[@0 Azzy 0] HEY, LISTEN!

Shadows of Self is the [i]second[/i] novel of Mistborn Era 2, which takes the events of [i]Hero of Ages[/i] and hits fast-forward until the world becomes an Old West / Steampunk kind of place. I enjoy Mistborn, but I [i]love[/i] Era 2. 

Right now, Mistborn Era 2 is:

1.) [i]The Alloy of Law[/i]
2.) [i]Shadows of Self[/i]
3.) [i]The Bands of Mourning[/i]
4.) [i]The Lost Metal[/i] (announced but not yet released)

If you haven't read [i]Alloy of Law[/i], you will very probably be pretty confused about what's going on in [i]Shadows of Self[/i]. :3

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I just finished reading [i]Artemis[/i], the new novel by Andy Weir (Author of The Martian). It's about a heist on the Moon.

I came into this book expecting [i]Ocean's Eleven[/i] In Space, and I got something rather different. The story moves quickly - sometimes almost too quickly - driven by our protagonist, Jasmine (or Jazz) Bashara. Jazz scrapes out a borderline existence as a freight porter and sometimes-smuggler in relative poverty in Artemis, the only city on the Moon, where the gravity is low and the prices are high. Her life is made more complicated by an oversize bag of personal problems, a penchant for liquor, and clients in high places. When someone offers her the kind of job that petty criminals only dream of, we get a long, stark look a Jazz's ambition, capability, and stunning brilliance. Like most brilliant people, she also has a [i]tremendous[/i] capability to fuck up, and fuck up she does, mightily. Like [i]The Martian[/i], this novel is largely assembled from the idea of "Our Character Is Very Smart, And Lots Of Bad Things Happen To Them," but in this case, almost everything that happens to Jazz is, one way or another, her own damn fault. Jazz's awareness of this fact is one of the most fun things about the story. 

In several ways, [i]Artemis[/i] does come across like Weir is trying to very directly address some of the commentary from his first novel. Our protagonist, for example, is a smart-mouthed Arabic woman with an abrasive attitude, and the cast is not otherwise filled with Default Characters In Science Fiction. There are discussions of Islam, and how you would face toward Mecca from the Moon (if you were inclined to). Major parts of the worldbuilding center around the idea of Kenya being the site of the mega-industry required to build a city on the Moon. 

And, of course, there's lots of stuff Andy Weir made a name for himself with his previous novel. There's a lot of hard science, chemistry, and a surprising amount of welding. There's plenty of sarcasm, lots of quips, and characters whose refusal to panic make them almost superhuman. There's also an extended discussion about a reusable condom and a brief aside regarding guest etiquette when visiting a Ukrainian. And, I have to admit, I have almost [i]never[/i] identified with a character so hard as I do with Jasmine Bashara.

I liked [i]Artemis[/i] a lot. There's a certain amount of "new author figuring out their longer-term voice" going on in this book, and I would say it's probably not quite as good as [i]The Martian[/i]. But the scope is larger, the ambition greater, and it shows that Weir is willing to stretch himself in some interesting ways. I would absolutely love to see more adventures in Artemis, but I'll look forward to Weir's next novel regardless.

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Edit: Since we're doing this, I guess, here's my to-read pile:

1.) [i]All Those Explosions Were Someone Else's Fault[/i], James Alan Gardner
2.) [i]Too Like the Lightning[/i], by Ada Palmer
3.) [i]Provenance[/i], by Ann Leckie
4.) [i]Norse Mythology[/i], by Neil Gaiman
5.) [i]Dead Wake[/i], by Erik Larson