Network Effect

Being a novel, this has a story of some length and complexity, more ambitious than the novellas in the same series. New characters of various kinds are introduced, in addition to the characters we already know; and Murderbot's relationship with ART is pursued and explored in more depth.If you like to be kept on the edge of your seat throughout a novel, with constant crises and action, then this is a book for you. The story is not boring.It sometimes reminds me of novels by other writers. The alien remnants and their effects remind me of [b:A Fire Upon the Deep 77711 A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1) Vernor Vinge https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1728332458l/77711.SY75.jpg 1253374], and some of the software details remind me of [b:ME 421800 ME Thomas T. Thomas https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1330101028l/421800.SY75.jpg 410918].I'm a bit uneasy about the alien remnants because they operate by science-that-we-don't-understand, which is not far removed from magic. I have no objection to fantasy stories, but fantasy tends to feel out of place in an sf story. However, after some dithering I've decided to give this one 5 stars. There's a lot packed into it: plenty of value for money.