System Collapse

Hm. Vreemd. Ik heb een vorig boek van de Murderbot-reeks omschreven als een seizoen van een tv-reeks. Dit was één aflevering van een tv-reeks.

Dit is het hele plot van het boek:

• Murderbot en companen zijn op een planeet

• Er is een kolonie op de planeet maar ze is geïnfecteerd door een oud alien virus (verder niet relevant)

• Er blijkt een tweede kolonie te zijn die afgesplitst is van de eerste

• Ze gaan naar die tweede kolonie, weten eerst niet of er wel mensen zijn

• Blijkt dat er mensen zijn en dat slechteriken die ze als quasi-dwangarbeiders willen inlijven, er ook zijn

• Onze vrienden bedenken een manier om de kolonisten van hun gelijk te overtuigen

• Er is een kort gevecht met de slechteriken

• Einde.

Ja, dat is het zo ongeveer.

Nee, dat is niet voldoende voor mij.

Er is iets traumatisch met Murderbot aan de hand. Murderbot is niet uniek, er zijn stapels robots en anderen die bewustzijn hebben en in slavernij gehouden worden. Er moeten ergens nog levende aliens zijn. Er moet meer aan de hand zijn met de megacorporaties in de Corporate Rim.

Hup hup Martha Wells, doe dáár iets mee.

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 🤖💜

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.This novel 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 operating at peak efficiency.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.

I am such a fan of this series, and it's 7 books deep - anyone else that wants to read this book is probably in the same shoes. If you've got this on your radar/tbr just go ahead and read it.

This picks up right after Network Effect. I mean RIGHT AFTER Network Effect. It took me a second to orient myself, and I think anyone that read Fugitive Telemetry during the gap in publishing should probably scan over a recap before jumping in.

This is probably the most “inward” the narrative has gotten so far, as Murderbot deals with the aftermath of redacted events in the last novel. Bot has added a fresh helping of trauma to their already traumatic existence-that's it, that's all i'm going to say about the plot of this novel.

Murderbot is changing, both the character and the series as a whole. Prior to NE the series had been a collection of action-packed survival-based romps across the corporation rim, but in these last few releases the focus of the narrative has shifted inwards. I thought NE was a touchstone for the series; it ushered in the next phase of the story now that Murderbot has so many human friends that it has to classify them by group. It seems to me that Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs also must apply to bot-human constructs because now that ‘Bot's physiological and safety needs have been met the story is moving its focus further up the pyramid.

I've always been a fan of the human exploration elements of this series, and I am really happy with the direction that Martha Wells is taking this project. That isn't to say I want less dry wit and explosive action scenes, it's just that the most interesting aspects of Murderbot the character are the things that it doesn't want to talk about. Watching this character change as the series progresses is gratifying, and I wager that further entries in this series are going to expand on the exploration of the “human” aspects of Murderbot's physiology and psychology.

TL;DR: Another solid entry in the series, progressing the narrative in all the ways you want it to. Minus 1 star for a confusing beginning.

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.

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.

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.

TL;DR

Another great entry in the series, this is a right after Network Effect and the story is not as interesting as that one but still okay. Love ART's crew, we get more development from them and they're great. Also this entry solved some of my gripes from every entry, the unnecessary cursing and the constant reference to Murderbot's stupid media series.

My Scoring System

I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:

✓ - Main Story: ART's and Murderbot's crew team up to try and save the colonist of the planet, it's not as interesting as it sounds. I still prefer when Murderbot was alone in a cave mine roleplaying as a security consultant and trying to do something he wanted while helping out random humans along the way. I feel that's when Murderbot shines, him being on a full team doesn't work because he just doesn't open to them and it's always distant.

X - Side Stories (if it applies):

✓ - Characters: I really liked ART's crew and the we still have some of the good ones from Murderbot's crew aswell. Still ART was by far the most interesting one.

X - Setting/Ambiance: Still on alien contaminated planet, a bit more interesting than the space stations but not that much since the alien contamination is not present at all.

X - Ending: Just like most entries the ending is not bad but also not super memorable. Just an okay ending.

Extensive Review

Not much to say, another great entry and I'm glad that the cursing and mentioning of the series is tone down where it didn't bother me at all. That's a step in the right direction in my opinion. The only negative I have is yet another mention of some stupid pronoun that makes no sense and serves no purpose but to just make the reading more confusing. There's this character named Corian and instead of using the only two ways to refer to a person (he/she) the pronoun is "vi" so then you get stupid sentences like this:

Vi dropped to the floor and curled vir legs up

Or

Vi patted vir chest

Aside from that atrocity there's nothing bad about this book, I had a good time reading it.

Didn't get moving really until mid-way thru and I'm seriously confused about which characters are which? There are several I have no memory of even those I've read all the previous books. It'd be nice if she had a prologue giving a summary of people and goings-on from the prior chapters/novellas in every novella.

Rather than reading all prior books multiple times, I'm going to way for the next 2-3 novellas to come out, which is years down the road.

System Collapse is the latest installment of the Murderbot Diaries. If you are a fan of Murderbot, this installment doesn't disappoint. The story seems to pick up pretty close to the end of the last book (on the same planet with the same general cast of characters). I think I lost a few beats because I didn't re-read or refresh myself on the series at all, but luckily there were enough reminders sprinkled through the text of what had happened before that I could keep up without too much trouble. Both of the plot lines (the action on the ground as well as the action in Murderbot's mind) were on point.

If you're not a fan of Murderbot - why not?!? Seriously, if you're not sure what to read next, give it a try. You do need to start at the beginning, but the first four books are novellas so not a huge time investment. Also, apparently Murderbot has been picked up as a series by Apple TV. I love Murderbot so much that the idea of a TV show gives me joy/dread - as in, I hope the TV adaptation is worthy of the books - but it will be hard.

I'm just so happy to have another Murderbot story! The themes of dealing or not dealing with trauma, and how you communicate, especially with strangers, especially in fraught situations. 🤌🏻 Wells consistently gives this series emotion, action and character moments you can identify with. While this particular plot relies on Murderbot feeling off its game, the reader can still rely on ART's snark to reign supreme and occasionally break the tension. There's officially been enough time since my initial  marathon run through the series in the last couple years that the list of characters referenced had me blanking on some backstories. Time to go back and reread the series, and build myself a character map!