Audiobook Review – Artemis by Andy Weir, Narrated by Rosario Dawson (4/5 stars)
Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 8 hours and 57 minutes
Publisher: Audible Studios
Release Date: November 14, 2017
ASIN: B0721NKNHR
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Audiobook from Audible.com
Rating: 4/5 stars
“ 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.”
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I listened to this on an audiobook that I got from Audible.
Audiobook Quality (4/5): This was a well done audiobook. Dawson is spot on with Jazz’s voice (she sounds exactly like I imagine Jazz would) and does other character voices well too. It was a pleasure to listen to and I would recommend listening to this if you enjoy audiobooks.
Story (4/5): This was a fun read, although I didn’t enjoy it as much as “The Martian”. I loved following Jazz and her schemes to make money. The idea of Artemis, the first moon city, was a good one. The story moved at a good clip and kept me entertained. There isn’t as much technical jargon and survival aspects here as was in “The Martian” but there are some. A lot of the story is about politics and some shady dealings that are going on to make money off of the Moon. Aside from the politics there is some action and some interesting strategic antics.
Characters (4/5): I liked but didn’t love the characters here. Jazz is a fun character with a lot of personality but she’s not all that likable. She makes a lot of questionable decisions and is pretty frank about her shadiness. The side characters weren’t as well developed, there are some interesting ones but the focus really stays on Jazz most of the book.
Setting (5/5): I really loved that this was set in the first city on the Moon. Weir does a great job going into what makes a city on the moon technically and financially possible. He really does a good job describing things in a way that makes them easy to picture. It’s a great setting and really comes alive for the reader.
Writing Style (4/5): This is decently written and engaging, but it definitely more of a fun and fluffy book than “The Martian” was. I enjoy Weir’s writing style; he does a good job of explaining technically complicated things and keeps the story exciting and intriguing. The plot is well done and fast-moving and I never got bored with the story. There are a lot of twists and turns here and a bit of a mystery as well. My only complaint this time around is that the characters felt a bit underdeveloped.
My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this, it was a fun diversion and I loved the moon surface setting. It’s a fast-paced ride with a lot of plot twists and an interesting combination of fast-paced action scenes and politically motivated espionage. This is definitely more of a guilty pleasure and more of a “fluffy” story than “The Martian” was. I enjoyed it but didn’t love it. I am looking forward to reading “Hail Mary” soon.
