Have another fantastic adventure with Murderbot! Following up the events in the fifth book in the series, book seven finds our beloved main character dealing with terrible events on the planet while also having episodes of PTSD leading to inner doubts about being able to keep its humans safe. Like all the books in the series, the plot is exciting and moves along quickly, but the inner life of our favorite rogue SecUnit is the real magic here. Murderbot's thoughts, plans, and coping mechanisms all show clearly the rich worlds that Martha Wells has created here, and the universe keeps expanding for the readers as it does for the characters. The underlying questions of trauma, colonialism, and capitalism are delivered by a space adventure that plays out almost like a film and although the snark in this book is darker, there are still plenty of the entertaining moments this series has always delivered.

Thank you to Tordotcom via Netgalley for my eARC.

First off, I will say that if it’s been a bit since you’ve read the prior full length novel, Network Effect, a refresh is a must. This starts right after and I hadn’t reread the book since it originally came out. I was left a little confused since it had been so long between them.

This installment felt a little different than other ones in this series as we get a Murderbot that is a bit more hesitate as they are dealing with trauma from the prior book. I did really enjoy this new aspect of the character and I hope we see more of this in the future.

The plot, over all for me wasn’t my favorite. I did find it a little hard to follow with the newer characters (though this could have 100% been a me not having refreshed).

The Murderbot Diaries is still one of my favorite series and I will always pick up more books!

Muderbot continue to be one of my favorite series and Martha Wells does wonderfully in continuing the story of our favorite killer robot. Through this story Muderbot has to deal with an all too human response of trauma. I overall found the plotline to be engaging. IN this book, Wells explores the world in which the series takes place more. Overall I found myself greatly enjoying this new entry to the Murderbot series and greatly recommend fans of the series give it a read. Thanks Netgalley and Tor for my ARC of this book to review. All opinions concerning it are my own.

Murderbot is back! And it's about time. This series has been a runaway success, and I must admit that in my view it's entirely deserved. I've been champing at the bit for a new Murderbot novel since, well, since about a day after the release of the last one. And, well, here it is. Is it any good? Dear reader, the answer is an unmitigated yes. If you're a fan, and up to date with the series: Go out and pick this one up right away. If you're not: Go and read the rest of the series, then go out and pick this one up right away.
Now that that's out of the way.

Murderbot, eh? It's a fantastic protagonist, a fish out of water that isn't entirely sure whether it wants to be in the water or invest in some sort of aquatic environmental suit. Murderbot doesn't know exactly what it is, but it knows it isn't an AI, or a robot, or a human. But it's also determined to be a person, on its own terms, with an ethical framework spun up from first principles, with the help of sci-fi space operas and rather a lot of sarcasm. And it's going well, between ups and downs, corporate takeovers, hostile alien assimilations and the odd drone-battle, Murderbot is figuring itself out. But there's a lot to unpack there - and this is a story about how Murderbot isn't alright, actually, and how that's okay. Because after everything its seen and done, Murderbot is having to handle some fairly impressive trauma...but also keep people alive, and do all kinds of heroics, when it would clearly much rather be watching its shows.

One of the strong points of the series has been the way it delves into emotion, into how and why we feel the way we do. Approaching the idea that it's okay not to be okay, Wells wraps it in a panacea of banter and explosive action, but the raw, emotional honesty of Murderbot remains. It's digging around to figure out what it is, and why it doesn't feel right. And as readers, we can live that struggle, empathise with that pain, cheer on that discovery and, perhaps, recovery. This is a book which talks about isolation, about depression, about identity and that sense of belonging (or not). And it hurts to read and think about and empathise over, but it also feels true.

That said. Don't worry if the above isn't entirely your cup of tea. Because we aren't entirely here to unpick Murderbot's psyche. We're also here to save the world. Well, a world, anyway. Because Murderbot and its friends are currently far out on a limb, trying to dig a colony of hapless people out of the alien-contaminated soup they got themselves into, while fending off the ever helpful efforts of a rapacious interstellar corporation, which isn't entirely above bringing in a squad of bots of its own, to help things go the way it wants. You can always rely on this series to poke fun at corporate culture in service of painting a dystopian corporate future, and it does so with all the grace and lethality of a stiletto between the ribs. The planet itself, the claustrophobic tunnels packed with wary colonists and alien remnants that might be time-bombs, is familiar from earlier in the series, but no less well realised for that; the cramped habitats and dusty, wayward tram tracks into looming darkness remain as ominously mundane as ever. Murderbot's world is a plausible one, a lived in one, one you may see in your minds eye a year or ten from now. A warning to us, and possibly a promise.

