Jazzed Up Sci-Fi Crime Caper

As The Martian Mark Watney was a real star of a character, his struggles and internal monologues really brought his whole situation to light. He was one of the elite, in the space program and with multiple degrees to his name. Jazz is the same in that she also indulges her narrative in the same low humour but she's progressed a lot less and through rather more dubious routes. If you buy into her you'll likely buy into the story.

This is a fast-moving sci-fi crime caper that gets increasingly out of control as it goes along. It's fun, it's laden with interesting science which I won't try to validate because cleverer than me people are still debating The Martian! I do think Weir lets himself go just a bit more with this one and the final part of the adventure does stretch things a bit but not any more than many authors do.

I'm quite shocked, genuinely, to read some early critical reviews of the narration. I think Dawson is an absolute star in this. She delivers Jazz pretty much perfectly for me and the other characters are easily distinguishable. If you have doubts listen to the audio sample of course and come to your own decision but I'd definitely recommend giving it a chance and not being put off even trying!

So, maybe not quite the all-time classic that The Martian was with of course the great RC Bray but definitely a highly entertaining read if you like this style of humour. Sure, the story has some weaknesses but I still found it thoroughly entertaining.

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91 people found this helpful

Brilliant listen

I dont understand the bad reviews.
I have listened to loads of rubbish on here lately and was pleased to have a great book to listen too for a change.
Rosario does a fantastic job with the characters and I totally get the plot.
shes offered a get rich quick scheme it all goes tits up and she has to think on her feet for life or death.
BRILLIANT.
well done Andy weir and well done Rosario Dawson you had me hooked from the start.

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38 people found this helpful

Think it won't be as good as the Martian ? Think again!

Liked the Martian so downloaded
Brilliant ! Not so much science fiction as science fact - great story rooted in reality in an unreal but possible Space city. You don't need to like science fiction to love this - Rosario Dawson is brilliant too - gutted it has finished !

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9 people found this helpful

Wait for the movie

Two chapters in I recommended it to someone else and now I’m a bit embarrassed about that.

Artemis isn’t necessarily a bad book. I’m sure it’ll be a great movie. I feels like the book was written to be read aloud which is great for Audible but I pity anyone who bought the physical book. While Rosario brings Jazz to life in her performance, the few chapters I’ve read in paper form irritated me greatly. This is no great work of prose. The book is written exactly as the character would describe the events. This can be charming at points but overall the effect is that of an action packed tv show intercut with science show explanations at the most inopportune moments. Kind of like The Big Short but with air pressure instead of subprime mortgages, and not as smooth.

It’s obvious that Weir enjoys writing about science. In fact, it would be easy to believe that the interest in writing about air pressure and fiber optics came first, and then Jazz and Artemis were shaped around that. This in itself is an interesting concept considering, in the vast majority of science fiction, the laws of physics are bent and warped to fit around the story. I understand Weir wants no man left behind. The explanations are good and I genuinely feel like I learned something but it regularly flattens the tension/drama.

I’ll be interested to see how it transitions into film. I have no doubt that it will. The characters are so diverse, which is refreshing and admirable, so I’m sure there will be endless coverage of the casting process.
It’s okay overall. I preordered this one but I probably won’t do that for his third.

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2 people found this helpful

Great Fun - what a movie it would make.

Its great, scientifically accurate, I happen to be a physicist, have a masters in Physics, good characters that are three dimensional, a story that you just knew was heading for a climax and again, the science is right!! Such an achievement. It must have taken months of research and the story - cowboy hero on the moon. What could be better? Get it, enjoy it.

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2 people found this helpful

Mediocre at best. Dull story, poor performance

Not a patch on the Martian. Characters were weak, plot uninteresting (who cares about welding?), main character isn't particularly likeable. Narrator isn't very good at voices, the attempt at what I guess is a Cockeney barkeep is awful.

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2 people found this helpful

Bit Disappointing

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

The author creates a very interesting and believable habitat on the moon, but really did not have a very interesting story to tell. In particular, the characters in this book are not likeable or even convincing, especially the protagonist, who is just annoying, with very few redeeming features.
A good book needs more than just convincing science.

What will your next listen be?

Not sure.

Have you listened to any of Rosario Dawson’s other performances? How does this one compare?

NA

If this book were a film would you go see it?

Possibly

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1 person found this helpful

Audiobooks don't get much better than this!

This second novel from The Martian writer Andy Weir doesn't disappoint. It's essentially more of the same (space, science, action and sarcasm), but different enough to be compelling and with the same great energy. Rosario Dawson does an outstanding job of the narration. Probably a bit too science-heavy for some listeners, but for me, audiobooks don't get much better than this.

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1 person found this helpful

Worth a listen

It's hard not to expect amazing things when I loved The Martian so much. I did like the Moon as a setting for the story and the idea was good. The characters came together well and you got to like a lot of them. Something just fell short a little bit somewhere. Some of the plot was a bit complicated to follow. The last third was better than the first two thirds. Maybe I should listen to it again. I think if I had listened to it not having read The Martian and knowing it was the same author maybe I would have enjoyed it more. I was just holding it up too high maybe. See what you think. It is worth a listen.

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1 person found this helpful

Very interesting listen

This is fun and very well narrated keeps you listening I finished this book in a few days quick for me I recommend this highly hope there will be a follow-up

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1 person found this helpful