4.5

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor for providing me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This is an interesting entry in the Murderbot Diaries series. One of the reasons for that is the fact that this takes place right after #5 (Network Effect), not #6 (Fugitive Telemetry), which apparently happened even before #5. So that was a bit confusing. But after I overcame that confusion, I immediately got into the story, as always with this series.

Another reason why this is an interesting Murderbot book is because of the length. It's a full on novel, but still about 100 pages shorter than Network Effect. And I think this is a good length for a Murderbot book. This means characters and themes have a lot of space to be explored, even if the plot isn't as complex as the one in Network Effect.

There's an interesting thing in the writing here where Murderbot has an event that is redacted whenever it came up in the narration, at least at the beginning of the book. At first it was a intriguing, then it became a bit annoying, but the pay-off for that was really worth it.

That thing, and other things in this book just made me realize that this series can probably go on for a lot more books before it starts to get boring because there's so much more character developments to be had when it comes to Murderbot and the other characters around it. Not to mention the worldbuilding that gets more interesting and thorough with each book. I feel like there's just a lot more left to be explored, and this book did a good job of that.

Overall, even though this book might not be as innovative as Network Effect when it comes to the plot or perspectives, it still delivers just as much good story and good character moments. And anyone who liked the previous books should definitely pick this up.

Sec[urity] Unit is back. Also known (by itself) as Murderbot, System Collapse picks up right after the previous novel, Fugitive Telemetry. Sec Unit with the direction and assistance of his sentient transport ART (also known as Perihelion or Peri) and ART's crew are trying to help some colonists relocate after it turns out the planet they were hoping to colonize is not working out. A big corporation, Baresh-Estranza (B-E) is also there to 'help'. Like many of the big corporations, they are there to make a profit and if this colony world isn't going to work out, they'll be more than happy to transport the colonists and make them indentured servants (with an indenture that will never get paid off).
Sec Unit and 'his' humans are trying hard to give the colonists a better choice but first they need to find a group of humans that have broken off from the main group. Also, Sec Unit is having a little problem which he is not happy to talk about (basically he's having trouble with feelings which he cannot believe are affecting him!). The Murderbot books are so enjoyable, the only caveat is that it really helps reading the previous book to get right into this episode. But, just like Murderbot's favorite entertainment, Sanctuary Moon, these books are fun to re-read.

7 books into The Murderbot Diaries, we finally get some fairly major character development from its protagonist. Murderbot has a pretty good grasp on the human concepts of anger and sarcasm and employs them regularly. In this installment they learn something new: fear. They don’t want to go down the long, dark corridor where who knows what is lurking. They’re terrified of what could happen to them, not just their team.
This new version of Murderbot is a very welcome one. A sci-fi version of the old Western and Samurai tradition, Murderbot usually finds a mission rescuing helpless humans and rides off into the sunset. Over the past few installments, they have begun amassing a group of people they care about. Familiar faces appear throughout the novella: Dr. Mensah, Pin-Lee, Amena, along with new ones from ART’s crew. It provides a nice addition to the old formula, allowing us to care just a bit more than we did early on.
Several books in this series could just be picked up without having read the previous titles, but this is not one of them. One really does need a good grasp on the world Wells has built along with the characters we’ve come to know to be able to enjoy this one. If you’re already a Murderbot fan, be sure to pick this one up. If you’re new to the series, you’re gonna have to go back to the beginning.

7/10 stars

The newest installment in Martha Wells’s Murderbot series is a curious one: I’d say it is fair to call it a second part of Network Effect and not think of it as a separate entity. Not only does it take place immediately after the events of Network Effect and in exactly the same circumstances, it also deals almost exclusively with the outcomes of the previous book. As such, treating it as a new, distinct adventure of Murderbot would not only be somewhat misleading, but, in my opinion, also setting up the readers for a mild disappointment.

You see, System Collapse is for most part a book about experiencing, managing and healing trauma. While the intentions are laudable, the structure and execution of necessity make it a rather unexciting Murderbot adventure, one predominantly directed inward, filled with denial and difficult emotions, and because it’s Murderbot we’re talking about, all of the above is awkward, earnestly boring, and, however guilty I feel writing it, undeniably stunted. It's trauma 101 and not A Rumor of War, and if Wells ever tried to write the latter in the Murderbot series, well, I don't think that would go well.

