Artemis

In the 2080s, the only city on the Moon, Artemis, is a bastion of the future frontier. Catering to upper class tourists, eccentrics, and people who just want to get away from Earth. Due to being located on the Moon though, it has some strict rules about what can and cannot come into the domed community providing for the two thousand permanent inhabitants and varying numbers of tourists. Fortunately, Jasmine "Jazz" Bashara is the smuggler extraordinaire who provides everything you might want or need. She spends most of her time dodging former RCMP constable Rudy DuBois while trying to get rich in a notoriously stratified Lunar society. When she comes across a job too good to be true, she finds herself in over her head.

Welcome to the Moon, welcome to Artemis.

From wikipedia

Weir sets up a meticulously detailed city on the Moon. He finds justifications for why things are the way they are, how the economy runs, and why people might want to come to Luna to settle and work their way towards a very specific future. From why certain goods are contraband, the economics of being in a business guild to being independent, and all the sundry details in between, Weir does a phenomenal job of making you believe that someone managed to set up an international space conglomerate in Kenya and get the funding to build an entire city on the Moon!

From welding to worries of space extravehicular activity, I felt like I could be seeing a real place off Earth. There's even a very cleverly done essay detailing his reasoning for the space economy. I'm the nerdy sort that reads that type of thing so it really appealed to me. From launch costs to tourists at the Apollo 11 landing site, you really see how this society ticks.

Jazz is also a real gem of a character. The entire story is told from her perspective and her head is a hilarious place to be. She's enmeshed in Lunar society and always trying to climb to the next rung. Her caustic attitude and rapier wit make her a joy to live through. The way she interacts with other characters from her accomplices, her friends and family, and her adversaries are so human and believable that you can't help but be impressed by her 'get it done' attitude and willingness to do what's right. 

Supporting her are her Earthbound pen pal Kelvin in Kenya, the eccentric scientist Martin Svoboda, and millionaire Trond Landvik who is one of her high paying repeat customers. He comes to her with a very strange plan that is outside Jazz's normal routine. However, when he offers her more money than she can possibly make in her usual honest (or dishonest) work, she can't help but accept.

From there though, things get crazier than she can imagine. It's a very lethal case of follow the money!

The story is one of suspense and mistrust as Jazz flees her semi-comfortable existence in the city and has to go on the run in its' underbelly so she can find out who is and isn't on her side. There's tense Lunar surface chases, games of cat and mouse in cramped passageways and tourist thoroughfares, and an ever unfolding chain of events over who really controls the city. It was fascinating the way that real science was rolled into the plot and used to generate tension and seriously raise the stakes along the way.

This is a fun and suspenseful science fiction read grounded in realism and witty characters. It's not a long read, so pick it up if you have the chance!