paperback, 352 pages
Published March 30, 2021 by Tor.com.
Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.
You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot.
Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.
Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.
You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot.
Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.
Still fun, but the format was too long for me I guess? Pacing, inner monologue, dialogue/interactions etc. are well crafted. AND a certain character returns (joy!). So it is probably a me problem.
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.
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.
I was a little disappointed with "Fugitive Telemetry" which was written after this book but is set before it. But in "Network Effect" Wells is on form. As good as the first 4 novellas. The longer format gives the whole story a space opera feel. The beginning on the water planet reminded me of the Culture novels. What stands out to me in the Murderbot series is how Wells manages to give established sci fi narratives and tropes a little twist, simply by writing them through the eyes of "the help", i.e. bots and computer systems. Not only is ART back and we learn a lot more about the relationship between it and Murderbot but again, the unique type of connection that Murderbot can have with other systems and bots plays a pivotal role in saving the day. I also really like how alien tech and its effect on humans …
I was a little disappointed with "Fugitive Telemetry" which was written after this book but is set before it. But in "Network Effect" Wells is on form. As good as the first 4 novellas. The longer format gives the whole story a space opera feel. The beginning on the water planet reminded me of the Culture novels. What stands out to me in the Murderbot series is how Wells manages to give established sci fi narratives and tropes a little twist, simply by writing them through the eyes of "the help", i.e. bots and computer systems. Not only is ART back and we learn a lot more about the relationship between it and Murderbot but again, the unique type of connection that Murderbot can have with other systems and bots plays a pivotal role in saving the day. I also really like how alien tech and its effect on humans is depicted in this novel (and the other novellas in the series). It's different from what I'm used to in other sci fi. There's also a lot of snark and action, as usual. An entertaining read.
This series gets more addicting with each installment. The first four books were almost too short, and reading this one felt like I was finally really getting to dig in to the world of Murderbot. Consider me thoroughly hooked!
Enjoyable, but I got bogged down in the middle for a good while: I suspect I prefer this kind of story at novella length.
It turns out I've been up all night finishing off this book, thank Murderbot it's still lockdown.
Was it worth pre-ordering? Yes. Did it blow my expectations? Totally.
Having the three narratives at one point took a tiny bit of adjustment, but for me it genuinely made the action come more to life. I've also noticed that things tend to be described just enough that you're able to set your own visuals along with the series.
I certainly hope there is another Murderbot novel in the works, as I've been sucked in deep to this series
It turns out I've been up all night finishing off this book, thank Murderbot it's still lockdown.
Was it worth pre-ordering? Yes. Did it blow my expectations? Totally.
Having the three narratives at one point took a tiny bit of adjustment, but for me it genuinely made the action come more to life. I've also noticed that things tend to be described just enough that you're able to set your own visuals along with the series.
I certainly hope there is another Murderbot novel in the works, as I've been sucked in deep to this series
