Artemis

Book 25 of 2018 is Artemis by Andy Weir.

I loved The Martian so much,. I laughed, I cried and I scienced. Despite and in honour of the poo jokes, I read this book.

It took me a few months to get through it, while reading other books. It was enjoyable the whole time.

The female protagonist is immature but relatable. Mars is alien but relatable. The whole book is challenging but relatable.

It is not The Martian but it's great. Just great.

I gave my copy of this book to a bartender who served the bar I sat at while reading this. Hope he likes it.

4 domes out of 5.

Should I read this? Yeah, she's a cool character who I'd hang out with.
What did I learn? Humans will survive in all situations. We just do.

Illuminae

Book 5 of 2017 is Illuminae by Amie Kaufman.

Continuing with consciously reading female authors in 2017 sees me read my fifth in five books. I'm sure I can't ignore male authors but this gives me a good incentive to read books I may have decided to top with something higher up the pile written by a man. It is changing my reading style.

This book is very interesting. It is written in the style of a hacked dossier so fits the whole wikileaks theme of the moment. The AI character is very HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey but extends that in a Young Adult book way. I won't say too much about that so as not to spoil it for anyone.

This is book one of a series and I'm not sure I will continue with it but this was enjoyable because it was original but safely predictable.

Three space walks out of five.

Should I read this? This is another YA book that will appeal to someone who wants an easy read with a few twists.
What did I learn? You never know when your entire world will fall apart so live life like this is your last day on Earth... or the moon.