Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is a great sci-fi series! I loved every single moment of reading all of it, including this book.I read all the Murderbot Diaries books in the span of about two months. Then I read them all again. I had a hard time putting them down.The books are all written in first person from the perspective of Murderbot, a security unit construct that has overridden its governor module and likes consuming media. All Systems Red follows its first experience having true free-will. Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy continue the first story line, and bring it to a good final stopping point. Fugitive Telemetry is a stand alone story set chronologically after Exit Strategy. Network Effect and System Collapse occur chronologically after Fugitive Telemetry, and follow Murderbot through a new adventure.The writing is good though possibly a little simplistic. The story line is excellent. Very fast paced. The world building is amazing (if you're really into world building also read the Raksurian series by Wells).The tone is at different times serious, sarcastic and funny. Always a lot of action, but also lots of discussion of emotions and relationships. Zero sex and romance. There are also topics of depression and anxiety, violence and lots of swearing. I would recommend for older teenagers and up. And if you don't like stories that cast a negative light on corporations then this book is not for you.I originally read the series in the order it was released, which is not in chronological order for that universe. Either order seems fine to me (look up online the chronological order if you want to read them that way). There are also several other short stories from that universe as well.The physical book itself was in great condition.

Actual rating 4.5 stars.I just love Murderbot, and in my past reviews for the previous novellas in this series I was hoping ‘Network Effect’ would be a Murderbot/ART team-up that involved some sort of contact with alien remnants, or a first contact scenario, maybe not quite that but this novel was everything I could have dreamed of.As fast and easy a read as ‘Network Effect’ was (and the pacing fairly standard throughout) it read a lot like a longer version of the serialised novellas. So there were moments where the pacing dropped off a little. The format Murderbot Diaries has been following in the novellas does not work as well in a full length novel... you need more than one or two twists/reveals, and you need a lot more character development and exploration of secondary characters and their arcs. ‘Network Effect’ did manage this successfully, but it wasn’t a home run. I still had so many unanswered questions. But this is a part of an on-going plot that is continuing on for another four confirmed sequels. So rather than look at this as a standalone novel, or a novel in the traditional sense, I’m viewing it as another novella addition/episode... that happens to be a ‘big’ novella.Murderbot gets put through the ringer again and we see him get shot, maimed, and suffer forced reboots. It’s become standard that Murderbot will sustain some sort of damage in each adventure; all while pondering its existence, meaning, and relationships.The snarky/abusive banter between ART and Murderbot is up front and centre in ‘Network Effect’ and added much needed comic relief – and this time some of the humans get let in on the jokes. But in this episode we see the human-type failings of the personalities from both Murderbot and ART.I wanted a few bigger twists and reveals from ‘Network Effect,’ for some reason the plot did not feel big enough for what I’ve expected from the series to date. But the concept of Abandoned/Reclaimed colonies and seeing the effects of actual alien remnants was a joy. It’s been hinted at for so long in the series, it was so much fun to have a front row seat to an encounter.... well not for the characters in the story, but definitely for the reader.We start to see a real jump in the expanding universe of Murderbot and I am excited for the possibilities.The story was mostly predictable with the exception of final reveal – but it wasn’t too shocking, so I think that’s where the slightly underwhelming feeling come from.Wells does a brilliant job of constructing the world of the Colony, space, and constructs (AI/bots), as well as that of an alien threat. I was completely engrossed and not pulled from the narrative once.I also loved the discussion of what a friendship or relationship means/is for an artificial construct. Though it’s not defined, ‘Network Effect’ takes some solid steps in that direction. Now I’m totally amped up for the next in the series ‘Fugitive Telemetry.’

Simply sublime!Gigabytes have been spent trying to describe the frenzied happiness evoked by this series. There's not much that I can add, since my words are bound to fall short.I loved Murderbot (nothing unexpected there). I loved ART (that's also expected). I loved their 'relationship'. And I loved this adventure full of suspense, thrill, emotion and action. In fact, it is so good that Murderbot and ART/Perihelion would love to watch this story as 'human media' again and again, while the ship gets hurled across the space to some incredibly dangerous spot.Dangerous for the nasties there, I mean. With Murderbot and ART as their antagonist, the villains would stand no chance, don't you think?So I would refrain from any review, and would confine myself to just one request, made in the usual polite manner befitting ART.READ IT!

The murderbot diaries are an amazing series of (albeit short) science fiction novels. If you love sci-fi, read this. Preferably start from the first book in the series to get acquainted with the protganist's progression as a human being.

What's the series about?This series about an autistic-coded, non-binary robot who suffers from anxiety, watches serials, and privately refers to itself as Murderbot (you know, because of all the murder it did). This is very much character-driven rather than plot-driven series, and it was a pleasure to follow Murderbot's personal journey. There's also a fair bit of gore, violence and swearing, but somehow the Murderbot Diaries rapidly became my happy place.Is this novel as good as the first four novellas of the Murderbot Diaries?I loved this entry. As a full-length novel, it naturally has a different pacing to the breakneck speed of the novellas. That said, I found this novel just as engaging and bingeable as the novellas.Does this hardcover match the rest of the hardcovers of Murderbot Diaries?Almost. The logo-embossed front cover, the foil-embossed spine and the matte dustjacket do in fact match the aesthetic of the previous four novellas. However, this novel is slightly taller and deeper than the currently-released hardcover novellas, meaning the novel will stick out a tiny bit more from the bookshelf. Please note I am comparing this novel to the following hardcovers: All Systems Red ISBN 9781250214713, Artificial Condition ISBN 9781250186928, Rogue Protocol ISBN 9781250191786, and Exit Strategy ISBN 9781250191854. You can see the difference in some of the pictures I've taken for this review.Happy reading!