Title: Network EffectSeries: Murderbot Diaries, Book 5
Author: Martha Wells
Publisher: Tor.com
US Release Date: May 5, 2020
Genre: Science Fiction Suspense
Content Rating: Adult (strong violence, language)
Format Read: Hardcover
Find On: Goodreads
Purchase: Indiebound | B&N | BookDepo | Azon
Summary:
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.
I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.
When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.
Drastic action it is, then.
Series: This is the fifth book, and first novel, in The Murderbot Diaries series. I highly recommend reading the series in order, and for this book you definitely need to have read Book 2, Artificial Condition.
After thoroughly enjoying three of the first four novellas in this thrilling science fiction series about the awkward and emotionally stunted but highly relatable human/bot construct, Murderbot, I was rather looking forward to this fifth book and first full-length novel. But while some of the action was engaging and a new character piqued my interest, on the whole Network Effect did not impress.
Conclusion: Disappointing. The action and movement were unusually described and a struggle to follow, Murderbot acted like a whiny teenager, and with so many extra pages the story took its time to walk us through every single bullet-pointed and check-listed step of their "adventure." What I understood of the action was engaging though, and when Murderbot was too busy being violent to ponder its emotions the story was generally enjoyable. And I really liked new character Three. Although Network Effect is currently battling Book 2 for least favorite of the series, I'll definitely be giving the next book/novella, Fugitive Telemetry (April 2021), a read.
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.
I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.
When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.
Drastic action it is, then.
* * *
Series: This is the fifth book, and first novel, in The Murderbot Diaries series. I highly recommend reading the series in order, and for this book you definitely need to have read Book 2, Artificial Condition.
After thoroughly enjoying three of the first four novellas in this thrilling science fiction series about the awkward and emotionally stunted but highly relatable human/bot construct, Murderbot, I was rather looking forward to this fifth book and first full-length novel. But while some of the action was engaging and a new character piqued my interest, on the whole Network Effect did not impress.
Cons:
- Movement. Right from the start I struggled to follow the movement of the characters, occasionally so lost I didn't even understand that someone had been shot, or even crossed a room. At one point I had to go back and re-read a section four times and still didn't quite see what I'd apparently been told. This disappointingly lessened the impact of the action and Murderbot's clever plans.
- Emotional Growth. Murderbot is naturally growing emotionally through the series, but unfortunately in this book it grew into a petulant teenager who went about whinging and generally being an annoying arsehole. Thankfully the griping and backtalk tapered off in the second half as action took up a great deal of its attention, but then at the end it started to really contemplate its feelings and for the first time not exactly hate them, and this new emotional turning point was somewhat off-putting for me. I will be interested to see how it continues to progress, I guess, but in general I wasn't a fan.
- Pacing. After four novellas that really only had enough word count for action and really important non-action bits, this full-length novel had way too much time on its hands. Every little detail of the "adventure" was laid out, over-complicating a plot that really wasn't that complicated and even dragging out the action scenes a bit longer than necessary. The whole middle of the book was step-by-step planning, with actual bullet-point strategy sessions and checklists (seriously). This made the story a bit too tediously realistic and sadly drained most of the urgency out of the whole affair.
Pros:
- Action. The action was entertaining when I could follow it.
- Three. New character Three was a surprising and interesting addition to the cast, and its uncertain bits were my favorite sections of the story. I hope we'll continue to follow its growth in future books.
- Murderbot. Despite Murderbot's petulant first half and overly emotional second half, when it wasn't whining I still relatively enjoyed its adventures for the most part and look forward to continuing its story in future books.
Conclusion: Disappointing. The action and movement were unusually described and a struggle to follow, Murderbot acted like a whiny teenager, and with so many extra pages the story took its time to walk us through every single bullet-pointed and check-listed step of their "adventure." What I understood of the action was engaging though, and when Murderbot was too busy being violent to ponder its emotions the story was generally enjoyable. And I really liked new character Three. Although Network Effect is currently battling Book 2 for least favorite of the series, I'll definitely be giving the next book/novella, Fugitive Telemetry (April 2021), a read.
Scribble Rating:
2.5 of 5 Scribbles
Other Reviews That Might Interest:
Fortune's Pawn by Rachel Bach
Made to Kill by Adam Christopher
Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast
Made to Kill by Adam Christopher
Zero Repeat Forever by G.S. Prendergast
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