4.25 stars

Murderbot is back! And…kicking ass? Saving the day? Wait, why are they standing in the corner having an existential crisis?

Look, bad stuff happened to Murderbot in Network Effect, okay? And now they are going through some shit, so back off. But ART is here to help. Or antagonize, whatever. The day will be saved! Eventually 🤷🏼‍♀️

Joking aside, this is another solidly entertaining entry into the Murderbot Diaries. Not that I expected anything less, of course. Just know that there is a lot of planet in this book, and a lot (I mean a lot) of people. And I am with Murderbot in that planets and people are not my favorite. But it’s still a good time.

Now if you’ll excuse me I need to stare at the wall and contemplate what I am supposed to do now that I have finished rereading the entire series and have no more to read. Start all over?

Thank you to NetGalley & Tor Publishing Group for this advance reader copy. All opinions are my own.

System Collapse

“It was a mess and it was getting more messy every second.”

Our favorite lethal SecUnit is not doing so well in this one…

After Network Effect I was simply dying for another full-length novel set in the Murderbot Diaries universe. Network Effect has everything I want out of a sci-fi book: adventure, humor, a great set of characters, and not too much science. And with the way Martha Wells ended things, it was obvious that there was a lot of potential for an amazing full-length follow-up.

The question was, however, would it hold up to my expectations?
The simple answer: yes, it absolutely did.

System Collapse is a little different from Network Effect. The tone is more somber, which is mostly due to Murderbot’s struggle with processing the events of the previous novel. However, there’s still Murderbot’s trademark humor and the many qualities that make it so relatable to me. Its struggle simply elevates its relatability and gives the character another layer of authenticity. Who knew an IA construct could be so multidimensional and relatable!

“I know I get pissed off when humans don’t acknowledge my work, but why is too much acknowledgment also upsetting? Sentience sucks.”

The plot is engaging and a good continuation to the events of Network Effect. While the beginning is a little slower, once it picks up, the climax is very action-packed and fun. I especially enjoyed the new constellation of characters Murderbot is on mission with in this one. The dynamic of them had lots of entertainment value and I loved getting to know some of ART’s crew members better.
Additionally, Martha Wells had a few good surprises in store that I enjoyed immensely. Especially the last scene made me cackle.
I can’t wait for more Murderbot adventures!

This series is highly recommended.

This is just a fabulous series, that keeps getting better with each new installment.

System Collapse opens with action and Murderbot, who is dealing with PTSD from the events Network Effect, a little bit off and struggling with its feelings of anxiety and fear. ART, Murderbot, and their humans are on a peacekeeping mission of sorts, trying to help a group of settlers on a planet with alien contamination from becoming indentured servants to an evil corporation. It takes a bit for the shit to hit the fan, which is always does, but oh, boy, once it does the adrenaline gets pumping and its non-stop action right up until the end.

This is definitely not a series to read out of order, or to begin in the middle of. Every new story builds on the plotline of the last book. The relationships between Murderbot, ART, and the rest of the supporting cast become stronger with each new adventure. If you’re not already a fan, do yourself a favor and add it to your TBR.

Grade- A

After a slow first half, this episode of Murderbot’s struggle to keep its humans alive in dire circumstances while negotiating what it is to be human kept me firmly in the “I love Murderbot” cheering section.

This is such a great series! System Collapse is the latest in the Murderbot Diaries. It began as a collection of novellas, easily digestible and some of the best of the series in my opinion because they show so beautifully the struggle of a part-human part-robot Security Unit in a sci-fi future who has become autonomous after secretly disabling its governor module. It prefers to watch soap operas, avoiding pesky human emotions and shying away from inconvenient human connections. But Murderbot’s weakness is its heart of gold. Pair this with evil corporations of the future and this is space opera that never fails to entertain.

Anyway, the plot here doesn’t even matter. This is the second short novel-length book, and I dropped myself into it without reviewing Book Six, so the beginning was a tad confusing (my fault!), and a bit uneventful. But things picked up! Murderbot is dealing with some tough stuff this time: not just evil corporation lackeys, but his own REDACTED. That’s right, for the first half there’s some redacting going on, just like that, and I won’t tell you what Murderbot is avoiding, but it tells us soon enough. It's more annoying human messiness and emotional stuff that Murderbot must reluctantly process.

