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The bestselling author of The Martian returns with an irresistible new near-future thriller—a heist story set on the moon.
Jasmine Bashara never signed up to be a hero. She just wanted to get rich.
Not crazy, eccentric-billionaire rich, like many of the visitors to her hometown of Artemis, humanity’s first and only lunar colony. Just rich enough to move out of her coffin-sized apartment and eat something better than flavored algae. Rich enough to pay off a debt she’s owed for a long time.
So when a chance at a huge score finally comes her way, Jazz can’t say no. Sure, it requires her to graduate from small-time smuggler to full-on criminal mastermind. And it calls for a particular combination of cunning, technical skills, and large explosions—not to mention sheer brazen swagger. But Jazz has never run into a challenge her intellect can’t handle, and she figures she’s got the ‘swagger’ part down.
The trouble is, engineering the perfect crime is just the start of Jazz’s problems. Because her little heist is about to land her in the middle of a conspiracy for control of Artemis itself.
Trapped between competing forces, pursued by a killer and the law alike, even Jazz has to admit she’s in way over her head. She’ll have to hatch a truly spectacular scheme to have a chance at staying alive and saving her city.
Jazz is no hero, but she is a very good criminal.
That’ll have to do.
Propelled by its heroine’s wisecracking voice, set in a city that’s at once stunningly imagined and intimately familiar, and brimming over with clever problem-solving and heist-y fun, Artemis is another irresistible brew of science, suspense, and humor from #1 bestselling author Andy Weir.
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ISBN-10
1785030256
ISBN-13
978-1785030253
Print length
335 pages
Language
English
Publisher
RANDOM HOUSE UK
Publication date
June 26, 2018
Dimensions
4.96 x 0.79 x 7.8 inches
Item weight
2.31 pounds
People will trust a reliable criminal more readily than a shady businessman.
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On a scale from one to ‘invade Russia in winter,’ how stupid is this plan?
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But by the end of it I had a plan. And like all good plans, it required a crazy Ukrainian guy.
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ASIN :
B06Y55SB48
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9277 KB
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Praise for Artemis:
“An action-packed techno-thriller of the first order…the perfect vehicle for humans who want to escape, if only for a time, the severe gravity of planet earth. The pages fly by.”—USA Today
“Revitalizes the Lunar-colony scenario, with the author’s characteristic blend of engineering know-how and survival suspense...Jazz is a great heroine, tough with a soft core, crooked with inner honesty.”—Wall Street Journal
“Smart and sharp…Weir has done it again [with] a sci-fi crowd pleaser made for the big screen.”—Salon.com
“Makes cutting-edge science sexy and relevant…Weir has created a realistic and fascinating future society, and every detail feels authentic and scientifically sound.” —Associated Press
“Out-of-this-world storytelling.”—Houston Chronicle
"Weir excels when it comes to geeky references, snarky humour and scenes of ingenious scientific problem-solving.” —Financial Times
“Weir has done the impossible—he’s topped The Martian with a sci-fi-noir-thriller set in a city on the moon. What more do you want from life? Go read it!”– Blake Crouch, New York Times bestselling author of Dark Matter
“Everything you could hope for in a follow-up to The Martian: another smart, fun, fast-paced adventure that you won’t be able to put down.” – Ernest Cline, New York Times bestselling author of Ready Player One
“A superior near-future thriller…with a healthy dose of humor.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“An exciting, whip-smart, funny thrill-ride…one of the best science fiction novels of the year.” —Booklist (starred review)
“Narrated by a kick-ass leading lady, this thriller has it all – a smart plot, laugh-out-loud funny moments, and really cool science.” —Library Journal (starred review)
Praise for The Martian:
“Brilliant…a celebration of human ingenuity [and] the purest example of real-science sci-fi for many years.” —Wall Street Journal
“A gripping survival story.” —New York Times
“Terrific…a crackling good read.”—USA Today
“A marvel…Robinson Crusoe in a space suit.”—Washington Post
“Impressively geeky…the technical details keep the story relentlessly precise and the suspense ramped up.” —Entertainment Weekly
“A story for readers who enjoy thrillers, science fiction, non-fiction, or flat-out adventure.” —Associated Press
“Utterly nail-baiting and memorable.”—Financial Times
“A hugely entertaining novel that reads like a rocket ship afire.”—Chicago Tribune
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Chapter 1
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.
