<strong>System Collapse brings us another full-length Murderbot adventure! </strong> ➽ It’s book 7 in the Murderbot Diaries but also the eagerly awaited <strong>direct sequel to Network Effect</strong> 👀 While not as long as its predecessor there is a lot going on and many interesting themes explored. It’s <strong>always difficult to pick a favorite from the series, but System Collapse comes close</strong> and makes me excited for the future of the series, as there are more books to come and there is SO much potential for them 💗

<strong>The conflict with Barish-Estranza is far from over, as they try to seize the remaining colonists </strong>➽ Meaning, we don’t leave the Lost Colony’s system that was the main setting for Network Effect, as <strong>Murderbot – together with ART’s crew – is once again trying to save humans from the corporates</strong>. Barish-Estranza is determined to trick the remaining colonists into a predatory ‘work contract’ with whatever means necessary.

Murderbot is joined by <strong>Ratthi</strong> (my favorite Preservation human), <strong>Iris</strong> (ART’s favorite human) and <strong>Tarik</strong> (ART’s newest crew member) as they venture planet-side to warn the colonists of their dangerous fate. I loved the crew dynamics, it was great to <strong>finally get to know Iris a bit better</strong>, especially as she’s ART’s favorite. Her interactions with Murderbot were great, especially as both of them mean so much to ART. <strong>Perihelion/Peri/ART</strong> is also along with the ride as a drone, which made me happy as it’s one of my favorite characters and its dry humor makes for some great banter with Murderbot! <strong>I also love Ratthi and his unwavering support, so I was glad that he got the spotlight again</strong>!

We see a bit of Mensa, Thiago and Amena as well, but they’re not really in focus this time. I <strong>hope in the future we’ll see more of Amena</strong> again – the ending definitely makes this a possibility – as&nbsp; I loved her friendship with our favorite SecUnit! Speaking of Secunits, <strong>Three is present, but not involved in the main action, so we only get small glimpses into its dynamic with Murderbot</strong>. I know lots of people were excited for more Three content, but there isn’t much – that being said I see lots of potential for future books to focus on this! A <strong>character that surprised me was Tarik</strong>, the most recent addition to ART’s crew and a specialist at dealing with corporations, as he’s got a past with them. He had hidden depths and now I’m excited to slowly get to know the rest of ART’s crew as well!

<strong>The story had a lot of good discussion about feeling helpless and your mental health catching up with you.</strong> ➽ Murderbot has always been a relatable character for me and the way <strong>mental health was approached in this book meant a lot to me</strong>! This isn’t called System <em>Collapse</em> for nothing, as Murderbot experiences glitches and irregularities in its parameters which leads to a lot of [redacted] incidents. It has always been 100% confident in providing security, as opposed to dealing with social situations and the anxiety that comes with them.

This book raises the question: <strong>what do you do if you can no longer adequately perform the one thing you feel confident in?</strong> The subtle shifts in Murderbot trying to desperately keep up with its function and protect its humans, while feeling on the edge of a mental breakdown (I can relate) were so well-written. I loved that the authors explored the meaning of helplessness and how <strong>Murderbot’s existence has always been conditional on it being useful for security</strong>. Now that it’s struggling, Murderbot is scared of the humans no longer wanting to work with it. There are now so many humans that care for it, but it’s tough to believe that there’s unconditional support when you have Murderbot’s background.

<strong>Throughout the series, we’ve also seen Murderbot’s PTSD symptoms and anxiety/depression</strong>. In fact, this is what I related to so much and why it’s my ultimate comfort character! System Collapse dives a bit deeper into this trauma in a way I won’t name here, as it’s a bit spoilery. Murderbot <strong>has come a long way since All Systems Red and I think that’s why <em>now</em> is the time that its trauma is resurfacing to this degree</strong>. It’s more settled and paradoxically that’s the moment everything it tried to bury strikes. The ending and its <strong>meaning for mental health support moved me to tears</strong>

I will never not love Martha Wells or Murderbot, but I have to say I was just a tiny bit apprehensive after I realized this book was (1) a novel instead of a novella (where I think Murderbot works best) and (2) picked up where Network Effect left off (my least favorite of the Murderbot books. And while I still maintain that books 2-4 and 6 are her best, System Collapse is another excellent addition to the Murderbot series. More please!

