Rating: It's a Favorite, 6 stars

I literally dropped everything to read this when I got approved for an ARC! It was so worth it! Murderbot is probably my favorite ongoing SFF series, so I feel like that's important to know going into this: I would probably like anything Martha Wells comes up with for Murderbot to do over the course of a novel or novella!

But regardless of me being a fan, I really enjoyed this one! System Collapse picks up almost immediately after the events in Network Effect, and it is another full-length novel, if much shorter than Network Effect. I think that this one doesn't have the exact same coziness as other installments in this series, and it has a little less of the humor I've come to associate with Murderbot, but the humor was definitely still there. The reason for this though makes complete sense. Murderbot is finally having to deal with its *eMoTiOnS.*

This starts out probably just a week or two after the end of Network Effect. Murderbot, ART, ART's crew, and the Preservation crew are all still waiting in the planetary system that had the alien contamination. They are waiting for the university crew to arrive in order to repair ART's wormhole drive as well as to block Barish-Estranza from forcing the colonists into indentured servitude in one of their mining installations. However, Murderbot is struggling. This story has the similar setup to Network Effect where it briefly starts out as a story that's being told in the middle of the events of the book, so there are some weird interludes where whoever is telling the story to get us caught up on events and there is one thing in particular that is *redacted.* Whatever this *redacted* event is, it seems to be related to Murderbot's PTSD from what occurred during Network Effect.

Murderbot as a result is not itself. It is second guessing everything, it feels out of sorts, and it is doubting its ability to protect its humans. It is lethargic and not even wanting to watch new media. However, there are still a lot of threats on this planet with Barish-Estranza being one of the big ones, and Murderbot finds itself in a situation where its security expertise is vital.

I really loved the exploration of Murderbot's negative emotions in this one. We have seen it come so far from All Systems Red, and the growth in this book is no exception. Did I miss quippy, sarcastic, on its game Murderbot? Yes. But was I 100% still here and rooting for depressed and traumatized Murderbot? Also yes. And there is definitely still sarcasm and quips, it just doesn't land the same when you see just how messed up recent events have left it. But watching Murderbot's journey towards healing was beautiful, and I absolutely loved several events and moments towards the end that I won't indicate due to spoilers.

Overall, I really appreciated this further exploration of personhood and mental health with my favorite human-bot construct. I loved getting to know members of ART's crew a little bit better, and I thought that the adventure in this one was fun. I laughed, I cried, and Murderbot continues to be a favorite series. I will continue to read anything Martha Wells puts out.

I received an eARC from Netgalley and Tordotcom. All opinions are my own. System Collapse releases on November 14, 2023.

The story follows directly after the events of Network Effect and those events have noticeably left Murderbot with PTSD. But, of course, it doesn’t have time to deal with it, let alone watch media and ignore it as another crisis needs diverting. Only, Murderbot isn’t sure it’s up to the task.

The thing about this series is that I’m always left wanting more. This was no exception. There’s something comforting about Murderbot’s anxiety, misanthropy, and existential dread that makes me feel less alone. That and it’s hilarious.

I loved reading about how trauma affected Murderbot and its growing panic that it could no longer function as a SecUnit. Its insecurities and involuntary reactions escalate as the human situation on planet gets more dire. Everything is dire.

But ART is there! And their friendship is amazing and snarky and good for both of them. And Ratthi! Plus, a couple of ART’s humans that are fun to get to know. Iris is particularly great. And more panic-inducing SecUnits! I love reading about Murderbot interacting with new humans/constructs almost as much as I love it interacting with its favorite humans and ART.

Honestly, this book was such a good time. I loved that ART was in it so much, the humor is perfect, and the action sequences are great. Murderbot’s character growth from book to book is fantastic.

Overall, it felt like coming home and was exactly what I wanted from this series. I can’t wait for it to come out on audio so I can listen to Kevin R. Free narrate it!

4.5 stars bc I fucking hate the adamantine colony but love murderbot, its humans, and ART and its humans.

Many thanks to Netgalley for this ARC. The book itself was a great place to pick up with Murderbot and ART, but not a great place for those new to the series. The emotional trauma that Murderbot goes through is more nuanced in each book, as the terror factor increases. Without giving too much away, the action becomes heartstopping. Fans, you're gonna love it.

