I've read all of the Murderbot novellas, and this is #7, so that's saying something right there.
If you haven't read them yet, you should.
Start at the beginning!
There is always a good, well-crafted sci-fi adventure, but the wry humor and the character of Murderbot are what really sets this series apart.

Murderbot is BACK! In book 7, Murderbot still hadn’t found an ethical corporation (if one even exists), and Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to help a newly colonized planet in peril, and they want something in return, a free workforce maybe. Meanwhile. Something’s amiss. Murderbot’s not running within normal operational parameters. Everyone is trying to help the colonists, but they’ll need Murderbot to figure out its problem ASAP.

I always have a good time with Murderbot, and often identify on a deep level with it. I do tend to get a little lost in the action sequences, but I’m always just here for Murderbot and its friends, mechanical and human.

Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions contained within are my own.

In 2023, after having read All Systems Red years ago, I decided it was finally time to buckle down and read all the books in the Murderbot series. I fell in love with our titular reluctant hero after the first book and I wanted to know if I would enjoy the rest of its journey just as much. Spoiler alert: Murderbot has fully cemented itself as one of my favorite characters of all time! So when I was approved for the e-ARC of System Collapse, I was beyond stoked. The fact that this momentous occasion was quickly followed by a months-long reading slump was… unfortunate, to say the least, lol. But I’m back, I finally read it, and now I need to gush!

If you don’t know, the Murderbot series follows an AI construct that would much rather minimize any interactions with sentient species and watch drama programs until its processors stop functioning. In the first book of the series, it finds itself on a mission with a group of scientists that goes horribly awry. And, much to its chagrin, it would much prefer this particular group of scientists to remain alive, thank you very much. Now that we’re into the seventh book of the series, our not-so-murderous SecUnit has been through it and the hits keep comin’. In this installment, it’s trying to keep yet another group of humans alive while they do dangerous things… like trying to save an entire lost colony from indentured servitude.

The aspect of this series that I have always loved the most is the characters and this book is no exception. In this installment, we see Murderbot dealing with a lot of complex emotions. Which is weird since, ya know, it's not even supposed to have emotions. It only made me love it more, though! Murderbot has been through a lot and it is interesting to see how a non-human character, an AI that’s not supposed to feel, processes something as complex as trauma. I thought the author did an incredible job of describing Murderbot’s struggle to deal with the events that have happened on this lost colony planet while trying to continue to do its job as though nothing is wrong. I just wanted to give Murderbot a big ol’ hug, but it would not have appreciated the gesture. Still, it amazes me that the author can make all these characters still feel so fresh and intriguing when we’re seven books into the series. Admittedly, only two of them are full length novels, but I feel that makes it all the more impressive!

I also thought she did a fantastic job with the plot of this novel. As mentioned, most of the books in this series are novellas, so I feel like they focus more on the character development than the plot. But this one was a full length novel that went heavy on the character but also managed to deliver an fast-paced and interesting plot. The conflict with the terrible company from the Corporation Rim had me on the edge of my seat, wondering how things were going to turn out for Murderbot’s favorite humans, especially with it not performing at its peak. I was wrapped up in the drama and tore through the story as I was eager to see how it ended.

Overall, this was an incredible addition to the saga of Murderbot! It had the character development that I always expect from a book in this series along with a tense plot that had me absolutely hooked. I loved the exploration of PTSD and watching Murderbot continue to learn what it means to be a part of a family. Even if it would deny up and down that it was. Now I’m chomping at the bit for the next installation in what has to be my favorite sci-fi series!

This book felt like a departure tone compared to previous Murderbot books, but it was a good shift. It was a delight to read about the growth and recovery of everyone’s favorite socially awkward construct.

It took me a while to get into this volume, but the effort was rewarded. Part of the issue was that Murderbot was hiding things, from the reader and from itself, but once that came to light as the story progressed, Murderbot was less conflicted and more focused which helped everything to flow better. And boy, what a story! Still on the planet from the last adventure. Still dealing with alien contamination, crazy colonists, and corporate greed. But add in a separate colony and corporate in-fighting and Murderbot has its hands full! It will be interesting to find out where Murderbot and ART go next!

Exactly what I expect from the Murderbot series. This may be my favorite one so far. I can't wait for the next one!

