Martha Wells: Network Effect (2020)
350 pages
English language
Published Aug. 19, 2020
WINNER of the 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards!
The first full-length novel in Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot Diaries series.
An Amazon's Best of the Year So Far Pick
Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Book Riot | Polygon
"I caught myself rereading my favorite parts... and I can’t recommend it enough." ― New York Times
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 …
WINNER of the 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards!
The first full-length novel in Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot Diaries series.
An Amazon's Best of the Year So Far Pick
Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Book Riot | Polygon
"I caught myself rereading my favorite parts... and I can’t recommend it enough." ― New York Times
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.
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.
Murderbot continues to be a delight. And an old friend comes back.
