Weir, Andy. Artemis: A Novel. New York: Crown 2017. Print.
First Sentences:
I bounded over the gray, dusty terrain toward the huge dome of Conrad Bubble.
Its airlock, ringed with red lights, stood distressingly far away. It's hard to run with a hundred kilograms of gear on -- even in lunar gravity. But you'd be amazed how fast you can hustle when your life is on the line.
Description:
So begins the newest, seat-of-your-pants action, Sci-fi novel from Andy Weir, author of The Martian. In Artemis: A Novel, Weir once again brilliantly depicts life on another world, this time the setting is the Moon in the permanent colony, Artemis.
Jasmine Bashara, the young woman racing for her life in the first sentences, is a long-time resident in this new world. She is a survivor, currently working as a lowly transport specialist, loading and delivering cargo from supply rockets. But Jazz has dreams of becoming an EVA Guild member. Such a membership would allow her to don a space suit and conduct lucrative outings for visitors outside the city's protective bubble to tour the original Moon landing site. Unfortunately, during her Guild qualification test, her second-hand suit fails and she barely makes it back to safety. Failure, with no second chance for six months.
So Jazz goes back to her real money-making profession: smuggling contraband from Earth into the closed system of Artemis. This job, along with her street savvy, leads to an shady opportunity to finally make enough "slugs" (Artemis currency) to live a much better life than her current grubby situation. The proposed caper involves sabotage, science, and illegal excursions outside the bubble from a person with ultimate self-confidence, all of which Jazz thinks she can handle.
The operation goes well - until things fall apart. Her promised million slugs are quickly slipping away unless she can dream up another, even more daring plan. But the bad guys and a few good guys have suspicions about her secret involvement with this operation and soon become involved. And thus the real action of Artemis commences.
Weir cleverly mixes the science behind a living community on the Moon throughout the plot. He introduces the giant, interconnected bubbles housing the cities and various support systems: the handheld Gizmos communication/information devices; the production of aluminum and oxygen for building and survival; and the coffin-size sleeping beds available to the poor.
Everything must function smoothly for such an intricate closed system to survive and grow. When something (or someone) threatens the colony, drastic measures are taken. Artemis welcomes people who can contribute, but does not hesitate to deport back to Earth anyone deemed undesirable. Such a city must have a hierarchy of individuals to keep order among those who choose to live on Artemis, from Jazz at the bottom up through techno geeks, EVA Guild members, bartenders serving fake beer, police enforcers, industrialists, and an overall Administrator who oversees Artemis using any means to succeed for the good of the city. Each has an important role in Weir's colony.
Told in Jazz's snarky, street-wise voice, Artemis is a lively story full of surprises, interesting science, and non-stop situations with clever solutions much like The Martian. The details imagined by Weir along with the clever survivor, Jazz, and the nefarious plots all combine to deliver a imaginative, scientific story full of complexities both environmental and human. Weir comes through again. Wonder when his next novel will come out?
Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles
I bounded over the gray, dusty terrain toward the huge dome of Conrad Bubble.
Its airlock, ringed with red lights, stood distressingly far away. It's hard to run with a hundred kilograms of gear on -- even in lunar gravity. But you'd be amazed how fast you can hustle when your life is on the line.
Description:
So begins the newest, seat-of-your-pants action, Sci-fi novel from Andy Weir, author of The Martian. In Artemis: A Novel, Weir once again brilliantly depicts life on another world, this time the setting is the Moon in the permanent colony, Artemis.
Jasmine Bashara, the young woman racing for her life in the first sentences, is a long-time resident in this new world. She is a survivor, currently working as a lowly transport specialist, loading and delivering cargo from supply rockets. But Jazz has dreams of becoming an EVA Guild member. Such a membership would allow her to don a space suit and conduct lucrative outings for visitors outside the city's protective bubble to tour the original Moon landing site. Unfortunately, during her Guild qualification test, her second-hand suit fails and she barely makes it back to safety. Failure, with no second chance for six months.
So Jazz goes back to her real money-making profession: smuggling contraband from Earth into the closed system of Artemis. This job, along with her street savvy, leads to an shady opportunity to finally make enough "slugs" (Artemis currency) to live a much better life than her current grubby situation. The proposed caper involves sabotage, science, and illegal excursions outside the bubble from a person with ultimate self-confidence, all of which Jazz thinks she can handle.
The operation goes well - until things fall apart. Her promised million slugs are quickly slipping away unless she can dream up another, even more daring plan. But the bad guys and a few good guys have suspicions about her secret involvement with this operation and soon become involved. And thus the real action of Artemis commences.
Weir cleverly mixes the science behind a living community on the Moon throughout the plot. He introduces the giant, interconnected bubbles housing the cities and various support systems: the handheld Gizmos communication/information devices; the production of aluminum and oxygen for building and survival; and the coffin-size sleeping beds available to the poor.
Everything must function smoothly for such an intricate closed system to survive and grow. When something (or someone) threatens the colony, drastic measures are taken. Artemis welcomes people who can contribute, but does not hesitate to deport back to Earth anyone deemed undesirable. Such a city must have a hierarchy of individuals to keep order among those who choose to live on Artemis, from Jazz at the bottom up through techno geeks, EVA Guild members, bartenders serving fake beer, police enforcers, industrialists, and an overall Administrator who oversees Artemis using any means to succeed for the good of the city. Each has an important role in Weir's colony.
Told in Jazz's snarky, street-wise voice, Artemis is a lively story full of surprises, interesting science, and non-stop situations with clever solutions much like The Martian. The details imagined by Weir along with the clever survivor, Jazz, and the nefarious plots all combine to deliver a imaginative, scientific story full of complexities both environmental and human. Weir comes through again. Wonder when his next novel will come out?
One astronaut is accidentally left behind as dead on Mars when his crew blasts off. Now he must use his wits to survive until someone realizes he is alive and can send a rescue mission months in the future. Excellent. (previously reviewed here)
Bradbury, Ray. The Martian Chronicles
Series of chronological-set short stories about the populating, dominance, and eventual fall of Earth explorers on the planet Mars. (previously reviewed here)
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