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giovann's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Slavery, Violence, and Murder
divine529's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
As I continue on my sci-fi journey, I knew I had to read this. Not only have I heard good things about it, but several people who know me, kept recommending it to me because they thought I'd like it, and they were right.
Normally, novellas aren't really my cup of tea, but this one was very well-paced and generally felt like a solid story. I'm not going to lie though, it did take me a little bit to settle in to the story as a whole (I loved Murderbot immediately though, but more on that in a minute), but once I did, I was hooked.
The gist of what this is about is it follows our main protagonist, Murderbot, who is a Security Unit (SecUnit) and part of this Corporation. He's part human and part robot and pretty much just wants to be left alone and not told what to do. But he's been assigned to this group of humans as their SecUnit for the duration of this contract and pretty soon things start to go wrong and they have to figure out what's going on.
Since you're in Murderbot's mind the entire story, it took a little bit to settle into the writing, since it's a bit stilted and awkward so it emulates a robot-human hybrid. Once I settled into that though, it was very fun and interesting to follow everything going on. The plot of this ended up being pretty interesting and involves a kind of murder mystery and some action which is always fun.
One thing I really struggled with with this novella was the world building. You're kind of thrown into the world and don't get a ton of information about what it's like. It takes place on another planet and there's this Corporation that controls these Units and acts as a kind of "Big Brother" almost, but you don't get much more than that. There's also a type of tier system relating to the beings. You have humans, augmented humans (humans who have computer bits in them that can alter certain functions) and then the Units who are half human and half robot. I'm still a bit confused about some of the distinctions, but I think we might learn more as the series goes on.
The strength of this was definitely the characters, but particularly Murderbot. I love Murderbot and he must be protected at all costs. He's incredibly precious and very relatable in so many ways. He really doesn't like humans and really just wants to be left alone and find his own way without being told what to do. But despite everything, the humans Murderbot ends up assigned to in this story end up being his favorite humans. I really liked 2 of the side characters a fair bit, but I also felt like they were the two we spent the most time getting to know. I wish we got to spend more time with all of them getting to know them properly, but at it's core, this story is about Murderbot and his life and his experiences, so on some level it makes sense.
Overall, I had a really fun time with this first installment, and I'm looking forward to continuing.
Normally, novellas aren't really my cup of tea, but this one was very well-paced and generally felt like a solid story. I'm not going to lie though, it did take me a little bit to settle in to the story as a whole (I loved Murderbot immediately though, but more on that in a minute), but once I did, I was hooked.
The gist of what this is about is it follows our main protagonist, Murderbot, who is a Security Unit (SecUnit) and part of this Corporation. He's part human and part robot and pretty much just wants to be left alone and not told what to do. But he's been assigned to this group of humans as their SecUnit for the duration of this contract and pretty soon things start to go wrong and they have to figure out what's going on.
Since you're in Murderbot's mind the entire story, it took a little bit to settle into the writing, since it's a bit stilted and awkward so it emulates a robot-human hybrid. Once I settled into that though, it was very fun and interesting to follow everything going on. The plot of this ended up being pretty interesting and involves a kind of murder mystery and some action which is always fun.
One thing I really struggled with with this novella was the world building. You're kind of thrown into the world and don't get a ton of information about what it's like. It takes place on another planet and there's this Corporation that controls these Units and acts as a kind of "Big Brother" almost, but you don't get much more than that. There's also a type of tier system relating to the beings. You have humans, augmented humans (humans who have computer bits in them that can alter certain functions) and then the Units who are half human and half robot. I'm still a bit confused about some of the distinctions, but I think we might learn more as the series goes on.
The strength of this was definitely the characters, but particularly Murderbot. I love Murderbot and he must be protected at all costs. He's incredibly precious and very relatable in so many ways. He really doesn't like humans and really just wants to be left alone and find his own way without being told what to do. But despite everything, the humans Murderbot ends up assigned to in this story end up being his favorite humans. I really liked 2 of the side characters a fair bit, but I also felt like they were the two we spent the most time getting to know. I wish we got to spend more time with all of them getting to know them properly, but at it's core, this story is about Murderbot and his life and his experiences, so on some level it makes sense.
Overall, I had a really fun time with this first installment, and I'm looking forward to continuing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gore, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
bookbuzzard's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is the embodiment of everything I want in a book. Non-human person protagonist, very relatable social anxiety, dry humor, evil corporations and some great action sequences! The ending is so perfect- I teared up a little reading it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Bullying
bigmouthsass's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Medical content
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This review is written after a re-read. The plan is to go through all the series as a refresher for the most recent book, Fugitive Telemetry.
I still love it. This is definitely one of my comfort read series. Yes, it is short and fast paced so it flies by very quickly but it is so compelling and relatable.
Originally when I read the Murderbot Diaries it was around the time I read the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie (both have some political intrigue plots as well if that's your jam) and this is where I think my enjoyment for overwhelmed/awkward/antisocial AI characters really bloomed. There's also some found family vibes which I adore.
I still love it. This is definitely one of my comfort read series. Yes, it is short and fast paced so it flies by very quickly but it is so compelling and relatable.
Originally when I read the Murderbot Diaries it was around the time I read the Imperial Radch series by Ann Leckie (both have some political intrigue plots as well if that's your jam) and this is where I think my enjoyment for overwhelmed/awkward/antisocial AI characters really bloomed. There's also some found family vibes which I adore.
Content Warnings
Minor: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
eve_reads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Overall Thoughts:
⁕ I like how Wells used changes in Murderbot's internal dialogue to signal his growing love for the humans he interacts with. For example: calling them the "clients" then later "my humans." Such strong way to demonstrate character development!
⁕ I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did while reading this. Murderbot cracks me up. Imagine the anti-social soul of Bilbo Baggins with the power and abilities of the terminator. Absolute comedic gold.
⁕ I wanted this book to have a greater emotional impact on me. Absolutely I enjoyed it, but I was just expecting a Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella to leave me changed more? I have hopes that the series will hit harder as it continues.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
⁕ I like how Wells used changes in Murderbot's internal dialogue to signal his growing love for the humans he interacts with. For example: calling them the "clients" then later "my humans." Such strong way to demonstrate character development!
⁕ I was not expecting to laugh as much as I did while reading this. Murderbot cracks me up. Imagine the anti-social soul of Bilbo Baggins with the power and abilities of the terminator. Absolute comedic gold.
⁕ I wanted this book to have a greater emotional impact on me. Absolutely I enjoyed it, but I was just expecting a Hugo and Nebula award-winning novella to leave me changed more? I have hopes that the series will hit harder as it continues.
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online
For regular book-related content, follow my Instagram account: @eve_reads
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, and Violence
happysami's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery
blueconlan's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Slavery and Violence
Loss of control/being controlled warningfiveredhens's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
v good! one of the few books i've ever thought was too short
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gun violence and Slavery
Minor: Body horror and Sexual content
sarah_ann_roth's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery and Suicide attempt