Murderbot Lived Up to My High Hopes

Network Effect

By: Martha Wells

Murderbot’s first full-length novel was my most anticipated of this year and it lived up to my expectations! Except now I’m finished and am already hoping and wishing for the next one!

So on this outing Murderbot and his teenage client (and boy doesn’t that make him nuts!) are kidnapped by a very familiar face with a very different attitude. An entire human crew has gone missing and there’s this mysterious alien tech involved.

And oh feelings!

And friendship!

And my favorite show loving AI must deal with perhaps the biggest threat he’s ever faced and it’s so much fun! Why isn’t this a television series yet? Why am I not doing this entire review in exclamation points? Because I would but Murderbot would absolutely hate that!

So one thing I will say is this is the first Murderbot that I read instead of listened to and I kind of missed the audiobook which is unlike me. Go figure. But I would check out the novellas on audiobook if you’re interested. Plus there is a hefty amount of science in this science fiction.

But at heart it’s really about discovering your worth and value to other people as well as yourself. Murderbot and friends (many of whom appeared in other books) are great characters despite the impressive things he’s able to do he’s often in over his head and you actually do feel like he can lose a fight.

Plus Network Effect is particularly creepy toward the end. It was interesting as the series has really concentrated on Corporate and other humans terraforming these different planets and the AI’s and slaves and other changes it was cool to see the old school alien idea play into it as well!

Needless to say I’m completely happy with Network Effect it’s a series that’s absolutely worth checking out. And make Murderbot happy already and turn this thing into a television series!

Recommend: Yes.