System Collapse takes place not long after the events of Network Effect. The University of Mihira and New Tideland (with the assistance of Preservation) is attempting to extricate the surviving colonists from the planet and from being carted off into indentured servitude by the Barish-Estranza corporation.

The book opens up with Murderbot on the planet and attempting to take down feral agricultural bots. (And we know how much Murderbot loves being on planets.) The situation goes downhill from here, as the surviving colonists reveal that a group of colonists separated from the other factions and have been out of contact for years. Murderbot ends up with the team going out to make contact. (Or alternatively, seeing if the separatists are even alive.)

This leads to good news and bad news. The good news is that the separatists are both alive and have not been infected with toxic alien remnants. The bad news is that a team from Barish-Estranza has gotten there first, and is attempting to manipulate the separatists into signing up for slave labor while smearing the University. (Your silver lining: The separatists don't trust the corporation any more than they trust the University representatives. This is also the lead lining.)

System Collapse is a tightly written story, with lots of dramatic tension as Murderbot and company try to find a way to save the colonists from corporation control. There are also moments of humor--that turned down the tension just a little before it started ramping up again. Murderbot ends up stretching his skill sets in interesting ways in this book and continues to be Very Good At Its Job, even while dealing with redacted.

This was a fast-paced read, with lots of fun character moments. This was another great installment in the Murderbot series and I really enjoyed it. I highly recommend it.

This review is based on a galley of the book that I received via NetGalley.

This book starts almost where Network Effect ends, and what happened between the books is important to the story. It’s about the clean up that we knew would have to happen after the event of that book; but also about the new problems tossed at SecUnit’s humans by the colonists.

I enjoyed this entry in the series a lot, but it’s also not going to be my favourite one. Like most of the series it’s plot heavy, but the plot isn’t quite strong enough to hang the book on for the whole time. It was a lot of fun in places, I just wish there’d been a bit more interaction between the characters and fewer dark corridors to walk down, but overall I did have a good time reading it!

Murderbot, the snarky and self-aware SecUnit, returns in this highly anticipated installment that will take readers on a rollercoaster ride of suspense, with unexpected turns and escalating stakes that will keep you on the edge of your seat.

Murderbot finds itself facing the task of convincing colonists to evacuate, protecting the humans, and uncovering the enigma that is redacted. However, as always, plans never go quite as expected.

"Wow, you don't think it can get any worse, and it always does."

Martha Wells once again showcases her masterful storytelling, skillfully balancing tension, humor (including ART's sarcasm), and exploration of identity. She seamlessly weaves these existential questions into the fabric of the story, providing a thought-provoking layer that adds depth to the narrative.

If you're searching for a sci-fi adventure that excels in every aspect—whether it's suspense, character development, or philosophical depth—look no further. System Collapse is an absolute must-read.

System Collapse

Tor (2023) Martha Wells

Blurb

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.

Awards, Accolades and Strange Reviews….

The Murderbot Diaries has had huge success with both a Hugo Award and a Nebula award, so here at R&R we were excited to get our hands on the new System Collapse, the next book in the Murderbot series(Tor, 2023). We have not read a Murderbot book before, but we did some background research, just enough to not spoil anything before we dived in. When scanning the Goodreads review for this book, I was confronted with some strange reviews. People were haphazardly giving it 5 stars, without even reading it; this book will be released in November. Other people were giving it one star reviews, because of so many people just handing the book five stars. It was strange and instead of seeing what other reviewers thought, I believe, I stepped into a dedicated fandom inflating an already successful series. However, here at R&R we make up our own mind. The publisher was kind enough to send us a reviewer’s copy of the book, but that does not influence our reviews whatsoever. Nor do other reviewers, or awards. Success is something earned and I cannot judge the previous books, as I have not read them, but it is System Collapse, which is being reviewed, not Murderbot, or the series, other books and novellas. This review is solely about System Collapse, by someone who has actually read it.

Murderbot

Murderbot, (n.d).

There are seven books, which is a testament to the series and the average reviews rate each at roughly 4.5 or there abouts. (Goodreads, nd.) The premise sounds like a funny one. But a book, or story, needs more than a hook. Ultimately, R&R reviews writing, as how else do you read books, other than one word at a time? We understand what Wells is trying to do, a dysfunctional robot, which somehow has ‘feelings’ and ‘thoughts’, due to a hacked governor module, struggling to cope in a world not built for it to exist.