Bob ran beside me. His voice came over the radio: “Let me connect my tanks to your suit!”
“That’ll just get you killed too.”
“The leak’s huge,” he huffed. “I can see the gas escaping your tanks.”
“Thanks for the pep talk.”
“I’m the EVA master here,” Bob said. “Stop right now and let me cross-connect!”
“Negative.” I kept running. “There was a pop right before the leak alarm. Metal fatigue. Got to be the valve assembly. If you cross-connect you’ll puncture your line on a jagged edge.”
“I’m willing to take that risk!”
“I’m not willing to let you,” I said. “Trust me on this, Bob. I know metal.”
I switched to long, even hops. It felt like slow motion, but it was the best way to move with all that weight. My helmet’s heads-up display said the airlock was fifty-two meters away. I glanced at my arm readouts. My oxygen reserve plummeted while I watched. So I stopped watching.
The long strides paid off. I was really hauling ass now. I even left Bob behind, and he’s the most skilled EVA master on the moon. That’s the trick: Add more forward momentum every time you touch the ground. But that also means each hop is a tricky affair. If you screw up, you’ll face-plant and slide along the ground. EVA suits are tough, but it’s best not to grind them against regolith.
“You’re going too fast! If you trip you could crack your faceplate!”
“Better than sucking vacuum,” I said. “I’ve got maybe ten seconds.”
“I’m way behind you,” he said. “Don’t wait for me.”
I only realized how fast I was going when the triangular plates of Conrad filled my view. They were growing very quickly.
“Shit!” No time to slow down. I made one final leap and added a forward roll. I timed it just right--more out of luck than skill--and hit the wall with my feet. Okay, Bob was right. I’d been going way too fast.
I hit the ground, scrambled to my feet, and clawed at the hatch crank.
My ears popped. Alarms blared in my helmet. The tank was on its last legs--it couldn’t counteract the leak anymore.
I pushed the hatch open and fell inside. I gasped for breath and my vision blurred. I kicked the hatch closed, reached up to the emergency tank, and yanked out the pin.
The top of the tank flew off and air flooded into the compartment. It came out so fast, half of it liquefied into fog particles from the cooling that comes with rapid expansion. I fell to the ground, barely conscious.
I panted in my suit and suppressed the urge to puke. That was way the hell more exertion than I’m built for. An oxygen-deprivation headache took root. It’d be with me for a few hours, at least. I’d managed to get altitude sickness on the moon.
The hiss died to a trickle, then finished.
Bob finally made it to the hatch. I saw him peek in through the small round window.
“Status?” he radioed.
“Conscious,” I wheezed.
“Can you stand? Or should I call for an assist?”
Bob couldn’t come in without killing me--I was lying in the airlock with a bad suit. But any of the two thousand people inside the city could open the airlock from the other side and drag me in.
“No need.” I got to my hands and knees, then to my feet. I steadied myself against the control panel and initiated the cleanse. High-pressure air jets blasted me from all angles. Gray lunar dust swirled in the airlock and got pulled into filtered vents along the wall.
After the cleanse, the inner hatch door opened automatically.
I stepped into the antechamber, resealed the inner hatch, and plopped down on a bench.
Bob cycled through the airlock the normal way--no dramatic emergency tank (which now had to be replaced, by the way). Just the normal pumps-and-valves method. After his cleanse cycle, he joined me in the antechamber.
I wordlessly helped Bob out of his helmet and gloves. You should never make someone de-suit themselves. Sure, it’s doable, but it’s a pain in the ass. There’s a tradition to these things. He returned the favor.
