Reviews with content warning for Murder - Người Máy

Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Người Máy by K.A. Applegate

2 reviews

epsilina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

4.75

This was a really great entry in the series. The main focus of this book (beyond the plot) is on the ethical dilemmas that the main characters face, as well as the ethical dilemmas of war in general. It introduces the idea of a different type of society and explores non-violent options, while also recognizing how complicated choosing non-violence can be when met with violent forces. Very nuanced book.

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ramiel's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

I finished this one around the same time I did the review for the last one so lets see.

Anyway, "dogs are an ancient race who's souls were mixed with wolves by their android friends" sure is literally canon.

Marco book! Where we also meet Mr. Erek King, wherever that real life person who won that contest is now I hope you're having a great time. Erek is a character I did like, but mildly so - he was off to the side a lot and when I was first reading as a child I was just like "oh, cool pacifist robot (though the end of this book is one I will never forget)". However, knowing what happens in the future and inspecting his character more, makes things a lot more interesting as usual. I especially like that his introduction is in this Marco book.

So I ran the scenes of violence over and over in my head. I rode that rush of fury till at last it burned itself out and left me feeling empty and beaten.

I'm almost definitely forcing themes on these books, but right now what I'm seeing is that the first cycle of books (the first 5) are about "what makes the kids commit to fighting this war", and this second cycle, ending with Marco, is "what messes the kids up so much that it makes them almost completely break apart" (additionally, aside from the Ax book maybe? they had a sort of theme of the kids recognizing that they're having very violent intrusive thoughts and just allowing it - similar to the first cycle where they dissociate with their morphs despite knowing its a bad idea).

Before I get deep into Erek and Marco, general plot of the book is: the kids find out one of their old classmates is actually an android. These androids were programmed for pacifism, literally they cannot commit any violent act. Their android friend wants the kids to steal a crystal that belonged to his creators from the Yeerks so that he can reprogram himself to be capable of violence. This happens, but Erek is horrified by his actions (he murders everyone in a building to save the kids) and changes his programming back, offering to help the kids in more non-violent ways.

Marco and Erek's discussion about "how you deal with the evil things in life" was actually beautifully written prose, with Marco not even wanting to imagine what it would be like to remember everything he's ever experienced in full detail. It makes sense as to why Marco, who was aggressively on board with the idea of having the Chee help them by reprogramming them, doesn't fight Erek's change of heart.

Marco believes that it's right to do things in your own self-interest, so he's not going to even try to force his own interests onto Erek, especially knowing about the trauma of war.

Already in my own human mind, the memories of last night's horror were fading. The flash of blades and the pain and the sickening feeling of my fist closing around the Hork-Bajir's throat... they were being covered over by scar tissue.

What if I could never forget?

What if all those memories were fresh forever?

And, little things: holy Crap Marco gets gored a lot. We're 10 books in and I feel like he's had the absolute most body horror / violent near deaths of them all. I'm pretty sure his heart literally stops in this book twice (having been eaten as a spider and then being literally disemboweled as a gorilla). And the effect of "if Rachel is crying, then it must have been really awful" wrt Erek's absolute destruction mode was such a good way of describing the horror without actually having to describe it.

Also for the kids relationships with each other:
a) I love when Marco and Rachel stop bickering with each other long enough to just get really cutthroat together.
b) I love the fact that Cassie's anger and frustration at believing that the others think she's weaker and try to "give her easy outs" of missions shines through even in books where she doesn't narrate. (Marco says he plans on doing the mission flat out but adds that he doesn't mind if anyone else needed to back out - and then he notes how Cassie throws him a dirty look and affirms that she's going.)

I don't know how it happened (since I think Erek was just supposed to be a one off character?), but introducing Erek in Marco's book - and therefore framing your first impression of Erek as a character in Marco's words - really highlights his messier emotions. Especially in this book, where Marco's dad is threatened, and it frays him to his edges, and he takes refuge in violent thoughts.

I could feel the rage flowing through me, the blind, violent rage that became little films in my head - little head-movies of revenge and destruction. I pictured the things I would do to Tom... to Chapman... someday even to Visser Three. I would do terrible things to them. Terrible, violent things.

It was a sick feeling. It was sick, and I knew it, and yet I ran those images over and over in my head.

Marco has already been characterized as someone with his own agenda in the war. Peace and freedom for all of humanity is something he does want, but in his first book we're told its not something he would put his life on the line for. He has a list of people he loves and cares about and, while he doesn't completely disregard strangers and their suffering, he will always choose the people he loves first without even looking back.

Erek has his own specific agenda as well. Peace and freedom for all of humanity is something he also considers important, but more because:

"We stood by helplessly as the Howlers annihilated our creators," Erek said to Maria. "We can't stand by helplessly and watch this world be destroyed, too. Dogs and humans are intertwined. They have evolved a dependency. Dogs cannot survive without humans. If the humans fall to the Yeerks, we, the last great masterpieces of the Pemalites, and the dogs, their spirit-homes, will all die, too."

Later Marco also says:

We weren't sure what to do. Erek wanted us to go in, obviously. But he had his own interests, which might not be the same as ours.

And then Marco goes on to talk about how if they died, their families would be horribly affected. I like that just because Erek is a "pacifist", it doesn't mean he always has good intentions, and his morals skew differently from the kids (I say: "he's a pacifist in that he doesn't commit violence, but he'll support violence if it benefits him and his people). It really does well setting this character up for later books, as he has moments of absolute callousness. I'm not sure if KA imagined this character's hidden issues in this book or if she was just building on what she already made, but it definitely works with the continuity and it was a cool thing to look back and see.

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