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A review by geothedude
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
4.0
3.5 stars, rounding up because I love this series.
Overall, the book gets 3 stars. The story is kinda interesting; Murderbot wants to find out what happened the first time it went rogue and in order to find out has to take on its first mission posing as a human, hijinks ensue. Ultimately the problem with the setup as that the conflict with the humans feels very much like a side mission but is given top billing while the actual central conflict feels almost like an afterthought that is far too easily resolved. On a certain level, that is purposeful and on a certain level I like it a lot. Murderbot's origin story is something that could have been drawn out and made into a whole big thing, but I kinda like it better that we get sufficient closure right away. There's room to expand the plot if we really want to build on what's there, but you get enough to walk away satisfied - or unsatisfied as the case may be.
So if the story is so mid, what's worth giving it an extra half a star and rounding that up to 4 stars? Three letters: ART. Nicknamed ART (short for Asshole Research Transport) by Murderbot, ART is an incredible partner for MB that elevates a middling novella into one of the true delights of the series. Not so much along for the ride as it IS the ride, you gotta love a character that decides to help out of boredom. Simultaneously nigh all-powerful and absolutely baby who needs some alone time when its favorite TV character dies, ART does in this sequel what Murderbot did in the first volume: makes the entire book worth reading all on its own.
I won't lie, this just isn't as good as All Systems Red, but ART and its chemistry with Murderbot make this so much fun that it's difficult not to enjoy on some level.
Overall, the book gets 3 stars. The story is kinda interesting; Murderbot wants to find out what happened the first time it went rogue and in order to find out has to take on its first mission posing as a human, hijinks ensue. Ultimately the problem with the setup as that the conflict with the humans feels very much like a side mission but is given top billing while the actual central conflict feels almost like an afterthought that is far too easily resolved. On a certain level, that is purposeful and on a certain level I like it a lot. Murderbot's origin story is something that could have been drawn out and made into a whole big thing, but I kinda like it better that we get sufficient closure right away. There's room to expand the plot if we really want to build on what's there, but you get enough to walk away satisfied - or unsatisfied as the case may be.
So if the story is so mid, what's worth giving it an extra half a star and rounding that up to 4 stars? Three letters: ART. Nicknamed ART (short for Asshole Research Transport) by Murderbot, ART is an incredible partner for MB that elevates a middling novella into one of the true delights of the series. Not so much along for the ride as it IS the ride, you gotta love a character that decides to help out of boredom. Simultaneously nigh all-powerful and absolutely baby who needs some alone time when its favorite TV character dies, ART does in this sequel what Murderbot did in the first volume: makes the entire book worth reading all on its own.
I won't lie, this just isn't as good as All Systems Red, but ART and its chemistry with Murderbot make this so much fun that it's difficult not to enjoy on some level.