Artemis
by Andy Weir
Blurb:
Jazz Bashara is a criminal.Well, sort of. Life on Artemis, the first and only city on the moon, is tough if you're not a rich tourist or an eccentric billionaire. So smuggling in the occasional harmless bit of contraband barely counts, right? Not when you've got debts to pay and your job as a porter barely covers the rent.Everything changes when Jazz sees the chance to commit the perfect crime, with a reward too lucrative to turn down. But pulling off the impossible is just the start of her problems, as she learns that she's stepped square into a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself—and that now, her only chance at survival lies in a gambit even riskier than the first.
My Reaction:
First things first: This was another read-along with Donald and the 372 Pages We'll Never Get Back podcast. If you're familiar with the premise of the podcast, well, you know how this review will probably go...
I've never read The Martian, and though I saw the movie, I have only vague memories of it. A science-y tale of survival on Mars, a celebration of the indomitable, can-do human spirit, and... potatoes? Definitely something about growing potatoes. Anyway, that's not a lot, but that's about it. I remember that the protagonist had a distinctive voice that amounted to lots and lots of jokes—the kind of thing that is funny for a while, but would eventually drive you 'round the bend.
From what little I recall (and a few hastily skimmed reviews), it seems that the attitude that people found charming in The Martian didn't quite land as well in Artemis.
The main thing I remember about this book is rolling my eyes at what passes for humor and yawning through the boring parts. Between the juvenile "comedy" and the science info-dump sections, there wasn't much going on (except for tedious descriptions of someone welding). The protagonist isn't someone you naturally feel the urge to root for, and the whole thing is just blah. So, yes, this wasn't impressive, but it's far (FAR) from the worst thing we've read with 372-Pages.
A couple of specific nit-picks:
--Chekhov's reusable condom just peters out (ha ha, see what I did there?) and comes (hee hee) to nothing. Talk about anti-climactic (hur hur)! I was expecting some stupid joke at the very end between Jazz and (redacted)... Something supremely clever and witty, like, "Hey, Xxxxx, wanna go give that reusable condom a spin around the ol' block?" But no, not even that. It's just a gross idea with no real payoff.
--Jazz's entire ambition and driving force through most of the novel is to get rich. She doesn't want to go back to Earth; she only wants a nicer home in Artemis—something roomier than her coffin-room with just a bed and a communal bathroom down the hall. She wants a shower of her own, somewhere to cook, etc.
Hm. Sounds like homes in Artemis must be prohibitively expensive! Except... Did I miss something?
One of her friends, Svoboda, has a place that sounds an awful lot like what she wants, and while he's intelligent and reasonably successful, I don't think he's supposed to be particularly wealthy. Also, Jazz's father also has a place of his own, right? It seems like a lot of people on Artemis do...
So why is Jazz's dream out of reach without some once-in-a-lifetime "big score"? Why can't she just do a normal job, save a bit, and earn enough for a decent home? She's supposed to be so amazingly bright that it should be easy for her to find a job that pays well enough for that. I just don't get it. (Okay, I just remembered, thanks to the blurb, that she has "debts" to pay, but still. I don't think it makes much sense that she's struggling this hard.)
Actually, a lot of things (economics, population) don't hold up well to serious scrutiny. If I were having fun while reading, I might not be tempted to pick holes, but without entertainment value, the mind wanders.
Overall? No, not a good read for me.