As for the story, well. Absolutely stellar. This is a thoughtful, action-packed story about people, and also humans. And it has a heart to it, and an emotional weight and gravitas that you can feel *searing* into you off the back of every page.

And it has the banter you're looking for, maybe. And it has the snark. But it also has points to make about corporations and how we choose to live our lives while we try and make good choices. And about the agency we have to make choices. And it explores consequences and it hurts and it'll jerk tears and pain right out of you by being a story about a sarcastic Murderbot which is also real and raw and true and painful and vulnerable in its honesty.

Another fantastic entry in the series - and thoroughly recommended.

I think this is my favorite Murderbot book so far!

System Collapse is the latest installment of the Murderbot Diaries series - a collection of novellas surrounding a Security Unit augmented human who hacked their governing systems and now relishes his days watching soaps and trashy TV shows (while also going on exploration voyages with scientists and doing his day job). The protagonist, who refers to themselves as Murderbot, has all the qualities of a disgruntled retail employee and all of the coolness of James Bond (if he watched Days of Our Lives).

The story is my favorite so far, with ample action and Wells’ perfect narration style taking center stage. There’s decent character development, due to the struggles Murderbot has with a mysterious glitch in his system. There’s plenty of suspense and humor, all while maintaining a central plot line that is exciting and captivating.

Even if you’re new to Sci-fi, I highly recommend this series: it has all the amazing traits of a good sci-fi story without the burden of length or overwhelming world building. I promise you’ll fall in love with Wells’ sarcasm in Murderbot’s attitude (just like I did) and the characters involved, who are all misfits in their own way.

System Collapse is available wherever books are sold!

Murderbot is right where it doesn’t want to be- on a planet that has a weird alien contamination, dealing with a grabby-hands corporation, and corralling humans. Fun times jumping right back in and reading the next installment in the addicting series.



System Collapse is the seventh installment in The Murderbot Diaries series. The series novellas and books are closely linked so it must be read in order for optimum understanding. No worries, it reads quickly.



The storyline is tightly connected to, Network Effect, the fifth book in the series as a continuation so it opens to a scene not days later from the conclusion of that book. Murderbot is physically recovered from that adventure and is now planet side once again acting as security for one group of the combined Preservation and University of Mihira-New Tideland team who are trying to help the colonists repair their broken or outdated equipment and, most of all, keep them from getting carted off as slave labor by the also present Barish-Estranza corporation.



Murderbot is not up to hundred percent, though. He’s experiencing the fallout from what happened to him. Even if he wasn’t needed out in the field to protect the humans with the assistance of one of ART’s bots, he has no plans to undergo a trauma treatment because that’s for humans, right? But, he’s struggling to keep it together and ART and the humans know it. It was interesting seeing him have to handle this aspect of being a bot-human construct who doesn’t like his human parts like this weird emotional weakness that is interfering with his functionality.



System Collapse is introspective through the first half and takes the time to build the pace and tension steadily to a big, satisfying climax of action. I enjoy Murderbot, or SecUnit as the others call it, as the central figure, but the surrounding cast of recurring characters are pretty sensational, too. I was glad my favorite ART was right in the thick of it. ART is the university’s powerful ship bot and SecUnit’s “don’t-call-it-friendship-grrr-or-relationship-ewww” who transferred part of himself into one of its away bots is there giving orders and niggling SecUnit. The lone Preservation member on the team is faithful Ratthi who is a trouble magnet that SecUnit is determined to keep safe. And, a new pair who SecUnit is still warming to (and it takes a long time to warm to new humans if it ever does) are ART’s university humans, Iris, who is team leader and Tarek a specialist with a surprising past.