I love the relationship between Murderbot and ART. And the Murderbot’s humans are always so nice: a compassionate bunch. Sigh. I cannot wait for my next dose of Murderbot!

Thanks to Tordotcom Publishing and Netgalley for an advanced digital copy!

Murderbot's story picks up where Network Effect left off. I wish I had read these two closer together, but even though the context wasn't fresh in my mind I still had a lot fun with this installment. Murderbot and its companions, both human and non, are trying to save a colony of people from becoming forced labor for a corporation. With the challenge of negotiations, other SecUnits, and Murderbot's struggle with recent trauma, the group must work together to save the colonists and make it off planet.

As much as I enjoy seeing the plot of each installment unfold, and I liked how this one had a different feel than the previous ones with a focus on rescue, the characters are what really make this series for me. I love Murderbot's relationship with its companions, I particularly love its banter with ART. At this point Murderbot has spent a fair amount of time with these other characters and they've all bonded to the point of having trust and understanding of one another. Murderbot has grown a lot since its story began, learning about emotions and reluctantly picking up a lot of friends along the way, and I'll be looking forward to seeing where they go in the next one.

At this point I would honestly die for Murderbot - I mean they would be way ahead of me and probably save me but it's the thought that counts. Murderbot is just so human in this addition to the series and all of the connections to A.R.T and Preservation and developing on the events of Network Effect was so amazingly well done. Is it wrong to say I can't wait for the next one when this just came out?

Thank you SO much to Netgalley and the publishers for providing me with an arc for an honest review.

While, I think this installment of the Murderbot Diaries was my least favorite, I still enjoyed it none the less. I felt that this entry lacked the amount of humor that I expect from my Murderbot books, and instead went into some more emotional places. This wasn't a bad thing, it worked and it was great, I was just waiting for more laughs. I did really enjoy the banter/comradery between ART and Murderbot. It felt like this was the relationship that I was hoping for in Fugutuve Telemetry and now I have it.

Thank you to Net Galley and Tor for providing me with an eARC of this book.

Another snarky and excellent installment of the Murderbot series. If you've come to love Murderbot and her humans, you won't be disappointed in this action-packed full length novel. Quick pacing keeps the story moving along. Readers get to see more of Murderbot's other AI companions, including ART and we get to witness how Murderbot's continuing to grow into its own and deal with its traumatic past.

Have another fantastic adventure with Murderbot! Following up the events in the fifth book in the series, book seven finds our beloved main character dealing with terrible events on the planet while also having episodes of PTSD leading to inner doubts about being able to keep its humans safe. Like all the books in the series, the plot is exciting and moves along quickly, but the inner life of our favorite rogue SecUnit is the real magic here. Murderbot's thoughts, plans, and coping mechanisms all show clearly the rich worlds that Martha Wells has created here, and the universe keeps expanding for the readers as it does for the characters. The underlying questions of trauma, colonialism, and capitalism are delivered by a space adventure that plays out almost like a film and although the snark in this book is darker, there are still plenty of the entertaining moments this series has always delivered.

Thank you to Tordotcom via Netgalley for my eARC.

First off, I will say that if it’s been a bit since you’ve read the prior full length novel, Network Effect, a refresh is a must. This starts right after and I hadn’t reread the book since it originally came out. I was left a little confused since it had been so long between them.

This installment felt a little different than other ones in this series as we get a Murderbot that is a bit more hesitate as they are dealing with trauma from the prior book. I did really enjoy this new aspect of the character and I hope we see more of this in the future.

The plot, over all for me wasn’t my favorite. I did find it a little hard to follow with the newer characters (though this could have 100% been a me not having refreshed).

The Murderbot Diaries is still one of my favorite series and I will always pick up more books!

Muderbot continue to be one of my favorite series and Martha Wells does wonderfully in continuing the story of our favorite killer robot. Through this story Muderbot has to deal with an all too human response of trauma. I overall found the plotline to be engaging. IN this book, Wells explores the world in which the series takes place more. Overall I found myself greatly enjoying this new entry to the Murderbot series and greatly recommend fans of the series give it a read. Thanks Netgalley and Tor for my ARC of this book to review. All opinions concerning it are my own.

