Anna's Reviews > System Collapse

Thank you to Tor Publishing Group and NetGalley for providing me with a digital copy of "System Collapse" by Martha Wells in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I am an huge fan of the Martha Wells and the Murderbot series. Even so, when this story opened RIGHT where Network Effect left off, I found I needed a refresher. So I reread Network Effect and settled back in for another wild ride. I was NOT disappointed.

When last we saw Murderbot and friends, they were on the surface of a planet, having just defeated the effects of alien contamination on the local inhabitants. Now, they are confronted with a new threat: an evil corporation wants to indenture the survivors and press them into working their corporate mines.

Murderbot's ship friend ART (aka Perihelion) and its crew specialize in disrupting these kinds of corporate machinations, but their attempts to do so this time are complicated by the existence of a second, disconnected group of settlers living in the north. This group has been out of contact via standard communications for decades, so Murderbot and crew head north, hoping to 1) determine whether this group still exists and 2) if they do exist, convince them NOT to join up with the evil corporation.

To make things more dicey, Murderbot is suffering from *redacted.* (It's a legit spoiler, but Murderbot keeps redacting the story until it feels ready to share that part with us.) The effects of this *redacted* is that it no longer trusts in its abilities and fears whether it can do the job it needs to do. In terms of character development, I love this because it layers even more complexity into a fascinating character. It sucks for Murderbot, but it really further blurs the definition of "what" Murderbot is. It's not human, but it's not fully machine either. Murderbot's been grappling with having FEELINGS since the start of the series, but now it has to contend with *redacted* too.

This story also amplifies the effect that Murderbot has on the greater universe. Those ripples started early in the series, but certain actions in Network Effect and System Collapse should have significant consequences down the line. I CANNOT WAIT.

In short, as usual, I really enjoyed this story from Martha Wells. It has a little less snark and a bit more angst than previous installments but I see this character development as a real bonus. Readers can still expect the kind of heart-pounding action scenes that they are accustomed to, but the focus has shifted a smidge.

I fully recommend this for fans of the series, but for new folks, I do NOT recommend starting here. This story does NOT work as a stand-alone.