A USA Today bestseller The “I love Murderbot!” –Ann Leckie Artificial Condition is the follow-up to Martha Wells’s Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award-winning, New York Times bestselling All Systems Red It has a dark past–one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, … it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.
Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.
What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Murderbot has a checkered past. The humans to whom it was contracted claimed he was a rogue who had participated in the slaughter of humans. Its memory is sketchy about the events of that day, and it has questions that need to be answered. It needs to return to the scene of the crime and enlists the help of ART, a research transport who appears to be bored and is willing to help Murderbot find the answers it needs. What it finds out is disturbing.
This is the second book in Wells’ Murderbot Diaries series. While you need not have read the first book in the series, you might want to anyway in order to understand what Murderbot was and how it got to where it is when this book opens.
This is a well-written book with interesting characters, a strong storyline, and outstanding world building. While it drags a little in the middle, it will undoubtedly capture your imagination and leave you wonderinf what will happen with Murderbot in the third entry in the series.
My thanks to Tor for an eARC.
The second Murderbot Diaries story, Artificial Condition, took a little time to take off, since Murderbot and the AI transport pilot he calls ART (Asshole Research Transport) spent quite a bit of time getting to know and trust each other. When they reach the mining facility where it hopes to discover the circumstances of the killing of a number of humans and the partial wiping of its memory, Murderbot takes on a security job on the advice of ART so it can get access to the moon where the incident happened. Murderbot finds its answers, but they’re not what it expected and then the security job ends up being much more hands on than it anticipated, but with the help of ART, Murderbot protects the humans under its care, in its own unique way. There will be more discoveries and adventures for this construct that surprises and delights in so many ways as it learns to navigate the world of freedom that it has never known before, managing to somehow make new friends along the way, whether it wants them or not.
This is novella two in the Muderbot Diaries. I enjoyed it just as much as the first novella. Once again, the strength of the story comes from the characterizations of non-humans. The story itself, almost feels like a side question. After the events of the first book, Muderbot wants to return to the scene of a human massacre that it may have played a role in. However, in order to gain access to the surface, Murderbot signs on with a group that has their own challenges and conflict. In it’s introverted manner, it can’t help but feel sorry and responsible for a fairly pitiful group of humans that are in a nearly no-win situation.
My favorite part of this story is the introduction of ART, a sentient transport bot, built to pilot and control a space transport ship. While it’s vast intelligence initially scares Murderbot, the two quickly fall into together. ART reminds me a bit of Marvin, the manically depressed robot in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. However, ART is less depressed, but just as bored as Marvin. There is no doubt that the charm of this entire series is the humanization of non-humans in the form (so far) of Murderbot and ART. It’s their unusual character traits (introverted, jaded, and loads of snark) that make the series so fun.
It’s a complete story and does tie-in to the first story in several ways, even if it feels like a side-quest. I sure hope we see more of ART in next few novellas! Another entertaining and fun novella with characters that are more human than humans! Another four and half stars for book two of the Murderbot Diaries.
Love Murderbot and his new friend, ART (Asshole Research Transport)!
A rogue security robot named Murderbot searches for answers to its forgotten past. (A memory purge left a lot of missing bits.) The parts Murderbot knows:
A lot of people wound up dead.
Murderbot was at fault.
Murderbot begins the hunt by going to the last location stored in memory, where the slaughter happened. Murderbot hops on a transport piloted by a bored AI. A bored, nosy AI that won’t leave Murderbot alone. So Murderbot names it ART (Asshole Robot Transport).
Tell you what, I’ll stop there. Just read the book for yourself. You’ll thank me later.
Looking forward to read the next Murderbot tale.
Absolute yes on whether you should read this series! Buy the hard covers to lend out as well because you want this in your arsenal of great recommendations!
A security bot that is self aware and thinks of itself as Murderbot is a brilliant twist. He’s snarky and funny and droll, just the way I like my heroes. I highly recommend this book.
Can you have too much Murderbot? What a ridiculous question! Of course you can’t! Any Murderbot is too little Murderbot, and I guarantee that when you finish this one, you’ll agree and immediately run to get your hands on the third.
Another great installment in the series. I particularly love the first person voice of the main character.
Another “Murderbot” tale, and the protagonist keeps looking into its own background, trying to figure out what happened in its past. Great characters, lots of action.
An AI android called Murderbot, part human, mostly mechanical, created to provide security and to protect its human clients hacks its governor module and is now free to do as it pleases. It could kill and kill and kill but instead choses to watch SF series dowloaded from a future-like Netflix. It’s so much easier and less messy to watch soap operas than to kill humans. Besides, Free Will seeks the path of least resistance and the most fun. Of course, this is the real world, and humans keep intruding on the streaming.
The genius of this novella is its written in the first person narrative from the Murderbot’s point of view. This provides a birds eye view of the Murderbot’s opinion of humans and its interaction with them from its point of view. Murderbot is a bit lazy, barely does its job, is bored silly, and would rather watch re-runs than be in the presence of humans. That is, until someone starts killing them. Now it’s personal . . . and it is a Murderbot.
Lots of fun. You can read it in one or two sittings, then more on to the next one. There are four novellas.
The entire Murderbot Diaries series of novelettes is great. The stories move right along and the main protagonist is great as a cyberbeing trying to understand and cope with humanity.
The second Murderbot Diaries book wasn’t as action packed as the first. The Murderbot was trying to solve the great mystery of its past, and ended up helping a group of humans while at it, as it can’t help its programming. It’s a bit more comfortable as an independent SecUnit, but still not terribly at ease around humans, which was still endearing. And its new friend, the space ship AI ART, turned out to be a great addition. Pity the overall story sees Murderbot moving on from people to people, so that all the interesting characters are left behind. But there’s still the mystery of its past to be solved.
The Murderbot series gets even better. ART is a great addition.