Following up on his smash hit The Martian, Andy Weir brings us to the Moon instead of Mars this time around, but he does it in the same science heavy sci-fi manner. Set in the near future, this novel focuses on Jazz Bashara, a young woman who barely ekes out a living in the city of Artemis, which just happens to be on the Moon. Jazz has been raised on the Moon from a young age, so living in a coffin sized apartment and eating various flavors of algae is normal to her. However, she is often exposed to the much more extravagant lifestyles of the rich tourists who come to visit, as well as the wealthy business people who also live there, and she wants to move up. Jazz has a plan to make that happen and she has been known to work outside the law as needed when opportunities arise. When the chance of a lifetime comes along in a high-risk, high-reward score, she just can't resist.

Set within a believable 5 dome city on the moon, Artemis brings to life a possible near future city based on realistic economic research done by Andy Weir, and detailed here in Business Insider. From the currency used (slugs) to the tourist based economy, the environment the story takes place in feels real and believable. The story itself follows Jazz as she tries to land her big score, and physics lessons abound every step of the way as things go sideways.  The stakes escalate as the story unfolds and of course not everyone's motivations are what they seem to be.

So has Andy Weir done it again? Is Artemis as good as The Martian? It's a decent book, but Jazz Bashara is no Mark Watney, and that alone makes you less invested in the story. I just wasn't that sympathetic to Jazz as a character so the story never grabbed me like The Martian did, but I did enjoy it. So if you like your sci-fi with a capital SCI then be sure to pick it up but keep your expectations in check. :)

For audiobook fans this one has actress Rosario Dawson at the mic, who plays Claire Temple across the many different series in the Marvel TV universe.