Artificial Condition

It took me a few months to get my hands on a copy of the second novella in this series and I'm glad I succeeded. I liked how it really focused on its protagonist while introducing one other significant actor in the drama. This was the intelligence running a transport ship which Murderbot refers to with the nickname of ART. It was recognizably different from Murderbot's personality, with its own rule and preoccupations.

Murderbot is set on revisiting the scene where they first experienced the failure of the governor module which had been imposing brakes on their behavior some time back, in the process being thrown together with a group of humans who were themselves in a desperate situation. It was ingenious how the intertwined motivations of Murderbot and those who became their clients led to a tense confrontation that could easily have lead to the demise of all of them at the hands of their antagonists. The disembodied influence of ART played key roles along the way, even though that ship mind seemed to lack any direct stake in the outcome, which felt intriguing.

This story was more tightly plotted than the first one, but the memories of Murderbot regarding the individuals in the earlier story helped to clarify what was motivating Murderbot this time around. So I am giving it a high rating even though I don't think it is really a story that can easily stand on its own.

This was also very enjoyable, but not as exciting or novel as the first installment. I feel like the author is putting pieces into place for something larger, and I'm interested to see if ART returns and how their relationship develops.

Another quick read in which we learn about Murderbot's backstory, get to see it defend new friends (and also call them idiots), and just be a general badass. ART is also lovely, it's quippy dialogue and reaction to Murderbot's downloaded media really solidified how much I like the character.

The plot in this book was a bit less strong than the last one, there's more talking and the action is towards the end. However, with the introduction of such interesting new characters and the evolution of the mystery of Ganaka Pit it's definitely worth the read.

3/5, I suggest this for readers who enjoy casual lgbtq rep, lots of sarcasm, and another book in what has quickly become my bite-size guilty pleasure sci-fi series.