This is Jessi Wakefield with the Sioux City Public Library and you are listening to Check It Out. In 2014, Andy Weir came out with his debut novel, The Martian. It quickly and rightfully was lauded as a breakthrough and immediately became a favorite of many, including me. So the moment his second novel dropped, I quickly grabbed it and hoped to enjoy it even a fraction as much as I did his first. Today, I would like to recommend that second novel by Andy Weir, Artemis. I feel I need to say this first. This is not The Martian Volume 2. This is its own story, and the only similarity you might encounter between the two is that space suits are involved in both. If you go in expecting it to be The Martian, then you might be disappointed, but it is a fun ride in its own right. The story is set in the small city called Artemis, with a population of around 2000. It has an upper class and a lower class. It has the elitists and the craftsmen. Oh, and it happens to be on the Moon. Our reluctant heroine is 26-year-old Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara, an errand runner by day, and the city’s most trusted smuggler by night. She is looking for the one big score to help her move out of her apartment that is literally the size of a coffin, and into a place where she can actually stand up, and not have to share a communal bathroom. This chance is brought to her doorstep when the Moon’s wealthiest citizen wants her to participate in an illegal activity that can make both of them very, very rich. This book in no uncertain terms is a comedy. Jazz is sarcastic, fun loving, with a biting wit and razor sharp intellect. The tone of the character reminded me a great deal of Harry Dresden in Jim Butcher’s wonderful series The Dresden Files. One of the things about which you can rest assure, since it was written by Andy Weir, is that the science and technology is plausible, possible, and tight. Artemis is just simply a fun read. You will finish it in a flash and laugh throughout. Come to the Sioux City Library and check out Artemis by Andy Weir.
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