Side note, there is a romantic skirmish for a brief moment involving Ratthi and someone that was amusing because of how riled easygoing Ratthi got.



The twists and turns building in the action to a stellar finish were all I could have wanted. Some good surprises mixed in there. Things ended at a good place to lead forward to more adventures in the series. If you’re a futuristic sci-fi fan who is open to a bot construct as the lead character, you really must read this series.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. I know Murderbot doesn't like to be touched, but I rather badly want to give it a hug. It has been through a lot in this series, and it's organic meaty bits have finally rebelled against all of this trauma. It needs a hug and a binge- watch of Sanctuary Moon; what it gets is saving humans from each other and some bad things, facing fears, and feeling An Emotion. (Ew.) I could not put this book down, and my love for this android grows with every book.

Murderbot is back! Again!

Last time we saw it, publishing-order-wise, was actually a larger step back in time. Fugitive Telemetry took place in between Exit Strategy (book 4) and Network Effect (book 5). Now Martha Wells is following up the plot events from Network Effect with System Collapse, with Murderbot still dealing with the alien contamination that nearly wiped out a corporate colony.

At the outset of System Collapse, Murderbot is definitively not having a good time. Something redacted happened to it, and it is not about to talk to anyone about it. Not its humans, not ART (Asshole Research Transport) or ART’s humans, and not Three, the new rogue SecUnit that’s following in its footsteps toward independence. The struggle against the contaminated humans and the malicious code that infected them has left a mark on Murderbot. To make things worse, that fight may not yet be over. A hidden colony on the same planet has been located, and there’s a possibility that the same alien contamination might have infected it. Murderbot’s humans have decided that they need to investigate, since attempts to contact the colony have gone unanswered.

A rival corporation, Barish-Estranza, already has designs on the planet, regardless of any contamination that may be in place, and finding a group of colonists that they could force into indentured servitude would be icing on the cake. It’s up to Murderbot to find the colonists (if they’re alive) and get them off-world before that can happen. Its performance levels are not anywhere near its standards, and it knows it, but redacted continues to get in the way of it doings its job properly, to the potential risk of its humans. Resources are limited (no armor, less than half of its usual complement of support drones, and no direct communication with ART’s full set of sensors) and its own growing paranoia may just get the better of our favorite rogue SecUnit.

Martha Wells is one of my all-time favorite science fiction writers, and the Murderbot Diaries remain one of the best modern series in the genre. System Collapse is a tight, intense narrative that reminds us just why we love to follow Murderbot’s internal monologue, and why we’ve done so for seven books now. It’s full of corporate criticism and mental health crises, and I absolutely loved it. It’s out in the world today, and I’m incredibly grateful to Tor.com and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2023/11/14/system-collapse-a-review/

Murderbot, my beloved!

This next installment lives up to the rest of the series and it was so much fun to see Murderbot and ART interact with each other and their humans some more. The dynamic between Iris and Murderbot was fun to watch because Murderbot is aware of how special she is to ART and so it takes that in to consideration. I love found family and I love the like frustrated affection Murderbot has when it realizes that it has so many more humans to protect.

I look forward to reading wherever their next adventure goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

What a sweet little SecUnit, dealing with trauma while still having to be in charge of keeping humans safe. System Collapse, while tense, is not as action-packed as other Murderbot books, which is both great and not as exciting. This story also combines a couple crews, which had me confused at first.

Overall, a fun continuation of the Murderbot series, but not the most action-filled installment. It has its own uniqueness in how problems are solved, which makes for a still-interesting story!

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the e-ARC.

The Murderbot Diaries have rocketed Martha Wells to genre stardom, and it’s easy to see why. They’re fast-paced and fun, with a part-mechanical, part-organic construct—the titular Murderbot—whose social anxiety sets the stage for some heartwarming character growth and whose facility with weapons and desire to save humans from mortal peril provide a healthy dollop of plot-related tension. After enjoying the first five novellas and single novel, there wasn’t a question of whether I would pick up System Collapse, the only question was when. 

