System Collapse

Slow start, confusing, jumps around, also, still a bit short. Overall, still a good Murderbot read, though I'd suggest handing it off to some junior writers, so we can get more Murderbot, faster, and likely better.

I was already pretty sure I was over this series, but it's been two years and they're short so I gave it a chance. Alas, I just didn't really care about anybody or anything in this novella. It might have been good, but 7 books into a series I want some sort of forward momentum or characters to care about besides a sassy AI-bot and I have never gotten that. But it's good to know for sure that this series is not really my thing any longer.

A solid entry in the Murderbot series. Feels a bit like a bridging story between the previous book and whatever comes next, but its always good to spend some time with everyone's favourite killing machine (reformed).

The first novel in this series was really good, and I was looking forward to the second. After reading it, I'm a little disappointed. Not very disappointed, because it's not a bad book; but it's definitely not as good as [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg 63614271]. It feels like a filler: the sort of effect you sometimes get in the second volume of a trilogy, when the author is dealing with necessary things that have to happen between the more exciting first and last volumes.Furthermore, it's a short novel: just over half the size of [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg 63614271]. Only 22% longer than the longest novella in my collection.The story follows on soon after the events of [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg 63614271], and there is clearly at least one more novel planned to follow after this one. Do not try to read this one as a standalone novel, the author makes no provision for that, and doesn't even provide a summary of preceding events. Before reading this novel, you should at least have read [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg 63614271], and preferably the preceding novellas too—although [b:Fugitive Telemetry 53205854 Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589475583l/53205854.SY75.jpg 80438420] is optional, it's worth reading but not really an essential part of the series.So, what didn't I like about this one?1. There's less humour in it than usual. I enjoy and value the humorous side of Murderbot, and it's not entirely absent here, but it appears more rarely.2. For a long time in this story, not a lot happens. When something starts happening at last, it's rather muddled, the situation is confused, and Murderbot and ART both have trouble in dealing with the confusion. Murderbot is also trying to cope with its own mental trauma left over from the events of [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg 63614271], so it's not at its best.3. By now there are quite a lot of human characters in the series. Some of them are in action here, some are not, but there is little character development, their personalities are not much on display. The series as a whole is weak on human characterization, perhaps because they're all seen from Murderbot's point of view. By now I'm familiar with the Preservation team who have been there from the beginning, and they have distinct personalities; but unfortunately they now seem to be sliding into the background and being replaced by ART's crew members (introduced in [b:Network Effect 52381770 Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg 63614271]), most of whom remain just names to me.

System Collapse is the direct sequel to Network Effect (Book 5), therefore, it is highly recommended to review it prior to diving into this one. There is no introductory summary, and initially there are characters aplenty that would make you feel confused if you've totally forgotten the previous story.

Murderbot is having more feels, even if it doesn't like it. It continues bonding with more humans, and consuming digital media on the side to help it cope with everything going on. We still see it analyzing and overcoming the many situations it gets into (or rather dragged into by its humans), but it is struggling as it bears the weight of the recent events.

This new story has a more introspect and trauma-overcoming tone compared to Fugitive Telemetry's murder mystery and the action-focused Network Effect, but the action scenes are still there and still great.

The series has been really relatable to me so far, and this is no exception. I continuously see glimpses of my own experiences and inner monologues in Murderbot. This one went a bit deeper though. I also have a diary where I've redacted a traumatic event that I tend to not think or talk about, and I had to learn how to process it. I don't blame Murderbot for not knowing how to process things; I'm human and I don't know how to process 90% of my emotions (yeah, I just had my performance reliability drop by 4 points). This read left me feeling emotions so I'm going to the couch to process them in private.

