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abookwormspov's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Violence, Genocide, Gaslighting, Blood, Emotional abuse, Death, Body horror, Suicide, Slavery, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide attempt, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Self harm, Physical abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
micheala's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was pitched as "the Murderbot Diaries makes first contact" and while that's technically true, I don't think it is a fair representation of this book.
While both stories are exploring what it means to be human/a person, they are going about it in different ways and from different points in that journey.
This novel felt a little more blunt about it's approach to the topic.
"What are your pronouns?" she asked. "It," it said. She cringed. ... "Where we come from, it's rude to call a person 'it'. We find it dehumanizing. ... Are you sure you wouldn't prefer something like they/them? ..." "You asked, didn't you?" it said. "Why ask if you won't accept my answer?" -pg 136
This bluntness might be because as a standalone, even though it is longer as an individual book than any of the Murderbot Diaries entires, it still has less space to explore the themes it is tackling.
The one of the main differences between the two series is that while the other characters in the Murderbot Diaries readily accept Murderbot as a person, they acknowledge it does not want to be viewed as a human; in contrast, the crew in Activation Degredation is determined to convince Unit Four that they are a human - going so far as to give it a name and correct it to use human anatomy terms when it refers to its various parts.
The other notable difference, is that Unit Four views the crew as antagonists for a significant portion of the narrative. So you don't get the same found family feelings that you do in Murderbot. And I have to say, in general, I found this crew much less endearing. While I quite liked Doc and Maya, the other three crew members were not fleshed out very much - to be honest, Doc also wasn't as well fleshed out as Maya, I just happen to really like them.
In the end, this was a fun sci-fi story, exploring interesting themes, however the comparison to Murderbot sets the reader up with incorrect assumptions concerning the tone of the novel. If you like space adventures and can handle a little bit of body horror, it was overall a enjoyable read.
While both stories are exploring what it means to be human/a person, they are going about it in different ways and from different points in that journey.
This novel felt a little more blunt about it's approach to the topic.
"What are your pronouns?" she asked. "It," it said. She cringed. ... "Where we come from, it's rude to call a person 'it'. We find it dehumanizing. ... Are you sure you wouldn't prefer something like they/them? ..." "You asked, didn't you?" it said. "Why ask if you won't accept my answer?" -pg 136
This bluntness might be because as a standalone, even though it is longer as an individual book than any of the Murderbot Diaries entires, it still has less space to explore the themes it is tackling.
The one of the main differences between the two series is that while the other characters in the Murderbot Diaries readily accept Murderbot as a person, they acknowledge it does not want to be viewed as a human; in contrast, the crew in Activation Degredation is determined to convince Unit Four that they are a human - going so far as to give it a name and correct it to use human anatomy terms when it refers to its various parts.
The other notable difference, is that Unit Four views the crew as antagonists for a significant portion of the narrative. So you don't get the same found family feelings that you do in Murderbot. And I have to say, in general, I found this crew much less endearing. While I quite liked Doc and Maya, the other three crew members were not fleshed out very much - to be honest, Doc also wasn't as well fleshed out as Maya, I just happen to really like them.
In the end, this was a fun sci-fi story, exploring interesting themes, however the comparison to Murderbot sets the reader up with incorrect assumptions concerning the tone of the novel. If you like space adventures and can handle a little bit of body horror, it was overall a enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Body horror, Drug use, Violence, Blood, Cursing, and Death
Minor: Colonisation, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Slavery, and Suicide attempt
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