Though seventh in publication order, System Collapse picks up directly after the events of the fifth book, Network Effect. A 3.5-year publication gap can make it hard to remember some of the background details, but the narrative gives enough clues to help a forgetful reader infer from context. But Murderbot and friends are in a scrape, as always. The difference is that in this case, Murderbot is sufficiently traumatized from its last adventure that it spends the opening chapters redacting references to the whole episode. 

Though System Collapse is the second full novel in the series, it’s significantly shorter than Network Effect, and it’s structured more like an extended version of the novellas than like the previous novel. It opens with exploration of an uncertain situation, introduces Murderbot to unfamiliar bots and humans, and ends with a big action sequence in which Murderbot must save the day. 

It’s a good formula that has worked well so far. I find that the character moments are usually better than the action sequences, but the stories are compact enough that the latter never overstay their welcome. While System Collapse generally sticks to this structure, Murderbot’s PTSD forces a more internal focus, with relatively less interaction with others. This change is something of a mixed blessing, as Murderbot’s attempts to work through trauma provide some of the most compelling aspects of the novel, but at the expense of the character interactions which had truly been the highlight of the series. 

The result is an entertaining and bingeable book, but one that doesn’t reach the lofty heights of the previous novel. Murderbot’s own progression makes for a compelling read that fits very well with the established character, and the interpersonal midway climax is exceptional. But the action-packed finale isn’t quite at the same level as what comes before, and some of the interpersonal energy from previous books is missing here. It’s a really good read that will doubtless please series fans, but at the same time, it’s not Network Effect. 

Recommended if you like: Murderbot, mental health focus.

Overall rating: 16 of Tar Vol’s 20. Four stars on Goodreads.

I absolutely love this series, and the latest installment did not disappoint. I did wait to read it until I could get my hands on the audiobook since I absolutely love the reader for this series. I think the books are great on their own, but Kevin R. Free just brings Murderbot to life.
I would not describe myself as a fan of Science Fiction, and I often recommend these to readers looking for something different. While the main character is not exactly a person, these books are definitely about what makes us human. I love them!

Murderbot is back in the seventh book in the series, and the second full-length novel - System Collapse.

The new book follows the events of book #5, Network Effect. Murderbot and the team are still on the planet to which they were hijacked in that book. The inhabitants here are survivors of a failed colonization attempt and were abandoned to their fate on a half-terraformed planet. The terraforming operation had been stalled, and the inhabitants themselves had been contaminated by alien artifacts. But thanks to the actions in Network Effect they were safe as that book wrapped up.

As book 7 opens however, they now face a new danger from the Barish-Estranza (BE) corporation. A team from BE has landed on the planet hoping to claim it, and its “assets”. In the universe of Murderbot the corporations rule, and the “assets” the BE team is referring to are the surviving inhabitants themselves, who they are hoping to trick into signing contracts, for what will effectively be slavery, on a BE owned mining colony planet.

BE is a corporation, and as I said, corporations rule. So, its team is used to getting their way. They won’t hesitate to use whatever means are necessary to do so. This sets up the action between the BE forces, and Murderbot, ART and their team, who are feverishly working to counter the BE forces and convince the inhabitants to instead seek a free future with their help.

Fans of the Murderbot novellas are used to action from beginning to end. But as in Network Effect, the other full-length novel in the series, the action is more sporadic here. For the most part Wells fills the pages in-between the action scenes with Murderbot’s continued growth, and his awareness and understanding that he is more than a construct. Without the control of his governor module he is becoming more than the sum of his inorganic and cloned organic components - more than a mechanical “SecUnit”. His human side reveals itself with a bout of pain, which he won’t tell us about for a good part of the book. It’s not physical pain - he’s felt that before - but mental pain.

Murderbot experiences PTSD with a flashback so impactful that it causes his systems to do a hard reboot - the system collapse of the title. This is something that’s never happened to him before, and in the aftermath he’s confused, not understanding why sometimes he just doesn’t “want” to do the things he knows he should do. He’s experiencing real, human pain.

Yes, Murderbot feels our pain.

But he’s still the same cynically sarcastic and cranky Murderbot we’ve come to know. So he still says things like “I’m 73 percent certain that never happened to me”, and “I was paying 87 percent of my attention to Iris”, and “that’s why the stupid Barish-Estranza team and their stupid SecUnit had walked right up on me and I had no f***ing idea.” And he’s still watching soap operas and trash TV (i.e. the “entertainment feed”) in his downtime.