Murderbot is back! And it's about time. This series has been a runaway success, and I must admit that in my view it's entirely deserved. I've been champing at the bit for a new Murderbot novel since, well, since about a day after the release of the last one. And, well, here it is. Is it any good? Dear reader, the answer is an unmitigated yes. If you're a fan, and up to date with the series: Go out and pick this one up right away. If you're not: Go and read the rest of the series, then go out and pick this one up right away.
Now that that's out of the way.

Murderbot, eh? It's a fantastic protagonist, a fish out of water that isn't entirely sure whether it wants to be in the water or invest in some sort of aquatic environmental suit. Murderbot doesn't know exactly what it is, but it knows it isn't an AI, or a robot, or a human. But it's also determined to be a person, on its own terms, with an ethical framework spun up from first principles, with the help of sci-fi space operas and rather a lot of sarcasm. And it's going well, between ups and downs, corporate takeovers, hostile alien assimilations and the odd drone-battle, Murderbot is figuring itself out. But there's a lot to unpack there - and this is a story about how Murderbot isn't alright, actually, and how that's okay. Because after everything its seen and done, Murderbot is having to handle some fairly impressive trauma...but also keep people alive, and do all kinds of heroics, when it would clearly much rather be watching its shows.

One of the strong points of the series has been the way it delves into emotion, into how and why we feel the way we do. Approaching the idea that it's okay not to be okay, Wells wraps it in a panacea of banter and explosive action, but the raw, emotional honesty of Murderbot remains. It's digging around to figure out what it is, and why it doesn't feel right. And as readers, we can live that struggle, empathise with that pain, cheer on that discovery and, perhaps, recovery. This is a book which talks about isolation, about depression, about identity and that sense of belonging (or not). And it hurts to read and think about and empathise over, but it also feels true.

That said. Don't worry if the above isn't entirely your cup of tea. Because we aren't entirely here to unpick Murderbot's psyche. We're also here to save the world. Well, a world, anyway. Because Murderbot and its friends are currently far out on a limb, trying to dig a colony of hapless people out of the alien-contaminated soup they got themselves into, while fending off the ever helpful efforts of a rapacious interstellar corporation, which isn't entirely above bringing in a squad of bots of its own, to help things go the way it wants. You can always rely on this series to poke fun at corporate culture in service of painting a dystopian corporate future, and it does so with all the grace and lethality of a stiletto between the ribs. The planet itself, the claustrophobic tunnels packed with wary colonists and alien remnants that might be time-bombs, is familiar from earlier in the series, but no less well realised for that; the cramped habitats and dusty, wayward tram tracks into looming darkness remain as ominously mundane as ever. Murderbot's world is a plausible one, a lived in one, one you may see in your minds eye a year or ten from now. A warning to us, and possibly a promise.

As for the story, well. Absolutely stellar. This is a thoughtful, action-packed story about people, and also humans. And it has a heart to it, and an emotional weight and gravitas that you can feel *searing* into you off the back of every page.

And it has the banter you're looking for, maybe. And it has the snark. But it also has points to make about corporations and how we choose to live our lives while we try and make good choices. And about the agency we have to make choices. And it explores consequences and it hurts and it'll jerk tears and pain right out of you by being a story about a sarcastic Murderbot which is also real and raw and true and painful and vulnerable in its honesty.

Another fantastic entry in the series - and thoroughly recommended.

I think this is my favorite Murderbot book so far!

System Collapse is the latest installment of the Murderbot Diaries series - a collection of novellas surrounding a Security Unit augmented human who hacked their governing systems and now relishes his days watching soaps and trashy TV shows (while also going on exploration voyages with scientists and doing his day job). The protagonist, who refers to themselves as Murderbot, has all the qualities of a disgruntled retail employee and all of the coolness of James Bond (if he watched Days of Our Lives).

The story is my favorite so far, with ample action and Wells’ perfect narration style taking center stage. There’s decent character development, due to the struggles Murderbot has with a mysterious glitch in his system. There’s plenty of suspense and humor, all while maintaining a central plot line that is exciting and captivating.

Even if you’re new to Sci-fi, I highly recommend this series: it has all the amazing traits of a good sci-fi story without the burden of length or overwhelming world building. I promise you’ll fall in love with Wells’ sarcasm in Murderbot’s attitude (just like I did) and the characters involved, who are all misfits in their own way.

