(Broadway Books)
Have you ever wanted to get away from it all? Well, buckle up, as Andy Weir, software engineer turned bestselling author of “The Martian,” takes us to the moon, or rather to Artemis, a lunar colony complete with economic strata, strife and intrigue. Jasmine Bashara may have grown up on the moon, but she wants what everyone wants — to get rich quick. How, you ask? A scheme is cooked up early in this fast-paced thriller, and yes, she may have to science the heck out of it. The characters are richly imagined, and the plot is propulsive; this is a great, fun, exciting read. Jasmine, or Jazz as she referred to by friends, is feisty, funny, scrappy and very, very smart. How did she end up living in the bowels of the colony when she has the intellectual capacity to be just about anything she wants? She’s a heroine to root for, and Trond, the ultra-rich businessman who has put her up to these risks, may not be telling her his whole story. This sci-fi story will hook you from the very start and keep you hooked. If you loved “The Martian,” you’ll really love “Artemis.” In paperback.
— Reviewed by Jenny Lyons of The Vermont Book Shop in Middlebury.
 
Sci-Fi Techno-Thrillers
Ready Player One, by Ernest Cline
New York 2140, by Kim Stanley Robinson
A Big Ship at the Edge of the Universe, by Alex White
The Martian, by Andy Weir
Leviathan Wakes, by James S. A. Corey
Provenance, by Ann Leckie
Sleeping Giants, by Sylvain Neuvel
The Calculating Stars, by Mary Robinette Kowal