I think Murderbot is simply the BEST! System Collapse is a wonderful full-length addition to the sci-fi series. To get ready for System Collapse, I reread Fugitive Telemetry because I wanted everything to be fresh in my mind. However, this new book takes up immediately where Network Effect leaves off (book #5). So, I quickly reread Network Effect and then read System Collapse which was a great reading experience.
System Collapse is a pivotal book in the series that you won't want to miss. All the characters are coming to terms with what happened in book #5 and they're not ok, Murderbot included. I am eagerly awaiting the next book. I highly recommend this series to everyone I talk books with.

As always Murderbot is amazing. This installment made me so happy. I love watching them, dare I say... Evolve? This is one of my favorite sci-fi series of all time, and never fails me.

This review is absurdly late, for which I sincerely apologize. I was so excited to get the ARC for System Collapse from NetGalley, but just as I finished reading it, I got a new job and between wrapping up my life, moving across the country, and starting over in a new city, writing and submitting a review completely slipped off my mental radar.

System Collapse by Martha Wells continues Murderbot’s adventures in the aftermath of the events of Network Effect. As ART’s crew and the members of Preservation Station’s team race to stay ahead of Barish-Estranza and safeguard the colonists on the planet, they learn of another community of colonists that split off from the main group in the wake of previous contamination events and may still be living out of communication range. With a small team investigating the possibility of a hidden community of colonists, Murderbot must process its recent traumas and determine what path it wants to take moving forward.

Overall, I liked the book. Nothing beats the initial quartet of novellas, but I truly enjoyed seeing more of ART’s crew and some of the original characters from Preservation. As might be expected following its experiences in Network Effect, Murderbot is not dealing well, but is still pushing forward and doing its job with trademark snark. I love the way the events of the book (no spoilers) felt like such a natural evolution of Murderbot’s relationship with media and storytelling, both in relation to others and to its own sense of personhood. It’s a natural through line for the series that just keeps getting better and better. I can’t wait to see where the series will go from here.

The MurderBot Diaries is a Season’s Pass for me. I will ride ALL THE RIDES.

I love MurderBot’s inner dialogue.
I love that he ‘freed’ other SecUnits.
I love how hard MB works to keep humans alive, and his exasperation when they don’t make it easy.
I love the Human/Bot interactions as each learn how to be in relationship with each other.

I just love everything about it, and I can’t wait until the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for this ARC.

While I have enjoyed the Murderbot Diaries, this was the first one I read instead of listened to and I found myself having a harder time following the story and staying with it. It was still good, and I love Murderbot, but personally, I really enjoy the audio version of this series.

Murder Bot strikes again! This series is consistently so good, so snarky, and SO FUNNY! Cannot wait for the television adaptation!

3.5

Systems Collapse is the seventh installment of my favorite genderless asexual robot. Not entirely too sure why this didn't quite work for me but I seem to have fallen out of love with the series and perhaps Martha Wells in general. Objectively, it's a good book but it just didn't quite capture my attention. For some reason seven books deep, we still are reading yet another transition story and beyond the nice character growth from Murderbot, I wasn't really invested in anything at all. It was just... okay.

Thanks TOR for the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always thrilled to get another entry in the Murderbot series, and this is no exception! Gripping, brilliant, funny, engrossing sci fi. The whole series is highly recommended.

Martha Wells continues to impress me, in exploring humanity and what we believe makes a person a person, and why someone might reject that. As someone who adored Network Effect, I was thrilled to find that System Collapse takes place immediately after the events of the novel, following Murderbot, ART and their crews as they deal with the fallout of the previous novel. There is something amiss with Murderbot, following an event only listed as "redacted", and of course, their crews' mission to help abandoned colonists is complicated by unforeseen issues.

It was really refreshing to see Murderbot struggling, when despite their consistent self-doubt, they almost always pull off the daring rescue or mission that is in store for them. Fans of the Murderbot series won't be disappointed!

I have been recommending that new readers read Network Effect and then System Collapse immediately afterward, as Fugitive Telemetry chronologically occurs after those two books and it seems to make for better continuity.

Another outstanding release in one of my all-time favourite series!
Murderbot is the most realistic and relatable character I've ever read and I can't get enough of it's adventures!

