Books Like Artemis
by Andy Weir
Artemis is a city-on-the-moon heist novel built around one clearly wired engine: a fast-talking, practical protagonist using engineering know-how, black-market contacts and a talent for bad timing to pull off an audacious job. Andy Weir writes in clipped first-person, layering nuts-and-bolts explanations of life-support scrubbers, pressurization and oxygen economics under a running, jokey internal monologue. The stakes are local — oxygen, money, survival — but the novel feels cinematic because every scene pivots on technical solutions and the consequences of a single miscalculation.
If you loved Artemis, ask which ingredient hooked you. Was it the voice — an economically profane, whip-smart narrator with a liar’s charm? The grounded, explain-it-like-I’m-five engineering that turns tools into plot? The blue-collar lunar setting and the way daily logistics become suspense? Or the caper structure — a criminal scheme that unspools through improvisation and gadgetry? Below are books chosen for sharing one or more of those elements: some echo Weir’s specific brand of solo-operator problem-solving, some mirror the voice and humor, and a few match the moon-bound, technical worldbuilding in spirit rather than detail.
Recommended for fans of Artemis
The Martian
Andy Weir
Witty, techie first-person survival story on a hostile celestial body.
Pick this if you want more of Andy Weir’s exact combination of jokey narration and engineering-driven crisis. This is the closest match in voice and method.
Project Hail Mary
Andy Weir
Smart, lone-protagonist science thriller with humor and clever problem-solving.
Pick this if you enjoyed a single improv-savvy protagonist applying science under pressure. It’s still Weir’s voice but trades a lunar heist for a galaxy-scale mission.
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress
Robert A. Heinlein
Lunar setting with rebellious plot, libertarian tones, and sharp wit.
Pick this if the moon as a political and social stage intrigues you. Expect sharper ideological argument and a different, more collective cast than Artemis.
Seveneves
Neal Stephenson
Big-scale orbital survival, meticulous technical detail, and urgent pacing.
Pick this if you liked Artemis’s fascination with technical detail and want that dialed up to planetary-orbital survival scale. This is grander and more exhaustive in its science.
Leviathan Wakes
James S. A. Corey
Fast-paced near-future space thriller with gritty characters and heist elements.
Pick this if it was the thriller-and-heist energy you liked, mixed with grittier, noir-tinged characters. This is less jokey and more hard-edged.
Old Man's War
John Scalzi
Wry, accessible military sci-fi with fast pacing and a relatable protagonist.
Pick this if you wanted a witty, fast-paced read with a relatable protagonist but aren’t attached to lunar specifics. Tone matches are strong; technical density is lighter.
Saturn Run
John Sandford
Near-future space race thriller focused on technology and geopolitical tension.
Pick this if plots driven by geopolitical stakes and plausible tech development appealed to you. This is a tech-forward thriller with national tensions rather than a personal caper.
Red Mars
Kim Stanley Robinson
Detailed colonization-on-planet realism, political intrigue, and slow-burn tension.
Pick this if you loved the realistic logistical problems of living off-Earth but want longer, denser explorations of terraforming and politics. This one is slower and more comprehensive than Artemis.
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
Becky Chambers
Character-driven, warm spacefaring story with light humor and strong crew dynamics.
Pick this if you mostly wanted humor and strong interpersonal dynamics in a spaceship setting. This shares charm and warmth but is a looser fit on the solo-tech problem-solving front.
At a glance
Matches were chosen for three concrete dimensions: a wry, first-person voice; tech-heavy problem-solving where engineering drives plot; and a near-future/near-orbit setting or caper structure. The percentage reflects how many of those qualities the pick shares with Artemis.
| Book | First published | Pages | Closest match on | Match |
|---|---|---|---|---|
The Martian Andy Weir | 2011 | 407 | First-person tech humor | 94% |
Project Hail Mary Andy Weir | 2021 | 496 | Lone-problem solver | 88% |
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress Robert A. Heinlein | 1965 | 360 | Lunar setting & politics | 82% |
Seveneves Neal Stephenson | 2015 | 861 | Large-scale orbital engineering | 78% |
Leviathan Wakes James S. A. Corey | 2009 | 592 | Near-future grit & heist energy | 75% |
Old Man's War John Scalzi | 2005 | 310 | Wry, accessible sci‑fi | 72% |
Saturn Run John Sandford | 2015 | 636 | Tech-and-politics race | 70% |
Red Mars Kim Stanley Robinson | 1992 | 592 | Slow-burn colonization realism | 68% |
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet Becky Chambers | 2014 | 445 | Warm, character-led crew vibes | 66% |
About Artemis
Artemis was published in 2017 as Andy Weir’s second novel, following the breakout success of The Martian. It’s set in a near-future lunar colony called Artemis and centers on Jasmine “Jazz” Bashara, a smuggler who gets entangled in a scheme to control the city’s economy. The book continued Weir’s habit of mixing plausible engineering with an irreverent first-person voice.
Frequently asked questions
Is Artemis more like a heist or a survival story?+
Artemis is primarily a heist/caper framed by survival economics: Jazz’s scheme is driven by the precarious logistics of life on the moon. If you want more pure survival engineering in Weir’s voice, try The Martian; for another solo-protagonist science-thriller with problem-solving at its heart, read Project Hail Mary.
Which Andy Weir book should I read next?+
If you liked the technical rigor and first-person humor, The Martian is the closest in tone and method. Project Hail Mary shares the lone-operator science-thriller structure but shifts the stakes and emotional register significantly.
I liked the lunar setting — what else here is set off Earth?+
The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress shares a lunar locale and political tension, though it predates Weir and carries different ideological themes. Several other picks — Seveneves and Red Mars — expand the scope to orbital and planetary colonization if you want larger-scale engineering crises.
Which picks emphasize humor and voice over technical detail?+
Old Man’s War and The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet lean more on character voice and accessibility; they have humor and charm, but less of Artemis’s step-by-step engineering focus. The Princess-market caper tone is best matched by Project Hail Mary among Weir’s own books.
Are there books here that feel like a future political thriller?+
Yes. The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress and Red Mars put political structures and ideological conflict at the center rather than a single criminal scheme. Saturn Run and Leviathan Wakes also foreground geopolitical tension in their near-future space-thriller frameworks.
More books by Andy Weir
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