With his first publish novel , The Martian , Andy Weir blinded us with skill . It ’s no secret to say that the story ’s massive success was due to his actual yet gripping account of how someone could plausibly hold out on Mars . In Artemis , Weir tries to evolve to a new level of storytelling , but the change are alas not for the better .
In the book , Artemis is the first metropolis not build up on Earth , but the moon . The independent role is Jazz , a pat , down - on - her - lot moon-curser who grow up there . finally , she ’s given an chance to make a peck of money by pulling off a dangerous holdup . She , of course , takes it , but serve it to say things do n’t go very well .
Jazz may be the star of Weir ’s story but the star of the script is Artemis itself . Weir did a mind - blunt amount of inquiry of how a city on the surface of the Moon could really be potential , and any meter he ’s describing it , it ’s absolutely mesmerize . Every item , from the laws , to the atmosphere , the economy , security , tourism — it ’s all here , carefully spread across the first third of the taradiddle . It feels almost like walking through a time - machine into the near future and it ’s a blast .
Through all of that setup , Jazz is a welcome term of enlistment - guide . She provide the reviewer with an on - the - ground position of Artemis as well as relating the facts and science behind it . She ’s also an underdog ; she may live on the Moon , but she ’s amaze it tough , and that struggle is very human and relatable .
thing take a turn for the worse , though , once nothingness commence the holdup . Of course , there ’s no book without the rip-off , but everything that comes after is so much less interesting than receive there . Every image from every heist story you ’ve ever get a line is here and it ’s a bore . There are good Guy , bad guys , fuzz , femme fatales , investigations , double crosses , lying , you name it . Weir is basically just rehash an old , pulp tec account , but on the Moon . The patch of the book is much , much less captivating than its background .
As Artemis gets more and more plot - drive and less and less interesting , wind becomes less interesting , too . Weir obviously took great care to try and make his star character a believable , naturalistic , complex cleaning lady . But it ’s very hit or miss , and as he starts to unleash all the heist elements , Jazz becomes less a fictional character and more a machine . She goes from interesting heroine to bland protagonist and it ’s just another way Weir shifts the focal point off from the best things in the book .
Thankfully , once the book extend to its finale , the chemistry and physical science that made the introduction to Artemis so entertaining become a cardinal element again . Heck , there are even times when Weir might get too detailed or too tangled for a insouciant reader , but at least it feel like its clearly his voice , and the Good Book is good when it ’s cleared who is writing it . It ’s just dissatisfactory that , for a good portion of the book , that vox is for the most part missing .
When your first volume is as successful and well - know as The Martian , it ’s inevitable that your follow - up will be compare to it , so here goes : Artemis is not near as good as The Martian . Parts of it hail close but it falters when Weir tries to take a step onward as a writer . When the level is focussed and simple , like The Martian , it mould . But when there are multiple characters and heavy action episode , it does n’t .
One read why Weir try out to do more in a 2nd novel and that he does n’t want to keep drop a line the same tarradiddle over and over again . But in attempt to broaden his horizons , he lost some of what make him particular … and readable . As a result , Artemis is a ho - hum , forgettable story with a sea wolf , unforgettable mount .
Andy WeirArtemisFilmsSci - FiThe Martian
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