Network Effect

The first novel-length Murderbot book, and it didn’t disappoint. My love for Murderbot grows with every instalment of The Murderbot Diaries, and seeing it have to deal with adolescent humans is delicious. As I am also a big fan of someone else who shows up in this book, Network Effect is real a treat.

Wells is absolutely brilliant at making a relatable character, and her continuing explorations of bodily autonomy, sense of self, personhood, and caring for others are stellar. She also writes kick-ass sci-fi.

Murderbot has never done anything wrong, ever, and I love them.

The novella felt like the perfect length for a Murderbot episode so I wasn't sure it would work well in a full novel. Not to worry, Wells keeps it interesting and entertaining in the 5th installment and first novel.

This series gets more addicting with each installment. The first four books were almost too short, and reading this one felt like I was finally really getting to dig in to the world of Murderbot. Consider me thoroughly hooked!

Hugo Best Novel 2021, and I can kind of see why. The Murderbot stories do not normally speak to me, but this one was actually gripping and had a bunch of interesting turns. The people still feel somehow wrong, but the scifi story here works.

Enjoyable, but I got bogged down in the middle for a good while: I suspect I prefer this kind of story at novella length.

Finally, a full-length Murderbot novel. Fun, funny, fast-paced and heart-warming, it's everything I want from escapist space opera. Murderbot is a lovable sentient killing machine who itself enjoys space operas and doesn't want to deal with its feelings right now.

I think you might be able to read and enjoy it without reading all the novellas that precede it, but I think it's more fun if you read the novellas first. Plus, it spoils some of the reveals in the novellas if you jump straight in here.

I especially recommend it to anyone who is feeling sad right now, and fans of Ian Banks Culture novels. (Ever wanted to read a full-length novel from the point of view of one of the ornery drones? This is a lot like that.)