If there is one thing I was disappointed in with System Collapse its that Three - the SecUnit that Murderbot rescued in Network Effect - didn’t have a bigger role. He’s mostly a background character here. I had half expected some interplay between the two SecUnits that might help Murderbot deal with the pain of his journey, as Three starts down the same road that Murderbot is travelling.

Plus there’s the whole intriguing notion that Three perhaps had a “relationship” with the two SecUnits who didn’t survive when he was rescued. SecUnits aren’t supposed to have relationships. At least you get to understand, as Murderbot tells us, that SecUnits, like humans, each have their own destiny. Three may not travel the same road as Murderbot.

I’m not entirely sure what that means, but I do hope there will be a more substantial role for Three in Murderbot #8, if and when that happens.

RATING: Five Stars ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rating Comment: If you are a fan of the Murderbot series, System Collapse will not disappoint. As I said in my last post about books #5 and #6 in the series, if you are a science fiction fan who has somehow never read any of the Murderbot books my advice is to immediately do so.

NOTE: I read an advanced ebook copy courtesy of NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group. The book is available to the public today, November 14, 2023. I thoroughly enjoyed the ebook, but I did miss the narration by Kevin R. Free that made listening to the audiobook versions of the prior installments a real pleasure.

I love it when there is a new book in the Murderbot series, especially when ART is back as a character!! In this outing, there is something wrong with Murderbot and it isn’t running with normal operational parameters and he has to analyze his system and figure out what is wrong and get it fixed quickly because a SecUnit has gone rogue.

I always enjoy Murderbot’s world, but I must admit that I struggled a little bit in this one. I found it difficult to visualize the setting at times and at times I was a little confused. I did still enjoy this and will continue reading this great series. If you are new to this series, I feel it is important to say that you should begin at book one and continue on from there otherwise you may be very confused.

Thank you to Netgalley and Tor for an advanced readers copy in exchange for an honest review.

3.5 rounded up cause I love Murderbot too much. I'm grateful that Martha Wells graced us with another longer story, and I hope she continues!

I just had a bit more difficulty getting into this book, for several reasons:
- Network Effect came out 3 years ago, with Fugitive Telemetry in between, so the events weren't fresh in my mind. I remembered the gist of it, but it wasn't enough to fully grasp the reasons why Murderbot acted so differently. I highly suggest a re-read to anyone like me.
- It always takes me a while to fall back into the rhythm of this world's specific language and terms.
- The plot felt a lot slower to kick into gears, and it didn't help with my issues above.
But thankfully when the tension rose in the second half, I was able to fly through it like I usually do.

Murderbot's PTSD was a bit jarring, because we're so used to seeing it extremely efficient and with its grumpy sense of humor. Here it was quite emotionally lost for the most part. But it was very interesting to see, as Murderbot needs to keep evolving. Its friendship with ART is still a highlight, and I love the way they both care for their humans. The Preservation and ART crews are an awesome found family.
It was also great to see how Murderbot continued to care for other SecUnits. I hope this subplot will become a main one (constructs revolution!!!). SecUnits that appear are always a menace first, and it takes Murderbot to remind us that they're just like it before it had free will.

So it's another decent entry in the series. Just not as good as Network Effect, if we compare full novels. (Wells said she struggled a bit writing it due to the pandemic, which is understandable).

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor Publishing for providing me with an ARC in exchange of an honest review.

A new Murderbot book is always cause for celebration; these books are a blast to read. He's back, battling evil corporations, hanging out with his AI friend ART, protecting his gaggle of humans from themselves and their adversaries, solving mysteries, and trying to find enough time to binge watch his entertainment shows, He's continuing to develop a wider range of emotions - kicking and screaming - and this brings complications.

This is a must-read series for any fan, science fiction or not, who enjoys clever writing, mordant humor, and human warmth.

This novel was given to me through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review, lucky me !

