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A review by bickleyhouse
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
All Systems Red, the first Murderbot book, was a five-star read for me. This one, the second installment, while enjoyable, wasn't quite as good for me as the first one. It was still good, though, and I definitely plan on continuing the series, as well as checking out some of Martha Wells's other work.
In Artificial Condition, Murderbot, who went AWOL at the end of book one, is trying to figure out how to get to RaviHyral, which is the "scene of the crime" that resulted in Murderbot's governor module being hacked. Allegedly, Murderbot sort of lost its mind and killed a bunch of people in the mine. Murderbot wants to go back there to try to find out what really happened.
It manages to convince a bot to let it on a transport ship, where it plans to watch hundreds of hours of its favorite serial media programs. But the bot that is piloting that ship turns out to be more than expected. At the beginning, Murderbot is threatened by the transport bot, but they wind up watching the shows together. The bot winds up being referred to as ART (Asshole Research Transport), and Murderbot and ART develop quite the relationship as the story progresses.
If you aren't familiar with the series, Murderbot is an extreme introvert and doesn't enjoy contact with other beings, especially humans. It gets quite upset when it makes eye contact with people, and simply doesn't enjoy being around them. It's not a hostility at all. Murderbot simply doesn't like it.
The plot moves on as Murderbot hooks up with a group of people who are also going to RaviHyral. It becomes their "security consultant," which gives it an excuse to be there. And that's as far as I will go in revealing plot.
I still enjoyed Ms. Wells's writing style in this book. It seems to move along pretty quickly and doesn't get boring, and I'm not sure I can quite identify why I didn't enjoy this one as much. I think it may have to do with the story, itself, more than the writing. Once everyone gets to RaviHyral, though, and we get into the real essence of the plot, it's much better. So the second half of the book was as enjoyable as the first book. And, since it is a very short book, just over 150 pages, that doesn't seem that long.
There is plenty of the sarcastic/sardonic humor that I love in this series, with giggles and chuckles on almost every page. There is plenty of action, as well, as the story progresses. And I really love Murderbot's mental struggles, as the story is written in first person, from the perspective of Murderbot, so we get a first-hand glimpse of everything it is feeling. We also get introduced to one of the "Comfort Units" (aka SexBot) in this story. But there is no sexual content at all, as this particular Comfort Unit has a different purpose in the plot.
I look forward to reading more Murderbot stories.
In Artificial Condition, Murderbot, who went AWOL at the end of book one, is trying to figure out how to get to RaviHyral, which is the "scene of the crime" that resulted in Murderbot's governor module being hacked. Allegedly, Murderbot sort of lost its mind and killed a bunch of people in the mine. Murderbot wants to go back there to try to find out what really happened.
It manages to convince a bot to let it on a transport ship, where it plans to watch hundreds of hours of its favorite serial media programs. But the bot that is piloting that ship turns out to be more than expected. At the beginning, Murderbot is threatened by the transport bot, but they wind up watching the shows together. The bot winds up being referred to as ART (Asshole Research Transport), and Murderbot and ART develop quite the relationship as the story progresses.
If you aren't familiar with the series, Murderbot is an extreme introvert and doesn't enjoy contact with other beings, especially humans. It gets quite upset when it makes eye contact with people, and simply doesn't enjoy being around them. It's not a hostility at all. Murderbot simply doesn't like it.
The plot moves on as Murderbot hooks up with a group of people who are also going to RaviHyral. It becomes their "security consultant," which gives it an excuse to be there. And that's as far as I will go in revealing plot.
I still enjoyed Ms. Wells's writing style in this book. It seems to move along pretty quickly and doesn't get boring, and I'm not sure I can quite identify why I didn't enjoy this one as much. I think it may have to do with the story, itself, more than the writing. Once everyone gets to RaviHyral, though, and we get into the real essence of the plot, it's much better. So the second half of the book was as enjoyable as the first book. And, since it is a very short book, just over 150 pages, that doesn't seem that long.
There is plenty of the sarcastic/sardonic humor that I love in this series, with giggles and chuckles on almost every page. There is plenty of action, as well, as the story progresses. And I really love Murderbot's mental struggles, as the story is written in first person, from the perspective of Murderbot, so we get a first-hand glimpse of everything it is feeling. We also get introduced to one of the "Comfort Units" (aka SexBot) in this story. But there is no sexual content at all, as this particular Comfort Unit has a different purpose in the plot.
I look forward to reading more Murderbot stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Cursing