I wanted to be at Network Effect, and that's where this book takes place—more on it later. This is where we discover our preferred, liberated SecUnit that is compatible with ART. Murderbot appears to be experiencing problems besides the objective they have set for themselves, though. It's entertaining to observe how self-doubt and fear are manifesting in Murderbot. I appreciate its human traits and am happy to see more of them, not that I would wish anything ill upon it. Compared to the previous episode, Fugitive Telemetry, which felt like a story told entirely out of sequence, I thought this story was much better. Given that we left Murderbot and ART together at the conclusion of Network Effect, I anticipated seeing them working together. Now eagerly awaiting for the next episode.

I think Murderbot might have run its course. The narrative voice was fun, but the thing that makes Murderbot fun is that it is a robot. It responds to things in robot-like ways. It doesn't want to be human-like, and it's not trying to understand humanity. It's just doing its job in a way that satisfies its moral code and leaves it free time to watch its soap operas. When Murderbot suddenly starts having PTSD-like reactions to things, the one thing that makes it distinctive--its reliability derived of inhumanity--is suddenly removed and this book becomes just another Trauma Plot, which I'm not really interested in.

What is more, there wasn't much other plot here either--certainly not enough for a full novel. In full, here's the plot: There are some colonists on a different site on the planet. Murderbot and crew go there and want to persuade them to take bureaucratic action to forestall a corporation's takeover attempt. The negotiations are limited, and primarily relate to making a recruitment video. Then they go home again. The end. Where's the discovery? Where's the mystery? So many tantalizing clues about pre-corporation rim civilizations that go nowhere! So much drama related to the very cool alien contamination from the previous book, and it has very little importance for the plot here, beyond an influence in corporate decision-making processes.

This could have been a nice novella (which is the classic Murderbot installment length, after all), but there was not enough there to support a novel, and what was there was all trauma-plot, which is not what I want from Murderbot. Phooey.

Martha Wells' Murderbot Diaries are tremendous fun! System Collapse follows Fugitive Telemetry as the seventh in this space opera series laced with humor.

Our hero, Murderbot, is a sentient machine with organic neural tissue. Though programmed for destruction, he has gone rogue. His hilarious perspective on the humans he is now committed to protect pulls reader interest through the series.

Murderbot hates planets, especially ones 'where you have to investigate the probably-not-empty, possibly alien-contaminated Pre-Corporation Rim occupation site while wearing an environmental suit instead or armor'.

The action as he deals with this - and the dialogue between Murderbot, humans and AIs - is what makes this series so worth following.

System Collapse is another engaging installment in the Murderbot Diaries. I was really surprised that this one took place immediately after the events of Network Effect. I really enjoyed how this book explored Murderbot's relationship with the consequences of the events of Network Effect. It adds further dimension to its character and its relationship with the other characters in this series. However, I am a bit concerned for the overall pacing of the series given the limited forward momentum in this installment. I had thought there was a clear next step for the series after finishing Network Effect, so I find it odd that there was another installment before this next event. I also have to admit that the [redacted] parts confused me more than they probably should have.

The highlight of this book was the humor and banter between Murderbot, ART, and the researchers. Their entertaining dynamics helped to make up for the relative lack of tension in the plot. It was nice to spend a bit more time getting to know ART's crew before the next phase of the series.

System Collapse appears to serve as a transition point in the series. Though this limits the story, it allows for some interesting reflection on previous installments. I am really enjoying the longer format and hope to see more full-length novels in the future of the series.

Many thanks to Netgalley, Tor publishing and the author for the ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

The Murderbot diaries have been on my TBR since I heard about book 1, so thank you to Netgalley and publisher for giving me this ARC which finally made me start this series of novella's about this absolutely amazing SecUnit who have surpassed every single fictional character as my favorite and this series as one of my absolute favorite sci-fi books.

How do you know you love a book very much? when you miss the characters straight after you finished the book. Even though this is the 7th installment in this series, it continues after book 5. Even though I read all 7 back to back, it was a bit hard to get the flow in the very beginning, however, once that tiny bit is over you are right at home.

The was a tiny bit less sarcasm and bite to our dearest SecUnit in this one but for the flow I did get it. All it wanted to do was ignore everything and watch some serials however our little mindless killing machine seems have something going on!! what no idea or is it that we know but don't want to acknowledge it?

As always there was action action, so (B?)(ro?)mance happening between....who else Murderbot and its Asshole Research Transport (ART) plus all those useless human emotions of care and love and concern for of all things humans!!!! ughhhh can't someone just leave the poor thing to hibernate with some quality media content?