When R&R thinks of the first person perspective, a few writers stand out: Ross Macdonald, Raymond Chandler, Kazuo Ishiguro. These are writers with books that flow. The writing is precise and apt, everything is calculated and I never stumble over the characters thoughts. If Martha Wells is going for a discombobulated, stop, start process, to highlight the trouble with Murderbot, she does it well. But reading the dysfunctional thoughts of Murderbot was boring. Immediately boring. Bracket after bracket of expositional thought was thrown at me, until the mental image I was building became fractured. The writing pulled me from the immersion and I struggled to sit down and enjoy this mental vomit.

Conclusion

With seven books and two awards, it is likely you have heard of Murderbot, maybe you are already a fan of the series. It’s a million copy, new york times bestselling series (Tor, 2023). Opinions and reviews will vary; I hope they will vary, because I like to think the world is full of individuals with differences. Diehard fans of the series will not need to read a review, but if you’re considering purchasing, or diving into the series, I hope this helps.

References

Tor, (2023). Revealing System Collapse A New Murderbot Novel from Martha Wells. Accessed via: https://www.tor.com/2023/01/24/cover-reveal-murderbot-system-collapse-by-martha-wells/

Murderbot (n.d). Accessed via: https://murderbot.fandom.com/wiki/Murderbot

Goodreads (n.d). The Murderbot Diaries. Accessed via: https://www.goodreads.com/series/191900-the-murderbot-diaries


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Four and a half
Well everyone's favourite grumpy, self aware Sec Bot is back and sadly he's planet side and not somewhere kicking back watching old sci fi reruns ! Ok it could be worse because his mission is to help convince colonists that they really should evacuate asap and most definitely should not take up any offers that could see them quite literally considered salvage ! Sounds like a plan but then nothing ever seems to go quite to plan particularly when not all the settlers are where they are meant to be. Plus there's something really wrong with Murderbot but sadly no spoilers so for now redacted !
This five star series continues to delight, surprise and entertain. I love his almost curmudgeonly attitude with his sharp wit and any interaction between him and ART is simply Fun and yes that's a capital F. If you love sci fi that's top notch and at the same time want to explore what being human means then this journey from killer to simply more should definitely go on your shopping list.
This voluntary take is of a copy I requested from Netgalley and my thoughts and comments are honest and I believe fair

Something is wrong with Murderbot, but we don’t quite no what it is. And now Murderbot and his humans have to prevent a corporation from turning innocent people into indentured servants.

With Murderbot’s trademark disarming honesty, we’re taken on another adventure where Murderbot, ART and their humans face impossible odds.

Martha Wells yet again manages to balance a strong emotional core with non-stop action. It makes for compulsive reading. I could read read Murderbot books the way Murderbot and ART watch Sanctuary Moon.

It was likely inevitable that I'd love "System Collapse", the second full-length novel in the Murderbot series, but I'd be remiss if I didn't note that this might be my new favorite Murderbot novel. It's slightly on the edge of horror - not quite, still firmly in science fiction territory - but the fear here is palpable as stakes are raised and raised again. Wells is at the height of her game with this lovely mix of found family - and yes, ART is back! Murderbot's incredibly relatable PTSD is a reoccurring source of inner-tension that plays beautifully against the external action. Can't wait for the next in the series. This just keeps getting better and better.

Martha has done it again! This second full length novel was INCREDIBLE.

Picking up where we left off in Network Effect, something is OFF with Murderbot. What’s going on?

This book takes a deep dive into more emotions we’ve had yet to explore with this SecUnit and it’s just as comical and emotional and all the ones before.

ART and Murderbot continue their banter. B-E is back to cause problems (always). Murderbot has to figure out how to process all that’s happened and how to keep it from happening again. You don’t want to miss this. I DEVOURED it, laughing, crying, scoffing at the idiocy of humans.

It ended and I wanted to start it all over again.

SecUnit is back with another full length adventure, and you can be sure it's not happy about it. Following up on the events of Network Effect, Murderbot finds itself planetside once again and back in a mess of contaminate bots, corporations pretending to be ethical (but we know they're not) and of course… more humans. It could be worse... It could be a whole lot better though. Especially if it could just watch some Sanctuary Moon in peace.