“Well, that sucked,” I said as he lifted my helmet off.
“You almost died.” He stepped out of his suit. “You should have listened to my instructions.”
I wriggled out of my suit and looked at the back. I pointed to a jagged piece of metal that was once a valve. “Blown valve. Just like I said. Metal fatigue.”
He peered at the valve and nodded. “Okay. You were right to refuse cross-connection. Well done. But this still shouldn’t have happened. Where the hell did you get that suit?”
“I bought it used.”
“Why would you buy a used suit?”
“Because I couldn’t afford a new one. I barely had enough money for a used one and you assholes won’t let me join the guild until I own a suit.”
“You should have saved up for a new one.” Bob Lewis is a former US Marine with a no-bullshit attitude. More important, he’s the EVA Guild’s head trainer. He answers to the guild master, but Bob and Bob alone determines your suitability to become a member. And if you aren’t a member, you aren’t allowed to do solo EVAs or lead groups of tourists on the surface. That’s how guilds work. Dicks.
“So? How’d I do?”
He snorted. “Are you kidding me? You failed the exam, Jazz. You super-duper failed.”
“Why?!” I demanded. “I did all the required maneuvers, accomplished all the tasks, and finished the obstacle course in under seven minutes. And, when a near-fatal problem occurred, I kept from endangering my partner and got safely back to town.”
He opened a locker and stacked his gloves and helmet inside. “Your suit is your responsibility. It failed. That means you failed.”
“How can you blame me for that leak?! Everything was fine when we headed out!”
“This is a results-oriented profession. The moon’s a mean old bitch. She doesn’t care why your suit fails. She just kills you when it does. You should have inspected your gear better.” He hung the rest of his suit on its custom rack in the locker.
“Come on, Bob!”
“Jazz, you almost died out there. How can I possibly give you a pass?” He closed the locker and started to leave. “You can retake the test in six months.”
I blocked his path. “That’s so ridiculous! Why do I have to put my life on hold because of some arbitrary guild rule?”
“Pay more attention to equipment inspection.” He stepped around me and out of the antechamber. “And pay full price when you get that leak fixed.”
I watched him go, then slumped onto the bench.
“Fuck.”
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Andy Weir
Andrew Taylor Weir is an American novelist. His 2011 novel The Martian was adapted into the 2015 film of the same name directed by Ridley Scott. He received the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in 2016 and his 2021 novel Project Hail Mary was a finalist for the 2022 Hugo Award for Best Novel.
ANDY WEIR built a two-decade career as a software engineer until the success of his first published novel, The Martian, allowed him to live out his dream of writing full-time.
He is a lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of such subjects as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics, and the history of manned spaceflight. He also mixes a mean cocktail.
He lives in California.
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Customer reviews
4.2 out of 5
42,967 global ratings
Precise Disarray
5
Cool story, great characters
Reviewed in the United States on February 24, 2019
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When I review books I do not reiterate what I read. I do not pick it apart to where there is nothing left for the would be reader to discover for themselves. I like to let the potential reader know if I liked it overall with a few extra details. So no worry on spoilers. I'll keep my thoughts on it as short as possible. I'll start by saying that I enjoyed The Martian for the humor and technical aspects of the science portrayed. The details brought me to an unfamiliar landscape with a situation I will likely never be in. I was entertained, it flowed smoothly, and it made me appreciate this writers style. Having said that, I bought Artemis without knowing anything about it other than who had written it. I did not know what to expect. When I began reading it, I could tell I was in for fun ride, so to speak. What a cool story, with interesting, fun characters. Once again science and an unfamiliar landscape drew me in, yet with situations just familiar enough to be able to relate. I could visualize the surroundings, I felt like I knew the characters, I was curious as to how the situation/s would resolve given that the norms of Artemis are wildly different than what we know of Earth. I just enjoyed the heck out of it. Furthermore, what I found is that I didn't want the story to end. Situations can resolve, but I want to be able to continue to observe the life of these people. There is so much story just given the setting. I would love to see more of these characters and more story to be told of this way of life. There is a lot of rich material to work from, and would absolutely be a wonderful way to delve deeper into all of it. I really hope this isn't a once and done story line/story setting. It was a gem of a read. Nicely done!