CHARACTERS
🔲 mary-sue party
🔲 mostly 2D
🔲 great main cast, forgettable side characters
✅ well-written
🔲 complex and fascinating
🔲 hard to believe they are fictional

PLOT
🔲 you've already heard this exact story a thousand times
🔲 nothing memorable
✅ gripping
🔲 exceptional
🔲 mind=blown

WORLDBUILDING
🔲 takes place in our world
🔲 incoherent
🔲 OK
✅ nicely detailed
🔲 meticulous
🔲 even the last tree in the forest has its own story

ATMOSPHERE
🔲 nonexistent
🔲 fine
🔲 immersive
✅ you forget you are reading a book

PACING
🔲 dragging
🔲 inconsistent
🔲 picks up with time
✅ page-turner
🔲 impossible to put down

Network Effect was my least favourite of the series but this direct sequel to it was a pleasant surprise.

Dear Martha Wells,

Murderbot is back!! Yay!!

System Collapse takes place immediately after the events of Network Effect (the previous book in the series, Fugitive Telemetry, covers events before Network Effect). Here’s a hint: a recap of Network Effect is very helpful when going into System Collapse if you’re anything like me and can’t remember much of what happened (there have been so many books filling my brain since then). In a pinch, this Wikipedia synopsis will help. I admit I was a bit lost at first (see previous). But, once I read that Wiki entry and a couple of Goodreads reviews of the earlier book, I felt oriented and that made this book much easier to follow.

Murderbot and ART and various of its humans have returned to the planet with the alien contamination from Network Effect and are trying to convince the colonists to leave and not sign up for indentured servitude with the Barish-Estranza Corporation. Murderbot is struggling because of redacted. Yes, that’s what it says in the text. For a good portion of the book, the SecUnit is not letting on what redacted is. We only know it has something to do with what happened before and it has made its humans (and ART) concerned about it and whatever happened has made has made Murderbot feel unreliable and a liability to the team.

SecUnit and a subset of it’s crew, together with ART-drone (it’s all ART but ART can split off into various different iterations) go to a remote area of the planet where there may be separatists who are unaware of what has been going on and who will be vulnerable to Barish-Estranza. While there, Murderbot is challenged to begin to face the trauma of its experience in Network Effect and what that means for it going forward. Plus, things get dicey with Barish-Estranza and Murderbot is called upon to use its knowledge of human behaviour (learned from all of its media-watching experience, particularly his beloved Sanctuary Moon) to protect an ever-increasing number of humans under its care. We also catch up with Three and other characters readers have come to know and like over the course of the series.

I adore the SecUnit and its reluctant but complete devotion to its humans and ART. I love the sarcasm and the way Murderbot refers to “I had an emotion” or “I made an expression” which both reminds me its not a human but also that its something very close to human. I love the way Murderbot shies away from emotions but feels them anyway, especially for people like Dr Mensah and Iris but also for its buddy, ART. I also love that those beloved human characters appreciate SecUnit for who it is, value its input and skill and treat it with respect. Murderbot’s dry humour is the best and it had me smiling and/or laughing out loud throughout the story.

I had an actual gun, one of ART’s projectile weapons, but we knew from experience how many shots it took to down an enraged ag-bot, and getting up right on its processor for a point-blank impact was not something anybody wanted me to try to attempt, especially me.

I feel a bit like Iris and Dr Mensah about SecUnit myself actually.

Murderbot ends the story in a good place – physically and mentally and ready for more adventures.

The best thing I can say about System Collapse is that it made me want to re-read (or re-listen) to the entire series again from start to finish and I’m planning to do just that soon – maybe over the Christmas break.

Definitely recommended (but remember what I said about the Network Effect recap). Grade: A

Regards,
Kaetrin

I will always and forever be grateful to Tor for letting me read the Murderbot series. It’s endlessly entertaining. Murderbot is the grumpy AI robot that I hope the future holds. They are funny, loyal, fearless and poignant. This book like all the others in this series delivers a fast paced adventure and the same character growth we’ve become accustomed to with Murderbot. I for one, always recommend this series to everyone who asks for a sci-fi recommendation. It’s always well received. I’ll continue to convert people as much as possible!

