Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells - Book Review #264

Third in the Murderbot series.

Honestly, I found this book incredibly dull. I had put it down for over a week then, after picking it up again, nearly gave up on it.

All the charm of the previous book was gone and I was left with too many fighting action scenes which felt like they were only there to increase the word count.

I even forgot what the Murderbot was doing.  When the plot finally showed itself again it was in the dénouement and I was thankful for it.

Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - Book Review #262

This is the second book in the Murderbot series and it was a lot of fun.

Our “free,” rogue Murderbot goes back to where it all went wrong.

In this book we explore his ability to move about in free society, keeping to the shadows, and to learn how he came to hack his own governor module and how he became involved in the massacre that has haunted him throughout the last book.

I keep imagining Peter Weller in Robocop.  Our guy is messed up, self-aware, childlike and dangerous as hell.

To investigate his past, he boards a cargo/research ship that is about to depart without a crew.  AI’s are so advanced that, when the ship is not being used by its human crew, it goes off on routine cargo runs to generate revenue.  The AI of this ship is well tuned to interacting with humans and it allows Murderbot aboard so it could have somebody to talk to.

Their interactions are what makes this book work for me.

Lots of fun here.

Martha Wells' website - https://www.marthawells.com/

Martha Wells

All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells - Book Review #244

Remember Peter Weller in Robocop?  Part man, part machine?

Murderbot is a bit like that; the central core of the "product" is biological, a cloned human being, but with only rudimentary free will - he can make decisions within a task but cannot decide between tasks.  Unless he has managed to hack into and subvert his governor module.

This is the big secret, he may be a security unit, known as a SecUnit, assigned to a small team of planetary explorers but he is not under their complete control.

The drama gets rolling when it is discovered that another nearby base has lost communications.  The team goes to investigate.

The story is narrated by Murderbot himself.  I’ve got to admit “Murderbot” is a pretty compelling name and I wanted to know why he called himself that. Only glimpses of his past are revealed.

Martha Wells has done a nice job of delivering a tense thriller and gave the protagonist unexpected depth.  The story is layered and I was happy to be introduced to the larger universe this one story occupies.  This is a perfect way to dive into a Space Opera; start with a small group of characters in a small place, in this case a far off planet, and then return them to their homes and you get a natural way to introduce the reader to a larger world.

I am certainly looking forward to reading the second instalment. 

Martha Wells' website - http://www.marthawells.com/

Martha Wells