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13 people found this helpful
Doug Van Dorn
5
Good effort, solid story
Reviewed in the United States on April 2, 2019
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As many have noted, I loved The Martian. So I was prepared to like Artemis. Unlike some others, I was not disappointed. Reviews such as "pretty standard suspense yarn" could have easily been written for The Martian as "pretty standard survival yarn." I would disagree on both counts.
I was very pleased with the detailed background Weir created for the Artemis installation, both from an engineering aspect and from the economic point of view. People love to describe fully developed lunar and space colonies in their works, never bothering to deal with whether or not they could ever have been built within realistic economic models. As Weir notes in an afterward, he put a lot of thought into how such a city could be built from the economics standpoint. Made the whole thing drip with a realistic background.
I also believe this work hangs together so well from the storytelling angle that it will make an excellent feature film. I don't think Weir did this deliberately, since The Martian also had this structure and feel. It's just that all of us who grew up on media like TV and movies tend to structure stories in our heads in TV/movie formats. This shows in this tale.
As for the viewpoint character being female, I agree that this was not a story about gender issues, it was a story about how economics can create impetus for organized crime takeovers and murders. It deals with the real way in which cities get built, doesn't skip past them with energetic arm-waving that ought not be needed, when the economics of such things are pretty well known. So, yeah, the gender of the POV character was simply not important to the story. I like to read about a future where that's the case -- that it doesn't matter if you're male or female, gay or straight, you're still a human being with problems to solve and issues to address. A good story about the future, in my opinion, ought to be more gender-neutral. Weird uses Jazz's gender in totally logical ways, and her inner narrative voice isn't degraded by thinking of gender issues first and the story second, again as is the case in too many works trying to "make a point."
Overall, it held my interest and I greatly enjoyed it. If I had one criticism -- and this would be of Weir and not the book -- it would be that he doesn't seem to know how to write a POV character who isn't the world's biggest smart-ass. Maybe he doesn't have to, that may be his niche in the literary world. But the only repetitive thing I noted here was the level of smart-ass that Mark Watney and Jazz Bashara share. In fact, in the author interview portion of the afterward, when asked what would happen if Watney and Bashara met, Weir says they would have a contest to see which was the biggest smart-ass. I'd love to read that...
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M Tucker
5
Fly Me To The Moon
Reviewed in the United States on July 18, 2018
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Artemis is not a sequel to The Martian. I love the book but it is a totally different story. That is what I expected. I did not expect a Martian “themed” new story. I expected Andy Weir to tell a new, different science fiction story based in the near future and based, as much as possible, on real technology and science. Something not yet developed in 2018 should be a technology that is in the realm of believable possibility, like ZAFO.
This story is about survival but it is not a survival novel. It is sort of a crime thriller set on the moon in the not too distant future. Our protagonist, Jazz, is a young Saudi woman who struggles to make ends meet and supplements her income by smuggling. She is full of piss and vinegar, fiercely ambitious, extraordinarily intelligent and occasionally makes poor life choices. Just a blast to hang out with.
Artemis is a city of about 2000 located in the Sea of Tranquility. Tranquility Base, the Eagle’s Decent stage and the bits left over from that first landing on the moon have become a huge tourist draw. Specially trained EVA masters take the tourists out to experience a walk on the moon and to have a close-up experience of it all. It is a well-paid job and that is what Jazz wants to become, an EVA master. She is constantly hustling to improve her circumstances. Then she is presented with an offer she cannot refuse. It involves criminal activity at a much higher level than she is used to but the money it just too good to walk away from. It will require skill, deception and a lot of high level intellectual activity.
