Artemis is a sci-fi novel by Andy Weir about a futuristic moon settlement of the same name. The reader follows Jasmine (jazz), a smuggler who’s lived in the city since she was six as she gets way in over her head in a complicated power struggle. On the moon, aluminum manufacturing is pretty important, as it provides the oxygen for the bubbles everyone lives in. But Jazz has just been offered a million slugs (a form of space currency) to shut down the robots that collect aluminum and thus provide all of the air for the people living there. While putting her plan into place, she realizes that the problem is much bigger than she thought. It involves crime syndicates, murders, and explosions. The money will get her out of the poverty she’s been struggling through, but is the cost worth the benefits?
I somewhat enjoyed this book, as it was pretty engaging and easy to get through. I thought the explanations of the science behind everything was interesting and helped it all feel realistic. However, I was disappointed with some of the representation of different people in the story as well as the characterization of Jazz herself. It feels like the author didn’t put a ton of thought into the way she was portrayed. In general though, it was fairly interesting and I would recommend it to fans of the science fiction genre or to those who enjoyed Andy Weir’s other books. I would give it three stars.