Don’t get me wrong, System Collapse is nevertheless quite enjoyable because by book 7 you, dear reader, either have grown to love Murderbot or discovered hitherto unknown capacity for masochism. Sheldonesque appeal of Murderbot is a given, and while one might chafe that the series has become something of a one-trick pony, that very same property is the main draw for others. I do appreciate the effort that Wells puts into creating a character that grows at a normal pace - not over the course of one book, but over the course of a lifetime. The psychological development of Murderbot is quite realistic, if we agree to the view of Murderbot as a person on the spectrum; the rest of Murderbot, the drones, the inhuman computational and healing/rebuilding abilities, that’s all a conjecture, the fiction in science-fiction. But the core of its persona, the snarky, grumpy not-as-antisocial-as-it-pretends-to-be half-machine, is a dearie, a fluffy care bear with guns built into its arms.

And here we get back to my initial observation - System Collapse is Network Effect part 2, because due to the fact that most readers by this point read the series for Murderbot and its interactions with the rest of its crew, Wells had to deliver a conclusion to the cliffhanger-y emotional outcomes of Network Effect. As a result, in System Collapse the action, or any kind of complex plot for that matter, seem to fall by the wayside of dealing with difficult emotional states - and so Murderbot saves some people, trash talks with ART, fondly observes its human crew and compulsively watches space operas, all the while dealing with its own trauma caused by near-death, or part-death, experience. There’s not much else. Is this enough? For me, it was all right - a mildly enjoyable foray into the world of Murderbot (there were better!) that scratched that little itch but didn’t make me like the series any more than I had before. It is well written and entertaining despite its heavy themes, and it adequately serves its purpose which for me is an analogue of a warm blanket and a bowl of chocolate almonds on a Friday movie night. The movie might not be a masterpiece, but with a blanket and a bowl of chocolate almonds it can be just good enough.

I will read more Murderbot books when they come out, they are a comfy read for me and Murderbot, and ART, are really adorable fictitious characters. But be aware that Wells’s creation is not an ambitious sci-fi bent on imagining the potential futures of humanity - it’s a cosy character study with robots.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks.

After the discovery that an infected alien remnant is threatening to contaminate the colonists (as seen in "Network Effect"), Murderbot, ART, and the crew are desperately trying to rescue the colonists. However, there are a couple of problems: 1) Barish-Estranza Corp. is trying to "rescue" the colonists as well, and 2) there is something very wrong with Murderbot.

I received an advance review copy for free from NetGalley, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

"The Murderbot Diaries" is one of my favorite series. I adore Murderbot and love to escape into this world of sarcasm and social awkwardness with this reluctant hero. However, I miss the novellas. I have read all of "The Murderbot Diaries" in anticipation of the release of this book, and despite the fact that I just read "Network Effect," I had no idea what was going on for the first half of the book. I understand that the "redacted" portions of the story are a plot device that would be appropriate for a construct like Murderbot, but it was incredibly frustrating. Imagine spending a couple of hours reading a book and having no idea what is going on, even though the story basically picked up where you left off. No explanations, just the word "redacted" to let you know you can't know what happened yet.

I have a love-hate relationship with the direction that the series is taking. I love the action, the banter, the relationships, and the dynamics between Murderbot and its humans. What I don't love is that Murderbot went from being this capable, fearless protector of humans to a being with so much trauma and PTSD that it is practically human. The sarcasm, humor, wit, and action that made the novellas so great are missing in the novels.

This was not my favorite installment, but I still want to know what is next for our favorite SecUnit.

I am incapable of being objective about Murderbot. Five stars.
In all seriousness I picture this latest installment to be a bit inaccessible to the common reader. With three years and novella in-between Network Effect and System Collapse, trying to juggle the politics of Barish-Estranza and the colonists AND Murderbot's crew can make this a difficult read at the beginning. Plus with portions of memory being redacted by Murderbot it only adds to the tough start, when usually, it's narration is what lightens the science heavy text. I just reread the entire series and even with everything fresh in my mind it was still a heavy read at times. And yet System Collapse will easily become a comfort reread for me. With a satisfying expansion of the lore, and a settling of prior storylines, Murderbot's emotional development is still at the forefront. This is one of the better books when it comes to its identity and future. A true turning point in the text. If books 1-3 are the first arc, and 4-7 the second arc, book 8 will begin with new ground to cover. I am excited to see what is next!
P.S Ratthi is the best human.

