived in Artemis since she was six, with her father, Ammar Bashara.
Jasmine has plans to become rich one day, thus the smuggling, with the help of
her pen pal from Earth, Kelvin. But as of now, she works a low paying job as a
porter, trying to work her way up to an EVA master so she can give tours as
another source of income. One of the richest men in town, Trond Landvik, calls
upon her to act as a saboteur, she is quite skeptical. It's quite out of her
skill set, but then Trond offers her 1,000,000 slugs (Artemisian currency).
Quite enough to retire. Jazz accepts to help Trond, and, if she succeeds,
she'll be rich, Trond will gain control of an important contract that will help
him wrest control over the oxygen manufacturing industry, and everyone will be
happy. But then the plan goes wrong: Jazz is on the run from the Brazilian
Mafia, O Palácio, her smuggling gig falls apart, Trond and his bodyguard have
been murdered, and nobody quite knows what Jin Chu, a businessman from Hong
Kong is doing with a secret project labled ZAFO.
I think that this book was very well written, involving a good mix
of the science fiction and criminal genres, and Weir's use of sciences (physics
and chemistry) added to the authenticity. The plot takes an interesting path
and the characters are very well developed. Artemis is very detailed and
thought provoking, and it has a creative setting. I would highly recommend the
book to anyone who enjoys books involving a criminal protagonist or science
fiction. I enjoyed the cunning and intelligence found in the protagonists (and
the antagonists) and the only part I even remotely disliked was the over explanation
of how certain processes work.
Reviewed by Eubank
C., Grade 9
Montrose Library
Comments
Artemis by Andy Weir is a hard science fiction novel that I really enjoyed reading. I loved the extreme detail and scientific accuracy Weir used in his novel, which wasn't surprising- most of his novels have a ton of research put into them. I didn't really dislike any part of this story. I think that people who enjoy accurate science fiction would enjoy this novel. If anyone is interested in space travel or colonies, this would be a very interesting book for them. This book made me think about the possibility of people living on places other than Earth. Many parts of the book were action-packed and funny, and it was all in all a good read. I definitely recommend this book to others, as I enjoyed it very much
Reviewed by NK, Grade 10
Montrose Library