I pre-ordered a hardback copy of Martha Wells’ Network Effect and received an e-copy of Fugitive Telemetry through Netgalley.
Description from Goodreads:
Murderbot returns in its highly-anticipated, first, full-length standalone novel.
You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you’re a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you’re Murderbot.
Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.
Review:
OMG, full length Murderbot book; cue incoherent and excited babbling. Except, I do this weird thing when I’m really excited to read a book. I buy it and then I sit on it. Not literally, I just mean I don’t immediately read it. I don’t know why. But I do it often enough to recognize a pattern and I did it with Network Effect. So, I’ve had the book and the anticipation for a while now. But I read it yesterday. So good.
I did think the beginning a bit rough. Murderbot has a tendency to sarcastically name thing and make internal commentary. The result was several passages I had to read more than once to grasp the meaning. At one point, for example, Murderbot entered a room with what I thought was 2 people (and Amena). I had to go back and read it again and again because I couldn’t figure out how some were dying and still running away. Turns out it was 4 people; I’d just misunderstood Murderbot’s naming structure.
It did smooth out and I loved seeing Murderbot grow. I think there is more emotional growth in this book than all the others combined. And please give me more of ART and Three. I’m so curious about Three! I, as always, look forward to continuing the series.
Description from Goodreads:
No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.
When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)
Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!
Again!
Review:
After stepping away from Preservation Station in Network Effect, we’re back during Fugitive Telemetry. It was a little jarring, because it didn’t feel like it fit the timeline, like maybe FT should have come before NE. But either way I enjoyed it after those first few disconcerting “when am I” moments.
As always, Murderbot is wonderfully sarcastic. Here we see it working with people who aren’t (or aren’t yet) it’s people. It’s a struggle sometimes. As was Murderbot trying and do it’s job while ham-stringed by not being able to hack the computer systems. It was forced to interact with outside individuals more. All of it was a lot of fun.
The writing is readable and editing clean, as it has been with all the books so far. I can’t wait for more.