System Collapse, the second full-length novel in the series, picks up immediately after Network Effect. Murderbot’s Preservation humans are pitted against the Barish-Estranza corporation, which is intent on conscripting colonists in need of help for lifelong indentured servitude. But Murderbot isn’t quite working right…

So many good things to call out. The banter between ART and Murderbot continues to delight, and Murderbot has such a distinct voice. While the surface level plot is about rescuing colonists, like other Murderbot stories, this is really about mental health and capitalism. Both are treated with a cocktail of black humor and compassion that never veers into the annoyingly didactic.

I'm rating this 4-stars rather than 5 because I'm hard-pressed to identify what this volume builds on or does differently than the others--in other words, if we're now in a comfortable monster-of-the-week format or if this continues to build. Perhaps this is my fault for my poor memory of the prior volumes. I certainly should have reread Network Effect before this, primarily to get a refresher on Murderbot’s humans, which are not as memorable as Murderbot. So, it took me a bit to get my sea legs, but I enjoyed the book a lot after that. I suggest others read the Wikipedia summary if they don’t have time for a full reread.

Another amazing murderbot book.

To be honest, I found the first 40% of this book to drag quite a bit. I felt like we were dropped into the middle of the action and I had absolutely no clue what was going on. After going back and reading a synopsis of Network Effect I was feeling like I knew a little bit more where we were going so I do recommend re-orienting yourself with the plot points of that book if it's been a while since you read it. This whole ~redacted~ plot device wasn't my favorite thing but it did make that first 40% less agonizing because obviously I wanted to find out what happened to murderbot!

That said, the rest of this review will be overwhelmingly positive. Once the ~redacted~ information was revealed the plot sped up quite a bit and I was actually invested in what was going on. If your favorite characters in this series are the same as my favorite characters, you're going to love this one. Top 3 favorite murderbot books for sure, just had a weird time reading that first 40%.

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Video review of this book will be posted on August 13th

I was so excited to be able to read the next Murderbot book and anticipated another fast-paced book with lots of Murderbot snark. I quickly realized that it had been way too long since I had read the 5th book in this series and felt off-kilter from the beginning. I had forgotten who many of the other characters were and what they were doing on the planet they were on. I tried to find a good summary of Network Effect but wasn't able to find anything that quickly helped. So, while I still love Murderbot and will continue reading books in this series, I'd recommend you re-read Network Effect or if you haven't read it yet, don't start with this one.

Martha Wells is bringing Murderbot back whether it likes it or not! Murderbot has been Through A Thing recently and it is definitely not telling us about it. Until it has to ... to help its humans. Because that's what a scary SecUnit does. Dive into its emotional issues if it means being able to aid its favorite (and not so favorite) humans. LOVE

System Collapse picks up shortly after the events of Network Effect, the Hugo-winning Murderbot novel. Murderbot and its human allies are still dealing with the aftereffects of the alien contamination on a colony planet, as well as contending with the rival "rescue" team sent by the villainous Barish-Estranza corporation.
The revelation that the planet is home to a second, uncontacted colony sends Murderbot and its humans in a race to reach them before the corporate agents can, swoop in and force the colonists into indentured servitude. But Murderbot's functionality has been severely diminished by [redacted], and unless it can figure out what's wrong with it in time, the colonists are doomed.
What I just did there with [redacted] is how Murderbot itself refers to the incident that's diminished its capabilities, which serves both to heighten the mystery of what exactly is wrong with our favorite cyborg and is a brilliant means of portraying Murderbot's own reluctance towards self-examination. It's one of my favorite things about System Collapse, followed closely by the fact that Murderbot's obsession with consuming human media finally becomes plot relevant. Overall this is another great installment in the series that pushes forward both the overarcing plot and Murderbot's own personal growth. If you're already a fan, definitely check out System Collapse when it comes out in November.

It's so good to be back with Murderbot again! The voice and tone of the series is right on in this one, it is a page-turner with lovely/awkward moments of heart and a few laugh out loud scenes, and I love where Wells has set this up to go next. More please! And thank you to NetGalley for the ARC.

