I realized that I hadn’t read this one when talking with my mother about Project Hail Mary. I really liked that one and The Martian, so I thought I should go back and check out Artemis.
And it was so-so.
Like the other books we get lots of science and physics, but this is wrapped up in a sort of mystery/heist caper that provided the characters with lots of chances to make witty comments. Unlike the other books it was written from a female main characters point of view, but otherwise pretty much the same.
I guess my problem was that I wasn’t too invested in the fate of the characters. The story was a bit simple (outside of the technical descriptions) and sometimes I wondered if it was written as a young adult book. But then rewashable condoms came up and I guessed not.
Maybe this was created as an airport read that you can get through quickly – and for that I think it accomplished the goal.
The more I think about it, the other two books have strong themes of isolation, while this had much less of that. Maybe that was why I didn’t vibe with this book as much as the others.
Next I am reading Open Socrates by Agnes Callard.
