sweetestwindmill's profile picture

sweetestwindmill 's review for:

4.5
adventurous funny lighthearted 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: Complicated

I read All Systems Red a while ago, promptly forgot everything about the story, watched Murderbot and loved it, decided to buy all the books and kept getting surprised by all the changes the show made because of the aforementioned memory issues. It's a shame in some ways, because now there's alternative media to compare! And unusually, I do think the show comes out ahead, purely because of the level of emotional development it added.

That's not to say these novellas aren't good! As with the first time I read All Systems Red, I had a great time. Murderbot is witty and hilarious, with hints of a more poignant backstory in its past. I actually think I liked Artificial Condition even more than the first one, because it had a more reflective tone and I liked seeing Murderbot embrace its newfound freedom. I'm still massively enjoying the concept, and I'll definitely be moving straight onto the next book in the series. Really the show has just taught me what it's possible to do with a really strong foundation like these books!