Science Fiction: Artemis By Andy Weir

(Drivebycuriosity) - There will be a time when people will live on the moon. How will life on the moon be? The science fiction novel "Artemis" gives an impression (amazon). The book is written by Andy Weir who became famous with the novel "The Martian" (picturized with Matt Damon ). In "Artemis" the author again blended (speculative) fiction with a lot of science - the definition of hard science fiction.

I didn´t care much about the story: A Saudi Arabian woman, who is a citizen of the moon city "Artemis", signed a contract to sabotage things which starts a lot of action (this is a spoiler free blog. You can find a synopsis here wikipedia). I find the plot hilarious and neither events nor the characters believable. But I finished the book anyway, because Weir encourages precise & analytical thinking and he spiced his story with tons of facts. By reading "Artemis" I learned a lot about physics, chemistry and many facts about the moon. The book reminds me a bit of Robert Heinlein`s novels who also mixed fiction with the knowledge of his time.

I think the novel could be valuable for schools because it supports analytical thinking. Reading "Artemis" teaches science in an entertaining way and supports an optimistic & positive view onto the future. I also think that humans have to revisit the moon, because space exploration supports technology and the human progress. Reading"Artemis" could encourage a new moon program and so technological progress.