243 pages
English language
Published 2023 by Tordotcom Publishing.
The MurderBot diaries continue to not disappoint. In this installment we get significant additional worldbuilding and additional knowledge of important previous characters, but packed into serous action and suspense.
My only nit to pick is that the "science" part moves more and into the realm of fantasy the more there is of it.
If the novellas were each a TV episode, Network Effect is the two-hour season finale. With a full-length novel, the plot has a little bit more room to breathe and develop. At times, the adventures with alien adversaries feel a little too drawn out, but mostly, this room is good to allow somewhat of an emotional arc for Murderbot's complex relationships with ART and Mensah's daughter to develop. The series has always leaned hard on the ideas of identity and how this interacts with hard-wiring, and the plot really let those themes shine.
Network Effect was also the book in which Wells' full setting comes into focus: the conflicts between the corporate ring and Mensah's independent planet, and the university that owns ART. What does a corporation really want and what can unchecked capitalism develop into as the governing system for a solar system?
The best construct
I love the Murderbot stories. Exploring feelings and self-examination is never easy, especially when you’d rather not deal with people at all.
This was fun, as all the Murderbot books have been. Quite happy to see a novel this time! There were no novella related shortcomings, although perhaps Wells' forte indeed lies in the thinner format. This book had multiple places where things were explained for the 15th time, or a joke was told over and over again. Don't get me wrong; this dry, smirk-worthy humor is what I came here for, but it got repetitive.
I certainly enjoyed the plot. It dug into the lore of the universe Murderbot exists within, and expands upon a number of old character arcs that were very welcomed. Murderbot itself begins to find a place in the world, even though it cannot be too sure of that.
The series now has a solid footing, with the characters ready to explore on their own terms, rather than being on the back foot all the time. Looking …
This was fun, as all the Murderbot books have been. Quite happy to see a novel this time! There were no novella related shortcomings, although perhaps Wells' forte indeed lies in the thinner format. This book had multiple places where things were explained for the 15th time, or a joke was told over and over again. Don't get me wrong; this dry, smirk-worthy humor is what I came here for, but it got repetitive.
I certainly enjoyed the plot. It dug into the lore of the universe Murderbot exists within, and expands upon a number of old character arcs that were very welcomed. Murderbot itself begins to find a place in the world, even though it cannot be too sure of that.
The series now has a solid footing, with the characters ready to explore on their own terms, rather than being on the back foot all the time. Looking forward to the next installment!
Oh, Murderbot, how I have missed you!
Wells explores what it means to be human while also giving the reader a fantastic action adventure. Rogue elements of possibly alien-contaminated abandoned colonies, indestructible alien armor, impossible physics, and cloning a machine intelligence - the story has no shortage of incredible ideas, and yet it remains very touching and human in the end.
I certainly hope another novel is forthcoming, because while the story told here is complete, there are clearly more stories to be told as Murderbot explores the galaxy.
Who doesn't love Murderbot? I love Murderbot.
A feelgood SciFi, just what we need these days.
Good:
Murderbot is as relatable as ever!
Longer format works well; story is well structured & there's enough time for a few mysteries to unravel.
It's satisfying to see Murderbot develop as a character through their relationship with ART .
It amuses me to see Murderbot run penetration tests.
Bad:
* Human characters feel 2D: Preservation humans == good; Corporates == bad;
This is one of my favorite books of 2020. I love the shorter novelas (novelettes?) that feature Murderbot, but I loved having a entire novel featuring the introspective, TV-loving bot who doesn't quite understand humans, but is trying to learn -- if only for its own survival. Highly recommended.
Explosions and fighting and icky feelings, perfect! Exactly what I expected from a good Murderbot kick, with way more twists than I saw coming.
Murderbot is love.
Confused
violant
but it is still love.
I also loved this adventure again. The plot was fun and had some surprises.
Was also nice that it was a full length one, and not one of those early novella's.
Only the fiction borrowed a bit too much from books like We are Bob and the Expanse series.
And I got confused a lot of times with who was who in the book.
But with Murderbot, you can mostly just ignore the humans anyways, so that wasn't a big problem.
“I am functioning optimally.”
(If I got angry at myself for being angry I would be angry constantly and I wouldn’t have time to think about anything else.)
Well, I still absolutely love Murderbot and ART and am officially hyped for the next book!
Dear Martha Wells: I will keep buying these books as long as you keep writing them. Murderbot is the best.
Yes, I preordered the ebook and took the afternoon off work to read the novel on release day ... NO REGRETS! Also spent the morning pointing various friends and coworkers to the prequel novellas.
Conclusion: a satisfying Murderbot novel! Very much in the same style as the novellas, but now instead of four shorter segments making up one story, this is one long story on its own. Do you need to have read the novellas first? Hmm... technically no, but a vast number of the characters from the novellas are either referenced or actually appear in this one, so it's going to be much easier to absorb and appreciate if you read the novellas first.
In this MUCH ANTICIPATED (by me anyway) full length novel, lethal force security droid the self-named Murderbot is out on its first independent contract (or, as Murderbot calls it, "my first time as Survey Security …
Yes, I preordered the ebook and took the afternoon off work to read the novel on release day ... NO REGRETS! Also spent the morning pointing various friends and coworkers to the prequel novellas.
Conclusion: a satisfying Murderbot novel! Very much in the same style as the novellas, but now instead of four shorter segments making up one story, this is one long story on its own. Do you need to have read the novellas first? Hmm... technically no, but a vast number of the characters from the novellas are either referenced or actually appear in this one, so it's going to be much easier to absorb and appreciate if you read the novellas first.
In this MUCH ANTICIPATED (by me anyway) full length novel, lethal force security droid the self-named Murderbot is out on its first independent contract (or, as Murderbot calls it, "my first time as Survey Security Consultant While Not Pretending To Be A Human and/or Faking The Existence of a Human Supervisor"). While protecting a scientific expedition from Preservation, including relatives of Dr. Mensah, the science ship is attacked on the way home and of course, what is a SecUnit to do but try to save its humans? An added complication arises when an old acquaintance from Murderbot's past gets involved, and suffice it to say, there are more than enough AIs and SecUnits to please even the biggest Murderbot fan. Not to mention evil Corporations, alien remnants, and, most pleasingly of all, clear and promising plot hooks on which a whole series of future Murderbot novels could easily be hung.
If you haven't read Murderbot, pick up one All Systems Red (the first novella) and you'll know by page 2 if you'll enjoy it or not. If you already enjoy Murderbot, you'll enjoy this book also! Now how long is the wait for the next one ...?
Loved this so much. I want to start the whole series over again from the beginning.
Murderbot is one of the most compelling characters ever. I don’t really understand why 100%, but I think because it feels like it shouldn’t have emotions, but so transparently does? Maybe? Yet also is a badass?
Anyway, this was basically nonstop action, and I had serious problems putting it down.
