PissWeakly Reviews: Artemis / Andy Weir

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Artemis / Andy Weir

Artemis

by Andy Weir

science fiction

read in January 2018

rated 6/10: read to pass the time

This book is a bildungsroman! Just by coincidence, I read (again) the Wikipedia entry on bildungsroman. This was just after reading Artemis. And I thought, Yes! this is one of them! The heroine goes through psychological and moral growth as she gains acceptance in her society. I'm glad I spotted that :-)

And, as well as that: Artemis is old-style hard science fiction.

There is a lot of action -- entertaining and enjoyable action. Central to the action is the science. Yes, it's "hard science fiction" but the science is well-balanced by the entertaining action. The science supports the action, the action is driven by the science.

The characters work with the science. Some are scientists or technicians, other characters are making money in ways that only work because of the science.

The "world" of this novel is very Moon is a Harsh Mistress in its approach to social order. There are no strict rules. If you step outside of society's acceptable limits then members of the society will give you a tough, physical lesson... That is, unacceptable actions will lead to a bashing of the perpetrator. Although Artemis is fairer in its unofficial system of justice:

Moon has written and unwritten rules, visitors are not told of these rules but are expected to follow them. Or be punished. Artemis has no rules other than social expectations. Which is fine while the majority believe in "good" standards... Does that make sense? Read the book to discover that there is a problem with acceptable standards being set, case by case, by concerned citizens.

And then there are the criminal activities which are -- apparently -- supported by the author. It's all part of the societal standards which are an integral part of this book. The author gives a couple of examples of the power of vigilante justice. All well and good. Yet he overlooks the criminal dealings which drive the plot. And which will not -- in my opinion! -- lead to a happy and balanced society.

Without the accepted criminality at the core of the story, I could have rated this book at eight... but then, it would have been an entirely different book. If you have none of my objections to unethical motives, you can rate this book as being, really quite good.

At the least, it is well worth reading.