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clarabooksit's review
adventurous
funny
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Trafficking
Moderate: Slavery, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
babudarabu's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cursing, Mental illness, and Violence
Minor: Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Trafficking, Slavery, and Murder
ezwolf's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Death, Blood, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Slavery
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
julesadventurezone'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? Yes
4.75
This was shipped to me early by mistake and I couldn't not read it immediately.
This book reads a bit like an ongoing panic attack by our resident SecUnit. Murderbot is doing worse than usual, poor dear.
The book makes the choice to chop down the now rather massive ensemble cast to four plus MB for the majority of the book, which is smart and I appreciate it, but also I was a little sad that we got so little Three content. Also i don't think in terms of compelling core team nothing will reach Amena & ART & Murderbot. Which is a lot of words to say that the relationships at the core of this book were somewhat less compelling than the ones in Network Effect.
In terms of steps up I found the happenings easier to follow (especially the intersystem communication).
I also liked the story very much, especially the team frantically making a documentary and the very tense escape through the dark at the end.
The book makes the choice to chop down the now rather massive ensemble cast to four plus MB for the majority of the book, which is smart and I appreciate it, but also I was a little sad that we got so little Three content. Also i don't think in terms of compelling core team nothing will reach Amena & ART & Murderbot. Which is a lot of words to say that the relationships at the core of this book were somewhat less compelling than the ones in Network Effect.
In terms of steps up I found the happenings easier to follow (especially the intersystem communication).
I also liked the story very much, especially the team frantically making a documentary and the very tense escape through the dark at the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery, Violence, Murder, Death, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Trafficking, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Vomit
yourbookishbff's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? No
5.0
Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review! System Collapse, by Martha Wells, is the seventh installment in The Murderbot Diaries, though only the second full-length novel in this series (and even at that, it's still short!). Wells' latest installment was easily another five-star Murderbot diary entry for me.
We pick up after the events of Network Effect, with Murderbot, ART and our combined Preservation/University/Colonist crews royally stuck. ART's wormhole drive is still out of commission, Preservation back-up ships haven't arrived, and our current corporate-villain Barish-Estranza is attempting to subvert their efforts to free the colonists and/or set them up for independence (by instead attempting to convince the colonists to sign away their own freedom as contract, read: slave, labor). And on top of this giant mess, we have a highly traumatized Murderbot still coping with the final events of Network Effect.
Throughout the first half we know something significant happened that has divided Murderbot's sense of self into before and after, but the event itself is redacted from Murderbot's entry. Our generally sarcastic but self-assured Murderbot is now deeply uneasy, compulsively checking its risk assessment module and performance reliability, frequently drifting into thought and forgetting its surroundings, and, most shocking, doubting its ability and worth at every turn. For anyone who has lived experienced with panic attacks or panic disorder, Murderbot's distress is painfully real. It spends a majority of the book's mission attempting to function while processing past events. Each installment in this series manages to explore a new facet of personhood, belonging and self-awareness, and this was perhaps the most emotional journey yet. Ultimately, System Collapse is a deeply satisfying conclusion to the events of Network Effect and I highly recommend to all Murderbot readers.
We pick up after the events of Network Effect, with Murderbot, ART and our combined Preservation/University/Colonist crews royally stuck. ART's wormhole drive is still out of commission, Preservation back-up ships haven't arrived, and our current corporate-villain Barish-Estranza is attempting to subvert their efforts to free the colonists and/or set them up for independence (by instead attempting to convince the colonists to sign away their own freedom as contract, read: slave, labor). And on top of this giant mess, we have a highly traumatized Murderbot still coping with the final events of Network Effect.
Throughout the first half we know something significant happened that has divided Murderbot's sense of self into before and after, but the event itself is redacted from Murderbot's entry. Our generally sarcastic but self-assured Murderbot is now deeply uneasy, compulsively checking its risk assessment module and performance reliability, frequently drifting into thought and forgetting its surroundings, and, most shocking, doubting its ability and worth at every turn. For anyone who has lived experienced with panic attacks or panic disorder, Murderbot's distress is painfully real. It spends a majority of the book's mission attempting to function while processing past events. Each installment in this series manages to explore a new facet of personhood, belonging and self-awareness, and this was perhaps the most emotional journey yet. Ultimately, System Collapse is a deeply satisfying conclusion to the events of Network Effect and I highly recommend to all Murderbot readers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Murder, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Trafficking
brianneh's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
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? Yes
5.0
This is another fantastic installment in the Murderbot Diaries series! I’m a big fan of the other books in the series, so I was very excited to receive an ARC of this.
System Collapse takes place immediately following the events of Network Effect. While working on a mission with humans from both ART’s crew and Preservation, Murderbot is suffering from the effects of what happened to it in the last book and it’s clear those events have taken a toll on it.
Murderbot is just as funny, irreverent and pessimistic as it was in previous books but we get to see it work through some issues that we haven’t seen in previous books. I love reading everything from it’s point of view. We continue to see more of it’s character development in this book, as it as deals with more of those pesky feelings.
My favorite part of this series is the interactions between Murderbot and ART and we get quite a few in this book. They are so snarky and playfully mean to each other while still obviously caring for each other quite a bit. It’s hilarious and heartwarming at the same time.
System Collapse is a great addition to this series, and anyone who has read and loved the previous ones will love this one just as much! I already can’t wait for the next one.
I received this book from NetGalley as an ARC. All opinions are my own.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Slavery, and Trafficking
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
clarabooksit's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
4.5
I was lucky enough to receive an early review copy of this book via NetGalley.
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!
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!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Murder, and Trafficking
bethanycrowepowell's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
tense
medium-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
Murderbot and ART are back, with Murderbot redacting its feelings and ART trying to steal more colonists from the Corporation Rim! The project to get this particular planet its walking papers gets even more complicated when it turns out one of the splintered groups has disappeared into a communications blackout area. Of course Murderbot has to go help initiate contact. Fighting both a trauma response and an old enemy corporation determined to mine indentured labor from a tainted planet, the day is not going particularly well for it. This latest installment of The Murderbot Diaries has a little bit more of everything that makes this series great: action, snark, begrudging friendships, and an ongoing complex recovery process.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Trafficking
Murderbot spends a lot of this book processing a traumatic event that isn't so much about violence as it is about an anxiety and triggers. Not the lightest of the Diaries.
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