Lunar Conspiracy Sciences the $h!t out of me... but Lacks the Same Spark
So let's get this out of the way, right off the bat: anyone expecting a stellar follow-up to Andy Weir's immensely-entertaining debut, The Martian , with his sophomore outing (the soon-to-be-released Artemis ), may be a little disappointed... not because it isn't a fun read, but because the bar was set SO very high from the get-go. The Martian was in my top-five books for 2014, because it hit on all cylinders. Smart, funny, smart-ass, regular-guy hero? Check. Fascinating setting, depicted in glorious detail so that it felt like I was there, too? Check. Seemingly-impossible snafus to get out of? Check. Thrilling, edge-of-my-seat kind of ending... that also seemed plausible enough? Yep, check. On paper, Artemis has most of the same kinds of things going for it. Bright, wise-acre, ordinary-gal hero (a young female protagonist who's on the shady side, but close enough)? Roger that. Cool setting, given ample descriptions to make it "real" (a little town on ...