First thing, if you've never read the Murderbot series before, you shouldn't begin with this one : "System collapse" follows up on "Fugitive telemetry". If you've already read "Fugitive telemetry", refreshing your memory would be a good thing. Anyway, reading the whole series is a much better idea, you won't regret it.

Second thing, if you've read my reviews before, you know I'm a huge fan of this series and of this author. The Murderbot's middle name must be Sarcasm, and he handles it with mastery. I love this robot with human parts here and there, how he hates socialising, how he avoids feelings at all costs, how he apparently thinks low of humans but has his favourite humans (the lists keep growing), how he handles situations efficiently and astutely to save his team, how he deals with other robots (ART !) and avoids trauma by watching entertainment fervently. (Now, I've read so much about Sanctuary moon that I wish it as an actual show.)

In this particular novel, "something" happened to the Murderbot, he's been "redacted" and feels a little out of sorts ("since the thing that happened I don’t think I’ve had an emotion that wasn’t the visual equivalent of a wet blanket crumpled on a floor."). He doesn't know exactly what happened, he struggles to recover his memories and doesn't act completely like he used before, which doesn't help with his grumpiness. The situation doesn't help either, with a corporate team trying to enslave the population of a contaminated planet.

I love this series because it's not only a criticism of capitalism but a reflection on mental health and robots vs humanity. And it's lots - and I mean lots - of fun.

Poor Murderbot. It’s been a rough go for it. PTSD without any real coping mechanisms or ability to deal with basic emotions much less trauma. Another excellent entry in the series.

The Murderbot Diaries is a series that is near and dear to my heart. I normally read these with audiobooks and really enjoy the narrator. ‘System Collapse’ is the first entry of the series that I have read in the traditional sense. This has made it a different experience than the six previous outings but still a great entry.

If you are looking to jump into ‘System Collapse’, it is best to read the other books in the series beforehand. ‘System Collapse’ continues the story that was established in ‘Network Effect’, the fifth entry of the series. If you are currently working your way through the series, I would suggest reading ‘Fugitive Telemetry’ (the 6th book) before ‘Network Effect’ to avoid hopping around in the timeline. ‘Network Effect’ is the only novel in the series that does a lot of heavy lifting to set up what is going on in ‘System Collapse’.

Murderbot has gone through a lot of trauma during ‘Network Effect’ and doubts what it can do at this point to keep itself and ART’s humans safe while trying to save an entire colony of people from a money-hungry corporation. Murderbot has doubted itself before, but the fight to survive the threat before this book has taken a toll on its already low self-esteem, and we see it relying on its coping mechanisms, such as watching media like ‘The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon’. These are some of my favorite moments because I have done that myself to cope with things that are out of my control.

The aspect of the book I am enjoying is the continuing introduction of ART’s humans. We got a taste of them in ‘Network Effect’, but we are seeing them more on display and getting to explore some new backstories and motivations, which help spice the story up. I do like that we have brought in the majority of the cast from previous books, such as Ratthi, Dr. Mensah, Pin-Lee, Overse, etc., even if they are more fringe characters in this book.

The found family trope is present, just like in all the other Murderbot Diaries, but it is done in such an obtuse way that keeps it fresh. One of the things that continues to stand out is Murderbot’s view on friendships with humans and especially ART. It keeps things lively and feels more human than a lot of other fictional characters I have read in different books.

Martha Wells does such a great job of crafting the characters to have depth and be relatable to most readers. The characters that she wrote don’t feel paper-thin but have the sense that they have lived life. The mixture of sci-fi, humor, mystery, human experience, and a smidge of thriller keeps you turning the page to see what comes next. I highly recommend ‘System Collapse for anyone wanting to explore how to realize that you aren’t just the job you do but so much more to the people that matter most.

Another full length novel in my favorite series?? Sign me up! System Collapse is set immediately after the end of Network Effect and features Murderbot, ART, and their humans as they rescue the abandoned colonists on the planet suffering from alien contamination from becoming indentured servants for a greedy corporation. Oh, and it’s a story of mental health struggles and a critique of rampant capitalistic approach to life. I would highly, highly recommend this ENTIRE series to anyone living on planet Earth (or elsewhere). Seriously. It's that good.