I'm really glad to have given the whole series a read over the last couple of months 🤖💜

System Collapse
Martha Wells

CAWPILE SCORE
C-7
A-6
W-8
P-7
I-7
L-8
E-9
TOTAL-7.43/10

CAWPILECharactersMurderbot feels surprisingly more human in this installment of the Murderbot diaries. The other characters don't feel stagnant, but not a lot of growth from them. I like that everybody is covering for Murderbot all the time. Murderbot deciding to go into therapy at the end. Foreshadowing Murderbot helping other secunits in the future.AtmosphereThe atmosphere was a little unique in that we were dealing with a Pre CR installation but I didn't feel enough was given in the writing to make it stand out more to me. WritingThis book felt like I was reading murderbot's actual diaries vs just a story like the previous ones. Small personal issue with “scene transitions” between past and present. Maybe it needed another linebreak, maybe something else. Maybe I'm bad at reading. It made it feel more real where sometimes things feel like that but just didn't 100% click in the reading for me.PlotGood plot, mostly dealing with the fallout of the last book while delving into a little bit of secret pre CR stuff.InvestmentIts Murderbot so of course I was invested in reading it. Couldn't put it down.LogicGood logic.EnjoymentI so enjoyed this book. ART: I don't hate anything. I'm discerning in my company. Passive-aggressive competition to see who could use the most annoyingly correct comm protocol. 4.7 seconds vs 4.732 secondsAdaCol2 : clock set MarkMurderbot giving the Sec-Units the ability to hack their own governing modulesArgucusssionsART doesn't enjoy threatening people, it enjoys getting its own way and threatening people is just one of them.MiscART is capable of doing its finances, but it ends up with numbers no one can trace. So they have to keep a hardcopy off network.

3.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Murderbot and her crew continue to explore a world affected by alien contamination - racing against a corporation to contact a group long separated from the rest.

Review
I've said repeatedly that Tor and Wells erred in making this a serial, episodic novel rather than a standard big book or series of novels. It's uneven, with occasional stronger, longer pieces bolstering shorter, more muddled episodes. The main story is hard to keep track of; I read the last iteration just two years ago, and struggled for most of this book to join the pieces up. And because Murderbot, while engaging, does similar things each time and has pretty much the same sardonic attitude throughout, it's hard to tell the episodes apart.

Here, Wells, lays down some markers for Murderbot's character development, but presents them in such a muddled form – first redacted, then, halfway through the book, spelled out explicitly – that it's hard to do much with them. They are also, clearly, just markers – promises that, we'll see Murderbot evolve; but not now. Maybe next time.

In a series of peaks and valleys, I'm afraid this is one of the valleys. At this rate, I fear I could see the Murderbot Diaries go on and on and on – the same basic plot and tone repeated in every episode. Wells is a very talented writer, and Murderbot is a great character, but this episodic approach is not serving either of them well.

Whether you're new to Murderbot or a fan, I strongly recommend reading at least a couple of these books at a time – as if they were a larger book. I think you'll get much more out of the story that way than in these brief installments.

I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review.

Barish-Estranza corporation has set its sights on a planet where colonization didn’t go as planned. Their plan is to persuade the colony to join work camps under the false belief of a better life. But Murderbot, ART, and crew hope to find the colonists and prevent them from signing their lives away. When Barish-Estranza realizes the team's intentions, they pull every underhanded tactic to claim the colonists. Willing or not.

I absolutely enjoyed the portrayal of how stress eats away at someone’s primary functions until they’re allowed to relax and take a break. With the stress of an entire colony’s hope hovering over the team, Murderbot worked quickly, pulling in all team members to create a solution. And as time ticked by, the stress levels increased. When they finished their best efforts, Murderbot was exhausted and ready for a reboot.

Martha Wells has an amazing way of showing readers the complexities of human emotions through the eyes of Murderbot. As Murderbot struggles to come to terms with past trauma, its input and performance rating dwindle. Second guessing itself, and making mistakes, all of this takes place as Murderbot begins to realize what is affecting its actions. But knowing the cause (emotions, ick!) and working through those pesky emotions, are two entirely different things.

There is a well-established balance between viewing Murderbot’s internal struggles and the outside forces working against the team. Action and emotion combined to create an engaging story. System Collapse was another phenomenal addition to the Murderbot Diaries. With each new book, Murderbot’s awareness and understanding increases. And each story shows readers a bit more of the world and how the corporations work within it.