System Collapse is available wherever books are sold!

Murderbot is right where it doesn’t want to be- on a planet that has a weird alien contamination, dealing with a grabby-hands corporation, and corralling humans. Fun times jumping right back in and reading the next installment in the addicting series.



System Collapse is the seventh installment in The Murderbot Diaries series. The series novellas and books are closely linked so it must be read in order for optimum understanding. No worries, it reads quickly.



The storyline is tightly connected to, Network Effect, the fifth book in the series as a continuation so it opens to a scene not days later from the conclusion of that book. Murderbot is physically recovered from that adventure and is now planet side once again acting as security for one group of the combined Preservation and University of Mihira-New Tideland team who are trying to help the colonists repair their broken or outdated equipment and, most of all, keep them from getting carted off as slave labor by the also present Barish-Estranza corporation.



Murderbot is not up to hundred percent, though. He’s experiencing the fallout from what happened to him. Even if he wasn’t needed out in the field to protect the humans with the assistance of one of ART’s bots, he has no plans to undergo a trauma treatment because that’s for humans, right? But, he’s struggling to keep it together and ART and the humans know it. It was interesting seeing him have to handle this aspect of being a bot-human construct who doesn’t like his human parts like this weird emotional weakness that is interfering with his functionality.



System Collapse is introspective through the first half and takes the time to build the pace and tension steadily to a big, satisfying climax of action. I enjoy Murderbot, or SecUnit as the others call it, as the central figure, but the surrounding cast of recurring characters are pretty sensational, too. I was glad my favorite ART was right in the thick of it. ART is the university’s powerful ship bot and SecUnit’s “don’t-call-it-friendship-grrr-or-relationship-ewww” who transferred part of himself into one of its away bots is there giving orders and niggling SecUnit. The lone Preservation member on the team is faithful Ratthi who is a trouble magnet that SecUnit is determined to keep safe. And, a new pair who SecUnit is still warming to (and it takes a long time to warm to new humans if it ever does) are ART’s university humans, Iris, who is team leader and Tarek a specialist with a surprising past.



Side note, there is a romantic skirmish for a brief moment involving Ratthi and someone that was amusing because of how riled easygoing Ratthi got.



The twists and turns building in the action to a stellar finish were all I could have wanted. Some good surprises mixed in there. Things ended at a good place to lead forward to more adventures in the series. If you’re a futuristic sci-fi fan who is open to a bot construct as the lead character, you really must read this series.

I received a copy of this book for review from NetGalley. I know Murderbot doesn't like to be touched, but I rather badly want to give it a hug. It has been through a lot in this series, and it's organic meaty bits have finally rebelled against all of this trauma. It needs a hug and a binge- watch of Sanctuary Moon; what it gets is saving humans from each other and some bad things, facing fears, and feeling An Emotion. (Ew.) I could not put this book down, and my love for this android grows with every book.

Murderbot is back! Again!

Last time we saw it, publishing-order-wise, was actually a larger step back in time. Fugitive Telemetry took place in between Exit Strategy (book 4) and Network Effect (book 5). Now Martha Wells is following up the plot events from Network Effect with System Collapse, with Murderbot still dealing with the alien contamination that nearly wiped out a corporate colony.

At the outset of System Collapse, Murderbot is definitively not having a good time. Something redacted happened to it, and it is not about to talk to anyone about it. Not its humans, not ART (Asshole Research Transport) or ART’s humans, and not Three, the new rogue SecUnit that’s following in its footsteps toward independence. The struggle against the contaminated humans and the malicious code that infected them has left a mark on Murderbot. To make things worse, that fight may not yet be over. A hidden colony on the same planet has been located, and there’s a possibility that the same alien contamination might have infected it. Murderbot’s humans have decided that they need to investigate, since attempts to contact the colony have gone unanswered.

A rival corporation, Barish-Estranza, already has designs on the planet, regardless of any contamination that may be in place, and finding a group of colonists that they could force into indentured servitude would be icing on the cake. It’s up to Murderbot to find the colonists (if they’re alive) and get them off-world before that can happen. Its performance levels are not anywhere near its standards, and it knows it, but redacted continues to get in the way of it doings its job properly, to the potential risk of its humans. Resources are limited (no armor, less than half of its usual complement of support drones, and no direct communication with ART’s full set of sensors) and its own growing paranoia may just get the better of our favorite rogue SecUnit.

