243 pages
English language
Published 2023 by Tordotcom Publishing.
Network Effect is a 2020 science fiction novel written by Martha Wells. It is the fifth work in the Murderbot Diaries series and the first full-length novel. Network Effect won the 2021 Hugo Award for Best Novel, the 2020 Nebula Award for Best Novel, and the 2021 Locus Award for Best Science Fiction Novel.
I liked this more than the first ones in the series, this felt more meaty, had an actual story ark, and you got to seep in the story as it went, the best one in the series so far :)
Long book, I liked small form better!
Very cute character development. Amazing notes about no body life!
I was so excited to read a longer form Murderbot entry. I enjoyed the transition from Murderbot's life as a security consultant, trying to find its way among its PresAux humans, back into the orbit of ART and corporate rim baddies. I found the conclusion to be a very sweet turning point for MB in its quest to figure out what it wants. MB2.0 = More MB to love.
I was so excited to read a longer form Murderbot entry. I enjoyed the transition from Murderbot's life as a security consultant, trying to find its way among its PresAux humans, back into the orbit of ART and corporate rim baddies. I found the conclusion to be a very sweet turning point for MB in its quest to figure out what it wants. MB2.0 = More MB to love.
A whole new Murderbot story, exciting and at times a bit confusing - but keeping up with Murderbot with only human processing capabilities is not easy, of course. I loved the story and especially the character development of several of the characters. This novel surprises you constantly. It's fast paced, funny and sometimes even a bit emotional (only awkwardly, of course). A really great read!
A whole new Murderbot story, exciting and at times a bit confusing - but keeping up with Murderbot with only human processing capabilities is not easy, of course. I loved the story and especially the character development of several of the characters. This novel surprises you constantly. It's fast paced, funny and sometimes even a bit emotional (only awkwardly, of course). A really great read!
This novel is always such a delight to get back to on a reread of the series. My love for ART also carries a lot of my feelings too.
I wasn't sure how Murderbot was going to stand up to the longer length the first time I read this, but I like that there's more space for side stories to develop; in particular, we get to see flashbacks to Murderbot and Amena back on Preservation, we get to see Arada grow as a leader, and we get to see Murderbot 2.0.
This novel also reprises previous parts of the series in a really satisfying way. Even more ART (and more ART snark). We get more about Mensah handling trauma. Murderbot 2.0 is an explicit parallel to Miki's death. The ending of this novel escalates the end of Exit Strategy where Murderbot doesn't know how to feel about everybody …
This novel is always such a delight to get back to on a reread of the series. My love for ART also carries a lot of my feelings too.
I wasn't sure how Murderbot was going to stand up to the longer length the first time I read this, but I like that there's more space for side stories to develop; in particular, we get to see flashbacks to Murderbot and Amena back on Preservation, we get to see Arada grow as a leader, and we get to see Murderbot 2.0.
This novel also reprises previous parts of the series in a really satisfying way. Even more ART (and more ART snark). We get more about Mensah handling trauma. Murderbot 2.0 is an explicit parallel to Miki's death. The ending of this novel escalates the end of Exit Strategy where Murderbot doesn't know how to feel about everybody feeling protective about it or wanting to save it.
It's all just so good.
As other reviews here have noted, this is the first murderbot installment that's long, qualifying it for space opera designation (is that an award category?), so it's the first one that I had to, I don't want to say slog, but put some muscle into finishing. It's no thousand-page Ken Liu steampunk novel, but long enough that the publishers didn't bundle it in a two-book volume, so it comes between books 3-4 in Volume 2 and 6-7 in Volume 3 (I wonder if the author wrote a long one just to mess them up).
But I kept at it because still, it's murderbot, and the action never stops, except when it does stop and murderbot thinks about its (their?) feelings, which, percentage-wise compared to the other books, isn't that much time (still a fraction of the time spent watching Sanctuary Moon and other titles from future netflixes). I don't …
As other reviews here have noted, this is the first murderbot installment that's long, qualifying it for space opera designation (is that an award category?), so it's the first one that I had to, I don't want to say slog, but put some muscle into finishing. It's no thousand-page Ken Liu steampunk novel, but long enough that the publishers didn't bundle it in a two-book volume, so it comes between books 3-4 in Volume 2 and 6-7 in Volume 3 (I wonder if the author wrote a long one just to mess them up).
But I kept at it because still, it's murderbot, and the action never stops, except when it does stop and murderbot thinks about its (their?) feelings, which, percentage-wise compared to the other books, isn't that much time (still a fraction of the time spent watching Sanctuary Moon and other titles from future netflixes). I don't want to give anything away, so I'll just say there's more of everything here, and I've lost track of all the humans (do they even have names?). Bad murderbot!
“Just remember you’re not alone here.”