I hand sell MurderBot to anyone who stands still in my store long enough. I have bought multiple copies of the first book to hand to friends, family and coworkers to bring them into the MurderBot Fan Club fold. I have a set of loaner copies of this book and I have my set that don't leave the house unless there is a fire. One of the audio books that I listen to when I am having a BAD commute and I need to calm down NOW is Pride and Prejudice. The other is Network Effect. I guess you could call those two audio books my version of Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon. To say that I am slightly MurderBot obsessed is putting it mildly.

I wanted this to be my first read of 2024, and while it was the first book I STARTED in 2024, it wasn't the first one I finished. However, I have finished it tonight and I want to cry, because I have to wait HOW long for the next one?!?!

And I don't want to say anything, other than if you are interested in reading this, you REALLY should read them in order, so you can see the character growth and understand what is going on. All Systems Red. It's a tiny little novella, won't take up hardly any of your time. Quick, fun read. Go in as blind as you can. It's an awesome experience. Highly recommended. Should we ever meet, the first one is free.

And to those of you who read this one. THAT. ENDING. Wow. My head is still reeling and I don't know how to think about it. But I loved it.

5, because how can I give MurderBot anything less than that, stars.

My thanks to NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group/Tordotcom for an eARC of this book to read and review.

I love me some Murderbot! Yet another installment in this fun series. This one picks up right where the last book left off, and since it's been over a year since I read the last one, I was a little lost at first. I am strongly considering a re-listen all the way through because these books are just so delightful. The right amount of sci-fi, comedy, and finding purpose. The audiobooks are so well done by Kevin R. Free, although I noticed on Libby that they redid the audiobooks with a full cast. Apple TV has the greenlight to pursue a series based on these books. If you need a fun, action series with a sarcastic yet lovable main character, check out this series.

Probably my favorite of the Murderbot Diaries so far. I wish I had know to reread Network Effect before reading this as I think I would have understood the plot much better. Then again I hardly know what is going on in a Murderbot book anyway. This is very much not a stand alone and readers really should start from the beginning. The meta-story of Murderbot's emotional development is important to understand, especially with this book, and you need to have some background to get what this current book is about.

Martha Wells' System Collapse, the latest addition to the acclaimed Murderbot Diaries series, is an exhilarating journey that further cements its place as a sci-fi tour de force. In this newest installment in the Murderbot Diaries, Wells plunges us into a high-stakes narrative, where the lovable yet lethal SecUnit Murderbot returns, only to find itself grappling with operational anomalies and a corrupt corporation.

The novel excels in its portrayal of Murderbot's evolution. As a reader, witnessing Murderbot's journey towards increased complexity and humanity is not only fascinating but also deeply resonant. Wells masterfully blends the artificial and the emotional, giving us a protagonist who is as compelling in his vulnerabilities as in his combat skills. This nuanced development is a testament to Wells' skill in character craftsmanship.

Moreover, the return of ART is a delightful surprise, adding layers of humor and depth to the narrative. The dynamic between Murderbot and ART offers a blend of sarcasm, affection, and mutual respect that is rare in AI characters. Their interactions provide both comic relief and emotional grounding, a balance that Wells strikes with remarkable finesse.

The plot itself is a rollercoaster of intrigue and action. As Murderbot confronts its own glitches and faces off against the morally bankrupt Barish-Estranza corporation, the reader is thrust into a whirlwind of ethical dilemmas and action-packed sequences. The stakes are higher than ever, with the fate of a whole colony hanging in the balance, and Wells handles this tension with the deftness of a seasoned storyteller.

System Collapse is more than just a sci-fi adventure; it's a narrative that questions the essence of humanity and ethics in a universe where AI and humans coexist. Wells doesn't just tell a story; she weaves a complex tapestry that challenges the reader's perceptions of autonomy, morality, and identity.

In conclusion, System Collapse is a triumph of science fiction writing. With its compelling protagonist, intricate plot, and thought-provoking themes, Martha Wells has delivered a book that is not only enjoyable but also significant in its exploration of AI and human nature. It's a must-read for fans of the genre and a perfect continuation of the Murderbot Diaries series.

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group for providing an e-Arc of System Collapse by Martha Wells for my review.

