Hardcover, 256 pages
English language
Published Nov. 14, 2023 by Tordotcom.
Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.
Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.
But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast!
Yeah, this plan is... not going to work.
Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.
Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.
But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast!
Yeah, this plan is... not going to work.
Glad I am reading all the books back to back.
Love the longer novels in the series. Diving into the more human aspect of SecUnit. Tbh, I missed all the hacking into systems - and somehow (after such a long time preparing for the end) the book was ending too fast (meaning I could have gone with another chapter or two ;).
Off to read #8 - Platform Decay
Lots of interiority. Lots of bot feelings. Lots of humanity. An emotional entry in the series, exciting and satisfying.
By no means a sprawling story, but the tale it tells is punchy and marked by that trademark try-hard hopepunk aesthetic we've come to love by this point in the books. <3
Lots of interiority. Lots of bot feelings. Lots of humanity. An emotional entry in the series, exciting and satisfying.
By no means a sprawling story, but the tale it tells is punchy and marked by that trademark try-hard hopepunk aesthetic we've come to love by this point in the books. <3
Die Abwärtsspirale geht weiter – weil [REDACTED] war dies für dieses Jahr mein letztes Martha Wells Buch.
... and somehow many more characters than in the past. Or feels like it. Still fun, tho.
For the first half of the book I was a bit confused, perhaps because it is really a sequel/continuation of Network Effect (and it's been a while since I read that). In the end I did enjoy it, particularly the middle part, where Murderbot does something completely unmurdery to save the day.
For the first half of the book I was a bit confused, perhaps because it is really a sequel/continuation of Network Effect (and it's been a while since I read that). In the end I did enjoy it, particularly the middle part, where Murderbot does something completely unmurdery to save the day.
Suoraa jatkoa Network Effectille, jossa Murhabotti ihmisineen selvitteli siirtokunnan asioita planeetan pinnalla.
Toinen yhtiö ei vaan luovuta vaan haluaa kaikki asukkaat orjatyöläisiksi, mitä Murhabotin ihmiset haluavat estää. Siirtokunnan historiasta selviää uusia asioita ja täytyy lähteä tuntematonta kohti. Murhabotti itse ei ole oikein kunnossa.
Kirja lähti liikkeelle melko täysillä ja selittelemättä. Oli niin paljon erilaisia tunneleita ja hangaareja että vähän jo eksyin niihin. Ehkä ei ihan paras sarjassa.
It’s been long enough between books that I looked up a recap of where we last left Murberbot. Glad I did, because then I was able to just enjoy this one. It’s more of the same, which is what it’s felt like for a while with Murderbot, but that’s OK! Very incremental character development on their part, but the character is interesting enough that I’m happy to spend more time with them.
Same Murderbot confusion about how the world works (and emotions), then same gripping action. My palms sweat when the fights start.
I think I'm going to have to binge these again because it takes me half the novella to remember who everybody is. I suppose I have that to look forward to.
Same Murderbot confusion about how the world works (and emotions), then same gripping action. My palms sweat when the fights start.
I think I'm going to have to binge these again because it takes me half the novella to remember who everybody is. I suppose I have that to look forward to.
Yes. It is just more Murderbot. And that is a good thing.
While the complexity of trauma and self-doubt was a welcome thread here, this felt like a solid novella lost its way in variations.
I was excited to hear more about other SecUnits with hacked governor modules.
I continue to love the Murderbot series. By this point, the action parts have lost impact because there's too much precedent for how they're going to turn out, so I think it's wise of Wells to play that part down a bit in this book, in favour of a story more about persuasion and trust building. And the ongoing saga of Murderbot learning about both its limits and capabilities continues to be one of the most relatable arcs in SF/F.
I continue to love the Murderbot series. By this point, the action parts have lost impact because there's too much precedent for how they're going to turn out, so I think it's wise of Wells to play that part down a bit in this book, in favour of a story more about persuasion and trust building. And the ongoing saga of Murderbot learning about both its limits and capabilities continues to be one of the most relatable arcs in SF/F.
Content warning Maybe a little bit of a spoiler ahead but probably not much. Nothing to ruin the plot anyways,
Once again, Martha Wells spins out a fun Muderbot tale.
I've enjoyed the journey that Wells has taken us on in regards to Murderbot's progress to more "humanity."
In many ways, Murderbot is often the most humane of characters in these stories as it is always putting itself in danger before the "real" humans.
I enjoyed that as these books have progressed, SecUnit has had to become more human for survival, but also apparently for it's own self improvement. As it ran out of more and more drones in this story, it even commented on how being a human must be terrible.
I'm always impressed with Wells' ability to put the reader into the shoes of something that is inherently not human, but yet still shows us a better side of humanity.
I'll be honest - I can't remember much from the previous books, especially not any details about the many human characters. But MurderBot is such a fun person to listen to talk, it doesn't really matter.
I'll be honest - I can't remember much from the previous books, especially not any details about the many human characters. But MurderBot is such a fun person to listen to talk, it doesn't really matter.
This one picked up right where the last one left off. I always enjoy Martha Wells, this one is no different.
I defs needed that deadpanned Murderbot wittiness in a detailed world build... It's what keeps me reading this series!
This one picked up right where the last one left off. I always enjoy Martha Wells, this one is no different.
I defs needed that deadpanned Murderbot wittiness in a detailed world build... It's what keeps me reading this series!
