Artemis ~ Andy Weir

Weir, Andy. 2017 Artemis. New York, NY: Crown. ISBN 978-0553448122. $27.00 USD.

Andy Weir's new SF novel, Artemis, is a different type of story than his run-away best seller, The Martian, but to me it was just as enjoyable.  Jazz Bashara, the main character in Artemis, is one of my favorite characters so far this year (along with Eleanor and Polly from Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine and The Book of Polly)!

Jazz Bashara lives on the moon colony Artemis and has a low paying, low level job. She supplements her income with a little smuggling from Earth, and wants more than anything to improve her lot in life. To achieve that, she makes some questionable choices, and this is what drives the plot.

Jazz is a fully realized character, snarky and strong willed. Her inner dialogue and interactions with other characters are hilarious at times. The author does a great job of revealing what life would be like on a moon colony and I enjoyed the descriptions of how everything worked. Jazz is what I'd call an "anti-hero" in fiction, and kudos to the author, as these characters are usually male.  She has no problem breaking the law, if she'll make money, but she also has standards. I found the story fascinating and entertaining - exactly what I look for in fiction.   I ordered two copies for my SFF collection, plus the audiobook and a large print copy, and all are currently checked out with holds!

(Just noticed this book is OUT OF STOCK on Amazon!  It must be on lots of readers' Christmas Lists this year, as it should be)!