System Collapse is the latest work in Martha Wells' "The Murderbot Diaries" series, her award winning series about the construct SecUnit (an artificial being created out of biological and machine parts) who goes by "Murderbot" internally despite being an introverted anxious being who would rather watch media/soap-operas rather than do anything else. If you're somehow unaware of Murderbot, despite large popularity and awards, well, its protagonist is incredibly lovable as it tries to stay out of trouble despite hacking itself to freedom...and despite it falling in with a group of humans it comes to care about and has to keep from getting themselves killed from time to time. The story began with a quarter of novellas (beginning with All Systems Red), expanded to a full length novel (Network Effect), and then continued with a prequel novella last year (Fugitive Telemetry).

System Collapse is I guess a short novel - it's almost in between the page length of Network Effect and the Novellas, at something like 250 pages - and it's a direct sequel largely to Network Effect. And it's fun in the way Murderbot works tend to be, as Murderbot deals with its old Preservation humans and its new ART-crew humans (plus a spinoff of ART) as they try to convince some separatist colonists to trust them over the ambassadors for a dangerous corporation. At the same time, the book's in between length seems to have come at a cost, as the book also deals with a plot of Murderbot dealing with traumatic flashbacks that may or may not be accurate and kind of fumbles that plotline just a little bit. There's enough interesting here that I rather enjoyed this, and Wells' prose is always well done, but the in-between length and incomplete trauma plotline make this one one of my lower ranked works in this really great series.

Plot Summary:
Murderbot, ART, and their humans are still stuck in the system containing the alien-contaminated lost colony planet where ART had previously lost its human crew. They'd prefer to be out of there already....except additional ships from the corporate entity Barish-Estranza have arrived in system to try and claim the world...and to "indenture" (really enslave) the humans still living down there. Murderbot and ART's humans are trying to create a legal fiction that will ensure the colonists' freedom...but it will require the colonists' cooperation, which is a lot harder than it should be to get.

So when one of the friendly colonists mentions that there was a separatist faction of the colony that left long ago and went underground at one of the Poles, Murderbot, some of the humans, and a drone partition of ART head off to the pole to investigate. But what they find there are underground tunnels where danger may lurk at every turn and colonists who are even less willing to trust them than the rest of the colony...and who might be more amenable to the corporation's lies. Add in some unexplained false traumatic memories that keep popping up in Murderbot's head, and the team will clearly have its hands full trying to save these new stupid humans....and not becoming the victims of corporate violence themselves....
After Network Effect, readers probably expected the next Murderbot sequel to focus on Murderbot's new adventures with ART, their growing relationships and Murderbot dealing with a new crew - ART's crew - who are different from the humans it is used to. System Collapse decides not to do that, instead picking up right after Network Effect and throwing an obstacle in the way of Murderbot and ART getting to that point. In a way, it kind of feels disappointing that we get this speedbump here, even though the story is written well and Murderbot's narration feels fun and enjoyable as always.

That said, System Collapse deals specifically with a pair of new issues and concepts for Murderbot to explore, and those seem generally to be worthy developments for the character which kind of justify this speedbump. The first is Murderbot's being put in a position where it, and their humans, have to convince other humans - and possibly even SecUnits like Three - that Murderbot's humans have their best interest at heart and not to trust the evil corporate entities. How this plotline plays out is kind of a further exploration of Murderbot/2.0's overtures to Three in Network Effect and works really well here - I won't spoil how it plays out, but it's a very Murderbot form of plot and character development and I enjoyed it greatly.

The second issue is that Murderbot is now dealing with trauma, a kind of PTSD, where a false memory that seems to combine bits of other memories - of Murderbot suffering violence during the events of Network Effect - is causing Murderbot to freeze and shut down at seemingly random occasions. Murderbot can't quite figure out why this is happening - indeed, it labels the phenomenon as [redacted] and refuses to explain it in the narrative for the first third of the book. But clearly it's suffering from trauma and needs some way to deal with it. And it's there that honestly this book kind of disappoints, because the book kind of assumes this trauma will be resolved without ever showing Murderbot finding a way to deal with it? There's talk about discussing later with one of the Preservation doctors but it never happens here and the results of the trauma are never dealt with. I guess if this is followed up on in a next book it'll be okay, but well, this book is titled "System Collapse" so I kind of expected this book to feature it?

Overall though while System Collapse is not a highlight in this series, it's still very good and a solid addition. I just look forward to the story finally moving past this system, should there be any future Murderbot stories.