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Jonathan O'Neill's Reviews > System Collapse
System Collapse (The Murderbot Diaries, #7)
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3.5 ⭐
Well, the good news is, this is book 7 in the series so if you’re considering reading this, you’re already firmly in the “Martha Wells, for the love of God, take my money!!” camp and don’t require any further convincing. Equally (and this is the only other scenario in which I can imagine someone reading a review for a 7th book in a series), if you’ve just read the first or second book and were checking to see if it gets any “better” later on, then you can stop wondering because you can expect much of the same in each instalment of the series with very little change other than some slow but steady main character development. And to be fair, while I would make a few personal preference changes, it’s clearly a winning formula and, as they say: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Having said all that, this has been my least favourite novel/la of the current heptalogy. For a book of a little under 250 pages, you really can’t be spending 180 of those slowly unravelling a, for the most part, stiff and unalluring mystery whilst vaguely alluding to a personal issue that the main character is experiencing. I don’t know, it wasn’t all that interesting to me. Wells has done the same job many times over, with much more success and in 100 fewer pages. What saved it from sinking into an abyss of dullness for me was the always nourishing companionship between M’bot and ART and a good showing from ART crew’s Iris who essentially played the Mensah role in this one.
***REDACTED***
Forget all that. I’d still sign up as a corporation slave just to get my hands on the next instalment!
Having said all that, this has been my least favourite novel/la of the current heptalogy. For a book of a little under 250 pages, you really can’t be spending 180 of those slowly unravelling a, for the most part, stiff and unalluring mystery whilst vaguely alluding to a personal issue that the main character is experiencing. I don’t know, it wasn’t all that interesting to me. Wells has done the same job many times over, with much more success and in 100 fewer pages. What saved it from sinking into an abyss of dullness for me was the always nourishing companionship between M’bot and ART and a good showing from ART crew’s Iris who essentially played the Mensah role in this one.
***REDACTED***
Forget all that. I’d still sign up as a corporation slave just to get my hands on the next instalment!
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Reading Progress
January 18, 2024
–
Started Reading
January 18, 2024
– Shelved
January 22, 2024
–
42.97%
"So far the colonists hadn't said anything about dangerous flora or fauna. Which meant I assumed there was some because humans have a bad habit of assuming that if they know a thing, all the other humans in the vicinity know it, too. Either that or they believe none of the other humans know anything that they don't know. It's either one or the other and both are potentially catastrophic and really fucking annoying."
page
110
January 25, 2024
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-28 of 28 (28 new)
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Mark
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Jan 25, 2024 02:38AM
Brilliant review - nonreview - redacted review or whatever Jonno. Love it!
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Mark wrote: "Brilliant review - nonreview - redacted review or whatever Jonno. Love it!"Thank you kindly, Emperor Markus! :)
Rebecca wrote: "Haha great review Jon 😂💖"Thanks, 'becca! :)
Elentarri wrote: "😂🌸"🙃😁 I've seen a few people now, including yourself El, who feel similarly about this one! Oh well, on to the next! 😂
Glad that you have kept going, mate!
Thanks, H! They're short and enjoyable enough that one could go on collecting them ad infinitum. I do wish that there was a more specific, large scale overarching story though. It's a very episodic series. :)
I am sensing (hoping?) that there is a bigger adventure in the future….one that brings down the whole corporate conspiracy
Haha, what a review! How did you survive Nataliya's wrath with this rating? 😂
HBalikov wrote: "I am sensing (hoping?) that there is a bigger adventure in the future….one that brings down the whole corporate conspiracy"🤞 We can only hope, my friend! :)
Marquise wrote: "Haha, what a review! How did you survive Nataliya's wrath with this rating? 😂"Thanks, M!
Whether or not I have indeed escaped said wrath is yet to be seen! 😁 But I'm supposed to be starting a buddy read with her and others tomorrow and my risk assessment module estimates a 77% chance of being uninvited! 😆
I'm with the redaction
I take it you've read and enjoyed, Claudia? 😁
Hehe, love the *redacted* review! You are right — it’s a bit of a formula now and I’m among those dearly hoping Wells won’t change age what isn’t broken because death, taxes and my periodic Murderbot fix are the certainties in life. But if you ever revisit it (like, if your future corporate slave indenture for getting to the next book leaves you with any free time at all) try the audio and you may up it to 4 stars 😅
Lol. Thanks, Nat!I'd be keen for the audiobooks actually and I know you love them. I might knock 'em all down before the next book comes out. I'll start getting them with my free audible credits now. I had some building up and was wondering what to get! 😂
Ooh, regular or dramatised?
There’s a dramatized version??? I’ve only listened to regular ones narrated by Kevin R. Free and to me he’s the perfect Murderbot. That’s the worry I have about the new series with Skarsgård — there will be no voice that to me is *the* voice of Bot 😱
There is the GraphicAudio version. Their by-line is "a movie in your mind". It comes with sound effects and each character has their own narrator. I prefer these to the Kevin R. Free narrations.
Yeah, there is Nat! You'll have to listen to them all again now! 😆Thanks for that, El! I just double-checked and the ones that I saw on audible were indeed the graphicaudio versions!! So I can get them through that which surprises me 'cos I tried to get Sanderson's Stormlight series' graphic audios a little while back and realised they were a seperate thing from audible. They must offer a small selection for audible customers. 🤷 I'm gonna snatch up the first few now! :)
FYI - The GraphicAudio version of System Collapse will be released at the beginning of March.
I think you might be channeling Orwell here with this one, Jonathan!
I actually enjoyed this one more than #6. No one will ever convince me that MurderBot and ART’s actual voices are not used in the audiobook.
Bring on #8
*tosses my money in Martha Well’s direction*
😁 Are you referring to my self-censoring redaction, Julie? We can't be too careful; Big Brother is always watching!
Tracey, I wasn't overly impressed with that one either but I loved Network Effect, I think that one is my favourite so far.Is this the dramatised audio that you're referring to? Because Nataliya (above) says she can't hear Murderbot as anyone but Kevin R. Free from the standard audiobook so this might be a common theme in that the first person you hear him voiced by is your murderbot voice forever more! 😄
I felt the same with this one. I was very bummed about it actually. Fun review though!
Sherry wrote: "I felt the same with this one. I was very bummed about it actually. Fun review though!"Thanks, Sherry! Fingers crossed the next one hits all the right notes for both of us! :)
