But if you’re looking for something more, The Martian is heaps better. If you’re looking for a quick, enjoyable sci-fi read, and don’t have a lot of expectations, then yes, pick this book up.

There isn’t a lot of world building, and the whole heist element felt a little half assed, half baked. This book is a quick read – I read it in four hours. What is it with sci-fi books letting me down recently? Ugh, I really wanted to love this book, because I loved The Martian. I think Weir wanted her to be this badass, aloof woman, but it didn’t come across that way. There’s being stubborn, and then there is being stupid, and in my opinion she makes stupid choices for pretty much the whole novel. She’s smart, but she constantly chooses to make awful and stupid choices. Her crass, smart-ass attitude grated on my nerves, and for most of the novel her language, inner dialogue and attitude is unfounded she just didn’t make sense. Jazz just felt like a copy and pasted version of Watney, but in her case, it didn’t make sense. Rather than falling into a pit of despair he found the humor and the light in his situation. He was alone on Mars trying to keep his sanity. In The Martain Mark Watney’s chatty peppy attitude made sense. It wasn’t a bad book, but it felt super rushed, and I wasn’t a huge fan of Jazz. I wish I had enjoyed Artemis more than I did. I got really excited when I found out that Andy Weir had another sci-fi coming out. This review will contain spoilers, but they will be after my general reaction. Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city. Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.

The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions-not to mention sheer brazen swagger. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony.

Artemis novel book review