As Jazz works hard to pull-off this caper and earn her money she discovers a startling truth. She discovers that the life she has come to know and love on the moon is threatened. It could all radically change. Powerful sinister forces are at work and now Jazz must put all of her talent to work. She is not alone. Jazz has convinced a small group of fellow Artemisians to help save their lunar city. Now it is no longer about the money but if she and her fellow conspirators succeed the money is still there.
Andy Weir has created a wonderful character in Jazz and placed her in a gripping and interesting tale. Even though there are some holes in the plot I found them to be minor enough to easily overlook. With a novel my measurement of reading enjoyment is based on how long I will stay distracted with the story. This story is one of those I could have happily stay wrapped-up in for the duration had life and responsibility not intervened.
It is wonderful to find out that a screen writer has been chosen for the film adaptation. Should make a great movie.
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4 people found this helpful
kauaiguy
5
good book, easy to get into the characters
Reviewed in the United States on April 30, 2024
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I haven't yet read other Andy Weir books, though most of my friends have - and so will I now that I've read Artemis. It's easy to get into the character, especially since she's quirky and smart. It's a believable viewpoint of a young adult growing up where they live, this case the moon. I'd recommend this even if you've read his others and didn't like them. It's unique, not too deep, good science, believable characters.
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SJJM
4
Although it's not as good as The Martian, it should keep sci-fi fans entertained.
Reviewed in the United States on August 4, 2018
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The Martian was my favorite book in 2016, and I was also a fan of the movie when I saw it in 2017. When I heard that Andy Weir was releasing a new book I was stoked and waited eagerly for its release. In November of last year, Artemis hit the shelves. The blurb revealed that it was another book set in space, but this time on the Moon. Wow. I couldn't wait to get a copy and delve back into Weir's universe.
As with The Martian, the book does contain a lot of the author's trademark detail (ie. technical explanations etc), which I think is an asset in adding authenticity to the plot. It shows that the content is well researched and that what is happening is scientifically and technically possible. Artemis is a settlement on the moon, which comprises of a number of domes (named after famous astronauts) where a sizeable population of 2000 people live.
Aside from the local mining industry, part of its economy is fed by tourism, where people wealthy enough come from Earth to visit the Moon for a vacation. Besides the obvious attraction of being on the Moon, the other main tourist spot is the site of the lunar landing. It reminded me of the mock-up that I went to at NASA in Florida, but instead of sitting in a theatre with a replica lander and special effects, the space tourists are at the real site looking through a thick glass wall at the actual landing module and astronaut footprints.
The main character, Jazz, is a young woman who is making her humble living as a courier/ deliverer/ small-time smuggler. Although she seemed nice enough, I don't think I really got onboard with her. Maybe it's just me, but I think it's easier to connect with someone who is on the side of good, rather than someone who is on the side that we normally oppose. That said, we do love Han Solo, and he was a smuggler!
I found the first half of the book very slow. I realize that it was all about setting up for the second half, but I didn't find it that engaging. Perhaps I was expecting too much, given how much I liked The Martian. I think that my memories of Weir's first book kept me going to see where it was all leading. Jazz is a strong woman, driven mainly by her need for cash and a want to improve her life. Maybe it was her self-focus that failed to click with me. In the first half of the book she makes some questionable decisions that definitely make her some enemies, and as such, it sets up for the ensuing plot line.
Once we moved into the second half things got much better. The plot was thickening, the pace quickened, thrilling arrived, and there was a lot more happening. In order to move forward and try to fix things, Jazz needed to dig deep and find unique ways to deal with the situation she was in. This was reminiscent of what I liked about The Martian - making the most of what you have to keep going.
Without giving too much away, there was a section of the plot in the second half that I thought would have been a much more exciting area to focus on and expand, instead of the amount of time allocated to the first half. I hope that makes sense. In my opinion, it would have made for a more exciting and thrilling story.
In a Nutshell - Artemis is a good book, which gets better as you read more. If you find yourself lagging during the first half, hang in there and keep reading. Although it's not as good as The Martian, it should keep sci-fi fans entertained.
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4 people found this helpful
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