Anyway I do hope there will be more stories of Murderbot and ART (and their children? shhhh!!! don't tell anyone!!) they have a reputation to protect!! Also I am very excited to see the Adaptation come to life.

I didn't get a chance to read the full copy but what I did read was wonderful. Wells is an excellent writer and has the ability to immerse her readers. However, I am not a fan of how the books picked back up. It just skips book 6, like it didn't even exist. Also, there is no recap from book 5 going into book 7. There was 3 years between book 5 and 7. I'm sorry but my memory is not that good.

The 8th (!) in the Murderbot series, System Collapse follows Murderbot on her quest to keep the stupid humans from doing stupid things. They are somewhat successful, in that nobody dies.

One of the things that I love about this series is Wells’ complete cynicism re: capitalism and how big companies treat their workers. Another thing I truly love is Murderbot's reluctant affection for the people who insist on hanging out with them and caring about them. (The audacity!)

Hard sci-fi but still with a trace of hand-waving the science, it’s definitely worth picking up.

I received a free copy from NetGalley for my unbiased opinion.


#SystemCollapse #NetGalley

all systems red is my favorite series, so my expectations were sky-high, especially after how amazing the last full-length novel was. this one didn’t quite live up to those expectations, but it was a great read.

i found it a little hard to jump into the story of the book, especially with the novella coming between (but out of series order). it took me a bit of time to figure out why the characters were here, etc. i thought that the overall plot of the book was a bit less compelling that the last stand-alone, and stripped a lot of the mystery/intrigue from the story. i felt like i was waiting for the other shoe to drop, and it didn’t quite get there for me.

BUT that said, this book is another great installment in my favorite series. fans of the previous books will love to see murderbot/secunit’s return, along with the return of other fan favorites. this book explores a different side of murderbot, which wasn’t exactly what i expected from the synopsis! it felt like a natural next step in the series given the events of the previous books.

i wish there had been a little bit more action/excitement, but i love this series so much and had such a blast with this arc that i feel guilty even rating it lower than 5 stars! i am a murderbot fan for life.

The latest entry in the Murderbot Diaries lacks the biting sarcasm of previous installments. Instead, the titular Murderbot spends half of the novella avoiding any revelations about recent traumatic experiences. Wells seems to want to say something about the importance of storytelling in the development of empathy for those with different lived experiences, but stops just shy of fully realizing that message. As a reader and librarian, I would not recommend this as an entry point to the series. Thankfully, since the Murderbot Diaries consist primarily of novellas less than 200 pages in length, readers can start at the beginning and reach System Collapse with a more complete understanding of Murderbot's emotional journey.

This was a great addition to the series. I really enjoyed it. Not sure how I missed posting my review until now. We keep learning more about the characters involved. Great story

Another enjoyable instalment in Wells’s bestselling Murderbot series. Everything we’ve come to enjoy about the series is present: excellent writing, wry observations about humans and humanity, some good action, and a bit of mystery.

If you haven’t tried the series yet, I’m not sure what you’re waiting for. If you have, then you’ll need no encouragement to pick this up.

Recommended, as always.

Let me say first of all I was quite confused when this book started as I had not realized it was a DIRECT sequel to Murderbot #5 and I had just read Murderbot #6 earlier this month--

Anyway, this is a tricky entry in a GREAT series because it does pick up basically immediately after a previously published (but not direct predecessor) book ended, but also the narrative is a little less direct than future entries. However, there is a reason for this that we get explained some ways in (and that reason is: trauma processing/coping.... which is more obvious between the lines early on but In Case You Were Wondering, We Spelled It Out).

This one was harder for me to get into, and I think a lot of that had to do with just me not knowing the "reading order" but also, maybe I just wasn't in the mood at the moment? But it's Murderbot, so I wanted to read it? There's always great characters and great sort of snappy dialogue and ART! and I think with this entry wrapped up it makes me maybe even more than other entries excited to see where it goes from here.

Thank you to NetGalley and TOR for the eARC in exchange for review! Getting approved for this title finally got me to pull Murderbot #1 off my shelf and dive into such a rich and beloved world.

Another fun and full of heart addition to the murderbot series by Martha Wells. The relationships were particularly fun to watch evolve.

A delightful entry in the Murderbot series. Recommend reading the 5th book again as this one starts right where that left off.