Martha Wells is one of my all-time favorite science fiction writers, and the Murderbot Diaries remain one of the best modern series in the genre. System Collapse is a tight, intense narrative that reminds us just why we love to follow Murderbot’s internal monologue, and why we’ve done so for seven books now. It’s full of corporate criticism and mental health crises, and I absolutely loved it. It’s out in the world today, and I’m incredibly grateful to Tor.com and NetGalley for the eARC in exchange for a fair review.

This review originally appeared here: https://swordsoftheancients.com/2023/11/14/system-collapse-a-review/

Murderbot, my beloved!

This next installment lives up to the rest of the series and it was so much fun to see Murderbot and ART interact with each other and their humans some more. The dynamic between Iris and Murderbot was fun to watch because Murderbot is aware of how special she is to ART and so it takes that in to consideration. I love found family and I love the like frustrated affection Murderbot has when it realizes that it has so many more humans to protect.

I look forward to reading wherever their next adventure goes!

Thank you to NetGalley and Tor for making this available in exchange for an honest review!

What a sweet little SecUnit, dealing with trauma while still having to be in charge of keeping humans safe. System Collapse, while tense, is not as action-packed as other Murderbot books, which is both great and not as exciting. This story also combines a couple crews, which had me confused at first.

Overall, a fun continuation of the Murderbot series, but not the most action-filled installment. It has its own uniqueness in how problems are solved, which makes for a still-interesting story!

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor for the e-ARC.

The Murderbot Diaries have rocketed Martha Wells to genre stardom, and it’s easy to see why. They’re fast-paced and fun, with a part-mechanical, part-organic construct—the titular Murderbot—whose social anxiety sets the stage for some heartwarming character growth and whose facility with weapons and desire to save humans from mortal peril provide a healthy dollop of plot-related tension. After enjoying the first five novellas and single novel, there wasn’t a question of whether I would pick up System Collapse, the only question was when. 

Though seventh in publication order, System Collapse picks up directly after the events of the fifth book, Network Effect. A 3.5-year publication gap can make it hard to remember some of the background details, but the narrative gives enough clues to help a forgetful reader infer from context. But Murderbot and friends are in a scrape, as always. The difference is that in this case, Murderbot is sufficiently traumatized from its last adventure that it spends the opening chapters redacting references to the whole episode. 

Though System Collapse is the second full novel in the series, it’s significantly shorter than Network Effect, and it’s structured more like an extended version of the novellas than like the previous novel. It opens with exploration of an uncertain situation, introduces Murderbot to unfamiliar bots and humans, and ends with a big action sequence in which Murderbot must save the day. 

It’s a good formula that has worked well so far. I find that the character moments are usually better than the action sequences, but the stories are compact enough that the latter never overstay their welcome. While System Collapse generally sticks to this structure, Murderbot’s PTSD forces a more internal focus, with relatively less interaction with others. This change is something of a mixed blessing, as Murderbot’s attempts to work through trauma provide some of the most compelling aspects of the novel, but at the expense of the character interactions which had truly been the highlight of the series. 

The result is an entertaining and bingeable book, but one that doesn’t reach the lofty heights of the previous novel. Murderbot’s own progression makes for a compelling read that fits very well with the established character, and the interpersonal midway climax is exceptional. But the action-packed finale isn’t quite at the same level as what comes before, and some of the interpersonal energy from previous books is missing here. It’s a really good read that will doubtless please series fans, but at the same time, it’s not Network Effect. 

Recommended if you like: Murderbot, mental health focus.

Overall rating: 16 of Tar Vol’s 20. Four stars on Goodreads.

I absolutely love this series, and the latest installment did not disappoint. I did wait to read it until I could get my hands on the audiobook since I absolutely love the reader for this series. I think the books are great on their own, but Kevin R. Free just brings Murderbot to life.
I would not describe myself as a fan of Science Fiction, and I often recommend these to readers looking for something different. While the main character is not exactly a person, these books are definitely about what makes us human. I love them!