Review: Andy Weir Artemis – Lunar Colony Murder Mystery

A few years back, everyone has discovered one of the greats of science fiction; Andy Weir. The Martian, a movie adapted from his first book of the same name, was released in 2015. Yet for a while we have not heard anything from him until Andy Weir published Artemis, his second novel in 2017.

Is Artemis a sequel to the Martian?

Many people were wondering if his new novel, Artemis, was a sequel to the Martian. Unfortunately, Artemis is not a sequel to the Martian. It takes places in a very different time and with completely different characters. Actually, Artemis does not even reference anything related to the Martian novel or movie.

Are they making Artemis into a movie?

As of right now, there is no real news if they are adapting Artemis into a movie. However, from last we heard, in 2017 the rights for it were acquired by 20th Century Fox and New Regency. Finally in July of 2018, it was announced that there is a screenplay being worked on. So fans of science fiction and Andy Weir might be getting a movie adaptation of Artemis hopefully soon.

All that being said, let’s dive into the world of Artemis and understand what this book is all about.

Andy Weir – Artemis Summary

Artemis is a book written by Andy Weir, his second novel which was acclaimed worldwide and will please any science fiction fan out there. Follow the story of Jasmine Bashara, or just Jazz as she likes to be called.

Artemis is set in the future where there is a fully functional moon base and colony. Jazz is on that said moon colony and she hates is… Everything is small and the money is hard. But it is her home and the only thing she wants to do is to get rich. However, she is thrown in a situation where she must become an unlikely hero and save the base from utter disaster.

Follow her on a murder mystery story on the moon as her side hustle crazy rich billionaire “friend” is killed and she is stuck between trying to find the murder (to prove her innocence), survive herself from the assassins who pursue her and try to save the moon base all at the same time! And there is also an amazing twist at the end. Artemis has it all!

Artemis Strengths

Personally, I believe that any avid science fiction reader will like this book. There are so many plots happening at the same time, yet they do not become confusing. All of the action in the book makes sense and has coherence together.

The main character is written in such a way which gives you the chance to relate to her, even though she is on a moon base. She is struggling with very similar issues with which people on earth face every day. Jazz has a job which she does not like too much, but she is damn good at it. She lives in a more than desirable situation and has issues with her family and her relationships. Yet she has a funny side to her which you discover throughout the book.

If my neighborhood were wine, connoisseurs would describe is as “shitty, with overtones of failure and poor life decisions”.

This is Jasmine Bashara take on the situation in a nutshell.

Backstory

Artemis has just enough backstory into the characters and into the base on the moon that you are not left guessing while you are diving deep into the story. The science behind the story also makes sense and is actually right and accurate. You have to give it to Andy Weir, he has done has research, same as for the Martian. I have to agree, that at times, situations are not fully realistic and surely a space nerd would be able to uncover some issue with them, overall what Jazz faces is very realistic and has had a lot of consideration to get the science right.

By habit, I brought the flame down to the fill site to keep the bead molten.

“No need for that,” Dad said. “The metal will stay liquid longer than you expect. There’s no air [in a vacuum of space] to convey the heat away. Some gets lost through the metal, but the state-change soaks up most of the energy. It can’t radiate too far.”

Artemis Weaknesses

There was not much which was not enjoyable about the book. There were instances where it felt like a bit too much backstory was given with flashbacks into the past or Jazz’s past relationships. However, as you get more and more into the mind of Jazz and into this world on the moon, you understand that all those elements are important to the story. The relationship with her father serves a great deal of importance towards the end of the book. Her past relationships are also vital as some of the characters come back and are pivotal to the story.

Overall Review

Overall, I believe anyone who is a fan of science fiction novels will enjoy this book. The setting is great, the characters are interesting (especially the main character Jazz) and there is enough sci-fi elements based on science and not which keep the story moving forward in a smart and intricate manner.