“Ugh, I wish I felt like I was prepared for complication. Or prepared for anything.”

How action-packed space conflict between a bloodthirsty corporation, vulnerable planetary colonists, and the band of humans and bot-human constructs that defend them can feel so damn cozy is beyond me, but Wells never fails to make me feel the warm fuzzies with each new Murderbot installment. This full-length novel has more of all my favorite bits: sarcastic internal monologue, brave humans that Murderbot protects at all costs, snarky (aka affectionate) banter with ART, a new AI for Murderbot to work out a relationship with, and grudging introspection that I find immensely relatable - in this case propelled by [redacted], which has shaken Murderbot’s trust in itself. There’s always casual queerness (and this time more obscure genders and neopronouns too), and I loved the solution Murderbot comes up with to win over the colonists - it’s so perfectly Murderbot. Buckle up people, we have trauma to resentfully process and media to watch!

Content warnings: fighting, violence, injury

“So I’m here now and it’s fine, everyone shut up about it, okay.”

Spoiler alert – Murderbot is not fine. But that’s the whole point, right? Existence is learning how to be ok with not being ok. This installment of the Murderbot diaries explores what that means for a human-bot construct, featuring Martha Wells’s trademark mix of action, wry humor, and moments of surprising poignancy. SecUnit is still on the alien-remnants planet, dealing with fallout from the events of Network Effect, snarking with ART, protecting its humans, and generally being annoyed about it all. In other words, living its best life! As always, I appreciate Wells’s unflinching exploration of ethical dilemmas around consciousness and autonomy, but also her sly pokes at the absurdity of it all.

Fans of Murderbot will be thrilled to watch SecUnit take on new challenges with old friends, but newcomers will need to start at the beginning of the series. Which is no hardship. Watching our favorite grumpy human-bot construct take progressive steps toward self-actualization (making excessive use of profanity throughout) is one of the most rewarding reader journeys out there.

Picking up where Network Effect left off, ART’s crew and Murderbot are attempting to rescue the humans not infected, but first they have to find them, and find them before Barish-Estranza turns them into slave labor.

But something is wrong with Murderbot. It’s not infected, but it’s not functioning at full capacity either. In fact sometimes it just shuts down in crippling fear or indecision, and even the humans are starting to notice.

This full-length novel is another stellar addition to the Murderbot series. Full of heart and exasperation, Murderbot continues to show us what it means to be human.

I adore the Murderbot Diaries, so when I got the chance to read System Collapse as an ARC I knew I had to read it immediately! This book did not disappoint, and Murderbot continues to be my favorite sci-fi series to date.

This was my first time reading a visual edition of the series instead of the audiobook, so that was definitely a bit of a learning curve for me! I think that no matter what format you go with you'll have a great time, but I do think I’ll go back and read the audiobook as well.

System Collapse does start off a bit slow, and there’s a piece of plot info that’s reveal is a bit underwhelming, but once we got to the second half it was action packed and full of great character moments. I love that Murderbot it expanding its group of humans, and I’m so excited to see where it and ART go next!

Thank you to TorDotCom Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC. All thoughts are my own!

I will share this review on Instagram 1-2 weeks before publication, and on Amazon on publication day.

I have been devouring the Murderbot books, and this one is absolutely no different! I just love Murderbot so much, and the snark of him interacting with ART and it’s humans?! It’s priceless! I loved the descriptions of the planet and the cavern system of the separatists colony. Also the little bit of action that we saw was really great!

It also seems like there might be even more for Murderbot in the future, and I absolutely hope so!! A five star read and something I will continue to highly recommend to patrons.

Typical Murderbot. Concern for his humans being his first concern. Lots of problems keeping them safe and alive. Great addition to series.

Murderbot continues to be their snarky, fabulous self. If you've enjoyed the prior books of the series, you'll enjoy this one as well.

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for the ARC.

I was primed to adore this installment of Murderbot, which picks up immediately where Network Effect (book 5, the full-length novel) leaves off. While the action is slow to start and Murderbot is enmeshed in internal turmoil, once the activity starts, it doesn't let us. Fans of the ensemble cast in previous books will be satisfied by their reappearance, and ART is a star player. Highly satisfying!