I never know what to say to that. I am actually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.
Girl, you and me both. It’s been really interesting watching Murderbot come into their personhood, especially in deepening it's relationship with ART. It's awkwardness and anxieties and emotions are so relatable and human that I can't help falling in love. <spoiler>I wasn’t expecting it to liberate another SecUnit or create a clone (offspring?) which creates potential for a whole host of tender awkward shenanigans in the future.</spoiler> Never a dull moment in the Murderbotverse!
Content warning Mild spoilers
My favorite so far I think. I'm pretty excited for three as well and hope I'll read more of it. I had a bit trouble understanding what happened when on the colony in the beginning but it didn't hinder enjoying the book.
compared to the other murderbot books, the «network effect» is satisfyingly long. a comfortable read (or rather listening, as i enjoyed the graphicaudio play) and i'll come back to it later, no doubt.
compared to the other murderbot books, the «network effect» is satisfyingly long. a comfortable read (or rather listening, as i enjoyed the graphicaudio play) and i'll come back to it later, no doubt.
Content warning spoiler
incorrect, iris, i can review this book
The first novel-length Murderbot book, and it didn’t disappoint. My love for Murderbot grows with every instalment of The Murderbot Diaries, and seeing it have to deal with adolescent humans is delicious. As I am also a big fan of someone else who shows up in this book, Network Effect is real a treat.
Wells is absolutely brilliant at making a relatable character, and her continuing explorations of bodily autonomy, sense of self, personhood, and caring for others are stellar. She also writes kick-ass sci-fi.
Murderbot has never done anything wrong, ever, and I love them.
I love Murderbot a lot. Like to the point that I don't even know what else to say other than that I just love these books so much and feel so seen and understood when I read them. Everybody deserves to have a book or series that makes them feel as seen and as normal as this.
I love Murderbot a lot. Like to the point that I don't even know what else to say other than that I just love these books so much and feel so seen and understood when I read them. Everybody deserves to have a book or series that makes them feel as seen and as normal as this.
The novella felt like the perfect length for a Murderbot episode so I wasn't sure it would work well in a full novel. Not to worry, Wells keeps it interesting and entertaining in the 5th installment and first novel.
The novella felt like the perfect length for a Murderbot episode so I wasn't sure it would work well in a full novel. Not to worry, Wells keeps it interesting and entertaining in the 5th installment and first novel.
Such a fun read! Action-packed, almost breathlessly so, with much less of the exposition that I think slowed down the later novellas, still plenty of humour, but also deeper relationship-building. Murderbot (aka 'SecUnit', when it wants to be less, I don't know, murderey) remains easily the most relatable character in today's fiction.
Such a fun read! Action-packed, almost breathlessly so, with much less of the exposition that I think slowed down the later novellas, still plenty of humour, but also deeper relationship-building. Murderbot (aka 'SecUnit', when it wants to be less, I don't know, murderey) remains easily the most relatable character in today's fiction.
As I'd hoped it would be, "Network Effect" proved a refreshing and welcome change-up to the Murderbot "formula" established in the first four books of the series. The additional pages in this novel-length effort were used to great effect, providing extra doses of world building, character development, and plot sophistication that gave me exactly what I was looking for as a fan of the saga.
Admittedly, there were a few very brief instances where things felt a little drawn out or redundant to me as characters occasionally dwelt on or rehashed recent plot points but those instances weren't plentiful or too distracting, and to me simply felt like the natural growing pains of a tale that had perhaps been stretched out and reworked a bit to make proper use of the novel format.
All things considered, I'd say "Network Effect" is an easy slam dunk "must read" for any Murderbot …
As I'd hoped it would be, "Network Effect" proved a refreshing and welcome change-up to the Murderbot "formula" established in the first four books of the series. The additional pages in this novel-length effort were used to great effect, providing extra doses of world building, character development, and plot sophistication that gave me exactly what I was looking for as a fan of the saga.
Admittedly, there were a few very brief instances where things felt a little drawn out or redundant to me as characters occasionally dwelt on or rehashed recent plot points but those instances weren't plentiful or too distracting, and to me simply felt like the natural growing pains of a tale that had perhaps been stretched out and reworked a bit to make proper use of the novel format.
All things considered, I'd say "Network Effect" is an easy slam dunk "must read" for any Murderbot fan, and should serve as a nice carrot on a stick to encourage anyone struggling with any aspect of the previous books to press on if only to get the opportunity to experience the concept in its full, fleshed-out glory.
Finally, I'd highly encourage anyone considering this book to read the first four books in the series before tackling it. While I don't necessarily disagree with "Network Effect" being marketed as a standalone novel, I'd argue that it highly benefits from the context and background provided by those other reads, which will almost certainly cause certain aspects of the story to hit and resonate harder than they otherwise might.
