The blurb at the back of the book made the book sound like a kind of a heist novel that happens on the moon. This combination was utterly irresistible to me, and the moment I saw it, I had to pick it up. I then came home and opened my laptop to check out the reviews. Then came a bunch of so-so reviews, and quite a few DNFs (did not finish), and I was a little bummed. Still, I embarked on the book with a little lower expectations.
And ended up really loving it.
What it’s About
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.
~ Synopsis from goodreads
Artemis book review
I had loved The Martian for its tongue-in-cheek humor even in devastating situations. And I’m glad to see the same sense of humor in this book (even if the situation is not as dire).
Jazz Bashara – the main character is funny, and I really enjoyed her quips. Although, midway through, it did seem like the author had simply converted his character Mark Watney from The Martian into Jazz Bashara. Her jokes felt more like those from a teenage boy then a mid-twenties girl. Of course, a girl can have a potty sense of humor, it’s just that it didn’t always translate well in the book.
Still, there are some real zingers that I loved:
By the way, we also hate it when people call Artemis ‘the city in space.’ We’re not in space; we’re on the moon. I mean, technically, we’re in space, but so is London.
On top of that, Jazz is supposed to be a Muslim girl from Saudi Arabia living on the moon. However, everything about her sounded American. Her multi-cultural friends (from Ukraine, Kenya, and so on) also sound the same. Normally, this would have irritated the heck out of me, as I always like characters to be realistic. But something about this book made me forget about all that, abandon all critical thinking and just sink into the plot.
And the plot is just so much fun. It’s like Oceans 11 in space. Jazz Bashara is planning a big heist. But heists are never interesting (at least to me), until they go wrong. And so rather predictably, it does go wrong. Mid-way though the book, Jazz is screwed, and the next half of the book is all about how Jazz saves the moon’s economy from being taken over by Brazilian mobsters.
Plot sounds hokey, right? As I write this review, I am increasingly aware that the hokey plot and ridiculous humor that I enjoyed so much is not something that everyone will like. This is a book with some awful flaws, but I found it entertaining enough to overlook it. Hell, the book was so fast-paced that I didn’t even realize all the flaws until I sat down to type out this review.
Even more strange sounding? I actually quite enjoyed all those lengthy treatises on welding in this book. Yes, welding.
Overall, I guess this is a book you have to be in the correct mood to enjoy. If you want witty one-liners and crazy heists, and are willing to overlook poor character building, and nonsensical plot, this book would work for you.
Have you read this book? What did you think of it?
