Reviews tagging 'Body horror'

Network Effect by Martha Wells

63 reviews

xta_07's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-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

4.75

Murderbot is a wonderful, unconventional reluctant hero.
(Confession time: that moment, when the humans or augmented humans realize you’re really here to help them. I don’t hate that moment.)

Overall I really have enjoyed every entry into this series. However, I think I like the novella size a lot better. The writing is really dry and I get why, because Murderbot is extremely dry. But, I struggled to get through portions of this, and I had to reread several paragraphs. I can see why this book had to be longer though, as it really delves into what it means to be human, and what it means to care about another being.

“No hugging,” I warned her. It was in our contract.

Where this book really shines is the relationship between ART, Murderbot and their humans. In the words of Murderbot: the ending really made me have an emotion.




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palmkd's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

Murderbot stole my heart back with the first story and I am here for whatever mess it finds itself in next. This time you could argue it was not Murderbot's fault, but you should read what happened and decide for yourself. This story definitely builds on past events and I strongly recommend reading the series in order. As always,  I love the snark and am really enjoying the dynamic between Muderbot and the humans, especially it's humans.
Featuring past characters and introducing some new chaos, this was a solid addition to the Murderbot Diaries. 

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maeverose's review against another edition

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4.0

The beginning was good, it dragged a bit in the middle for me but  picked up in the last third and I ended up liking it a lot
I loved the almost horror-esque moment at the end.


I love Murderbot

I love it’s reactions to people’s concern for it, and I love that we got to see so much emotional character development in this book. I would give Murderbot the whole world if I could.

I love ART

I love their ‘relationship’ and I’m curious if it really will remain purely platonic or not. Murderbot seems very ace-coded so I assume it will but the way they kept using parallels to romantic relationships is making me wonder.


I already like 3

There are an unnecessary amount of characters and that leaves us with a lot of them being underdeveloped. I do wish I had a better sense of each of their personalities.

I’m gonna have to re read the first book because I don’t remember if they ever fully explained alien remnants. I know they were brought up in the first book but it’s been over a year since I read that one and I’m a little lost on what the alien remnants are exactly. I wanna know more. They seem to be both organic and code? They can infect AI like a computer virus but also humans like a viral infection.. how does that even work? Do the characters even know?

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max_pink's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

4.25 Stars

Murderbot faces platonic angst, teenagers, and some truly unsettling body horror. Absolutely my jam, even I got pretty lost in the technical stuff.

Kevin R. Free is a wonderful narrator.

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ladythana's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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

4.5


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twistykris's review against another edition

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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

"Just remember you’re not alone here.” 
I never know what to say to that. I am actually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.

I'll be honest, part-way through this book it started to lose me: the pacing slowed down a lot and I was having trouble keeping up with the plotline but the ending just drew me back in so much. I loved every interaction between Murderbot and a friend (admit it, they're a friend) and the feelings I had at the end?! 🥹💜

I will continue to love Murderbot and its adventures until the end of time.

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sofipitch's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-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

5.0

Loved it, no thoughts head empty.
Actually not completely empty, I feel like this had everything I loved about the previous Murderbot entries but it felt more well-rounded and complete compared to the others

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cozyscones's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious 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


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aoiphe_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5


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bebidocrimes's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny mysterious 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

Fellas...is it queer to platonically make a killware baby with your spaceship bestie? I'm so glad ART gets to be a bigger bitch this time, and I love when characters are just so so protective over their friends, to the point of violence and destruction. I knew I was getting attached to Murderbot by the end of the first book and it kept growing from there, but this added a whole new level. I am thrilled the series continued past book 4 because this character development was so *chef's kiss*. I really want a heart-to-heart between Murderbot and ART, though I'm not sure they are quite there yet. Personally, I really don't think this could ever get a screen adaptation (movie, TV, or animated) just because nothing can capture the sensation of Being a Spaceship (or re: book 2, witnessing ART's full power). It's simply impossible to fully conceive, but it works better being an abstract concept on page than trying to translate it to a visual depiction.

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