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alsoapples's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Forced institutionalization, and Death
spiritedfaraway's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“After spending my entire existence having to gently suggest to humans that they not do things that would probably get them killed, it was nice to be able to tell them in so many words to not be so fucking stupid.”
I don’t want to give too much away, because this is the fifth book in a series, but if you loved the novellas, then Network Effect is definitely for you. This book took everything I loved about the first four books and kicked it up a notch and I honestly think this might be my favorite out of the entire series.
I still absolutely feel that Murderbot is one the most relatable characters I’ve ever read about. They’re both very introverted and very anxious. And their dry wit and sass doesn’t hurt either!
As you expect with every book in this series, there’s action, adventure, and a good dose of friendship (though shhhhhhh, don’t let Murderbot know).
“Her expression had turned all melty and sentimental. “No hugging,” I warned her. It was in our contract.”
In fact, one of the things I truly love about these space adventures are the connections and the character development Murderbot makes. The character dynamics are always a treat to read about and the ones in this book are definitely not a let down!
Some old characters are fleshed out and some new characters are introduced. There’s fighting, arguing, and (gasp!) emotions. This installment to the Murderbot Diaries is absolutely fantastic and definitely lived up to all my expectations.
All the stars!
An ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Moderate: Body horror
catsy2022's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Rating: C-
In a shocking twist, it turns out I like the novellas more than a full novel of Murderbot. In this novel, Murderbot is forcibly summoned by a transport through a wormhole and its crew of friends are put at risk by the threat of another group of human-like aliens that attack them once on board. I definitely liked the idea of the story, but this took me almost 2 weeks to read a 300-page book. The writing was clunky and slow, I didn't find it funny or interesting. There was a lot of history info-dumping which took away from the action and pacing of the book. I felt confused as to whose perspective was whose, I felt like the chapters definitely needed more of an introduction and better framing. I found the relationship between ART and Murderbot to be fun and cute, very wholesome at points, but their dialogue was repetitive and their friendship is at the exact same point as it was when ART featured in one of the novellas.
The throwbacks to previously-introduced characters was nice, but what I wanted from the novel was more bot-rights and recognising robots with human parts as human rather than robot. I liked the alien technology and the expansion of the world to learning about what the companies' purposes are (universe-wide settlements, deconstruction and understanding of alien tech and mining) as well as familial units and how they are structured. I didn't really care much for any of the characters, not even Amena.
The action sequences and Murderbot's total competency are the only things that drove me to finish this book.
In a shocking twist, it turns out I like the novellas more than a full novel of Murderbot. In this novel, Murderbot is forcibly summoned by a transport through a wormhole and its crew of friends are put at risk by the threat of another group of human-like aliens that attack them once on board. I definitely liked the idea of the story, but this took me almost 2 weeks to read a 300-page book. The writing was clunky and slow, I didn't find it funny or interesting. There was a lot of history info-dumping which took away from the action and pacing of the book. I felt confused as to whose perspective was whose, I felt like the chapters definitely needed more of an introduction and better framing. I found the relationship between ART and Murderbot to be fun and cute, very wholesome at points, but their dialogue was repetitive and their friendship is at the exact same point as it was when ART featured in one of the novellas.
The throwbacks to previously-introduced characters was nice, but what I wanted from the novel was more bot-rights and recognising robots with human parts as human rather than robot. I liked the alien technology and the expansion of the world to learning about what the companies' purposes are (universe-wide settlements, deconstruction and understanding of alien tech and mining) as well as familial units and how they are structured. I didn't really care much for any of the characters, not even Amena.
The action sequences and Murderbot's total competency are the only things that drove me to finish this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Gore, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Death
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Violence, Gun violence, Body horror, and Death
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