Goodreads Choice Awards Book Club discussion

Science Fiction Winner


Artemis

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.

I'm currently reading this and I rather like it. I was a bit hesitant to start since many of the reviews were not all that good, but it works for me. It's not as thrilling as The Martian, but so far I like it.

I agree, Janina. It's not as much fun as The Martian, but it's still quite a page turner.

This one got mixed reviews from my book club. I thought the plot was interesting, but the writing was a little weak. And there was the age old issue of how men write women and how odd that can sometimes read. (view spoiler)[And most of us were creeped out by the condom bit, especially the way the scientist hounded Jazz about it. Creepy, and were disappointed that's part of what helped him get the girl (hide spoiler)].

Page turner, indeed. Once the action started it just seemed to keep going without much delay.

I have not read ‘The Martian’ yet, so I don’t have that comparison. It’s on my list now for sometime soon.

I enjoyed the wittiness/sarcasm from some of the characters to be laugh worthy writing. I breezed through the book in just a few days.

[This next section may be spoilers, but not major spoilers.]

I felt like some of the characters were “stock” characters. For instance, the law abiding (sometimes abusive? power hungry?) cop figure, the corrupt politician with an agenda, the religious & moral father, the “moral” anti-hero that lives by their own rules.

But I don’t think Weir was intending to write amazing characters here. (If so, they fell short in my opinion...) The science and all the concepts that drive the imagining of a city on the moon is what kept my interest. How the oxygen system worked. What it was like to make aluminum and where the by products went. My list could go on. In short, I enjoyed the imagination it took to build the world in this book.

I am not a scientist. I am a theologian, so my knowledge of particulars is lacking. Overall, I enjoyed the read. Worth reading, for sure.

(This is definitely a spoiler...)

I was surprised with how things turned out with the melting smelter. I was not expecting the chloroform problem. I found the Alvarez fight a bit odd... Of all the people to not be knocked out?

I also enjoyed the emails between her and Kelvin.

I've finished the book and I largely agree with you Joe. I loved the science in the book and the overall plot was a fun action-themed scifi very worthwhile reading. The characters however bothered me .. not so much the main character, but the lack of depth in everyone else. (view spoiler)[ I also didn't really care much for the condom thing. It didn't seem all that creepy nor did I get the impression that it helped in any way for him to get the girl .. it was just pointless. Neither funny, nor contributing to the plot or the character building nor being of any interest to the story or anything. Yet, it kept popping up (pointlessly ;) ) (hide spoiler)]

I've started this on audible but have to admit I'm struggling to get into it. It may be because this week has been hectic with work. I'll see what I feel like once things settle down later in the month.

I REALLY enjoyed "The Martian" and worried this wouldn't live up to my standards, but I actually enjoyed it a lot. I read the book/listened to the audio, and I honestly think I enjoyed the audio version better, which is rare for me.

Artemis was a good read . I liked it but was trying not to compare the writing to The Martian. I enjoyed the science part of it but the relationship part was bogged down for me. The humor and the mystery of how the book was going to end kept me going through the book.

I think it was a fun read, but not as engaging as The Martian. I think that just comes down to the chemistry of the character of Mark Watney.

One the funnest things in this one was when Jazz was constantly reading the scandal sheets from Saudi Arabia.

I am just starting this which is good, I wanted to get to it before the end of the year.
I am listening on audible and so far I like the narrator.