A review by laurareads87
System Collapse by Martha Wells

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

 4.5. I love Murderbot and am so excited to have another installment. In System Collapse, we follow Murderbot, ART, and ART’s crew who are attempting to assist colonists on a hostile planet; unfortunately, Barish-Estranza is there too, and they have their own intentions toward the colonists. Meanwhile, Murderbot is grappling with its recent experiences and ... its feelings. 

System Collapse picks up right where Network Effect ends; I would suggest reading the last two chapters of Network Effect to refamiliarize before starting this book, especially if, like me, you’ve been reading the series as it is released. 

I love every Murderbot book. What I loved about System Collapse is (as usual) the relationship between Murderbot and ART, as well as Murderbot’s encounters with other SecUnits. Murderbot has to be one of my all time favourite first-person POVs to read, and this book is no exception. I also feel like this installment moves the series forward well – there is growth here, and the opening of new directions for future books to take. I did struggle a bit at the beginning; even having just re-read a few chapters of Network Effect to refresh my memory, it took a while for me to fully sink into the action of this book and feel like I fully knew what was going on, but once I was in I was in. 

If you haven’t started the Murderbot series yet, what are you doing?! Go do that. Don’t start with this book though. 

Content warnings: gun violence, violence, post-traumatic stress, injury detail, references to enslavement and labour trafficking 
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