WINNER of the 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards! The first full-length novel in Martha Wells’ New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot Diaries series. An Amazon’s Best of the Year So Far Pick Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Book Riot | Polygon “I caught myself rereading my favorite parts… and I can’t recommend it enough.” — New York Times You know that feeling when you’re … myself rereading my favorite parts… and I can’t recommend it enough.” — New York Times
You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you’re a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you’re Murderbot.
Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.
—
I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are.
When Murderbot’s human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.
Drastic action it is, then.
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
more
Network Effect is the fifth book in Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries sci-fi series of a rogue security construct, SecUnit (part organic, part mechanical, all sarcastic). It’s also the first full-length one.
I was really eager to read a longer Murderbot book, and it didn’t disappoint. Murderbot, the SecUnit who has freed itself from its governor module that can kill it, finds itself—for the first time—in a fairly good place. The threat to Dr. Mensah by GrayCris Corporation is practically over and it can choose what it wants to do. It wants to provide security for a science expedition by its favourite humans and Dr. Mensah’s daughter Amena.
Everything is going fairly well, when they’re attacked by a ship Murderbot knows very well, the one powered by ART (asshole research transport), as Murderbot calls the AI. ART has been compromised by alien looking creatures and is effectively dead. So Murderbot sets out to save ART—not its friend, no matter what Amena says—whilst keeping its humans safe.
The plot is constant action and involves abandoned colonies, hostile corporations, cyber-attacks, and explosions. But for the first time, there’s also a lot of room for Murderbot to reflect its existence, concept of friendship, and what it wants to do with its freedom. It does all this in a very Murderbot fashion by denying everything and being grumpy and sarcastic. But it also grows a lot as a person.
The book ends at a crossroads for Murderbot. But instead of revealing where it’ll go from here, the next book goes back in time to events before Network Effect. It’s again a shorter one, but hopefully we’ll get another full-length book after that. Murderbot has a lot to offer us yet.
Wow! As a lover of the Murderbot series all I can say is Martha Wells does it again. I really do wish though I had five more chapters after the ending telling me about every character! LOL
Murderbot is refreshingly and brutally honest about threats, danger, and human stupidity. Even its avoidance of its own emotions is honest.
If you’re looking for a blow stuff up, hostage situation, and robot/human confusion laced with sarcasm and vulgarity…
Congratulations. You just found your new favorite read. And character. (You’ll love Murderbot.)
Love this series!
The best Murderbot yet. I can’t praise this series enough. I wish I’d never read it so I could read it again for the first time. Watching my friends start this series and then be like WTF THIS IS THE BEST THING IN THE WORLD — ha ha, it’s like Ted Lasso of SF series. Or is Ted Lasso like the Murderbot of sitcoms? Minus the blood and gore. I don’t know. I just love it.
Murderbot is on its first contracted job for itself. And while it might still be doing security, the key part is that it actually wants to do the job. But while providing security on a Preservation research trip, the team suddenly finds themselves under attack. Quick to action, Murderbot does all it can to rescue the crew. And ok, it might actually like these humans a little bit and be extremely angry if they came to harm. But nothing goes according to plan and Murderbot finds itself brought aboard a vessel that seems oddly familiar. As Murderbot and its team begin to dig deeper into the mystery of their capture they will uncover a host of problems. The least of which is being kidnapped.
Network Effect brings back an old friend of Murderbot’s, ART. Although Murderbot has a hard time admitting to having friends, we all know ART and Murderbot enjoy sharing quips and media. If you’ve never read about two highly intelligent A.I.s trading comebacks while working together towards a common goal, you’re missing out. ART and Murderbot working as a team ups the ante and brings a healthy dose of tension and action. They pair so well together, even if they don’t always agree with the other’s approach. But between the two of them, anyone who stands in their way will have no idea what hit them.
Each of Murderbot’s stories gravitates around human experiences and learning how to process them. Anger is one of the first emotions Murderbot became familiar with, and it still remains its first response. But Murderbot will be forced to come to terms with a new emotion it never thought it would experience. While it may be made of both machine and organic parts, able to do amazing technological feats, its processing is about to be put to the test as it comes to terms with grief.
Murderbot also faces the stark reality of being trapped in one’s own head. We’ve all been there, being surrounded by people yet still feeling alone. While the humans around Murderbot do all they can to comfort it, Murderbot knows they cannot fully understand what is going on as it processes emotions. But of course, that’s where ART comes in and I love the support and friendship Murderbot has from a fellow A.I.
When I first saw Murderbot had a full-length novel, my immediate thought was to wonder if the story would hold up. But you know what? I shouldn’t have worried. This snarky robot’s adventure is just as entertaining as the novellas. And I can’t wait for the next one!
A whole novel worth of Murderbot! That’s all you need to know. (Read the novellas first if you want the full, fabulous experience.)
Loved it! If you haven’t read my glowing, squealing fangirl reviews of the other books in this series, well… Imagine the fangirl thing for a moment and you’re close to how I feel about this book.
Network Effect was everything I wanted and need in a fabulous space opera read. I want the next one.
NETWORK EFFECT is the first book I’ve ever read twice in a row; it’s just that good. Not only is it unique, well-written, and engaging, but it’s funny, too. I couldn’t get enough of Muderbot and its banter. It felt so real, so visceral and imperfect. Murderbot has a wry sense of humor that matches my own – it’s sarcastic. It’s also blatantly honest in its own thoughts, showing its discomfort among humans among its other flaws. Because Murderbot is deeply flawed, both as a human/A.I. hybrid built and programmed to follow orders, and as a main character. It’s not an anti-hero, but it’s not the typical main character, either, and I love that.
NETWORK EFFECT stars a sarcastic, antisocial SecUnit no longer restrained by the governor unit that would punish, erase, and/or kill it if it disobeyed orders. So when its humans are captured, the SecUnit can choose to do nothing. Murderbot wasn’t built to have a choice, and its internal debates whenever it must make a decision are one of the many things that endear it to me. Mostly, though, it’s the way it interacts with its humans… and other artificial intelligences. The dialogue in NETWORK EFFECT is stellar.
For an artificial intelligence/human hybrid that wasn’t designed to deal with or discuss emotions or existential thoughts, Murderbot often touches on some deep stuff. But mainly it’s all about sarcasm, watching serials, and disdain for humanity. As NETWORK EFFECT’s promos say, Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century. The space battles are great, but it’s Murderbot that steals the show. It absolutely is the most relatable A.I. of this century.
Murderbot is the hero we need, even though in its mind it’s not always the hero we slow-moving bags of protoplasm deserve. It just wants to be left alone with its vids and it absolutely, positively doesn’t want to be (ick) close to you, but when certain humans ask for its help, it can’t say no. Sometimes self-awareness and being able to make ethical choices and decisions is the pits.
I loved the scenes when Murderbot had to deal with that most unpredictable of humans, the sarcastic teenage girl (referring to our protagonist as “third mom” was perfect.)
This is the first stand-alone, full novel and I was very excited to see that the earlier novellas are going to be released this year in hardcover form and there’s a fifth Diary in the works!
I gave this novel four stars!
I love Murderbot, that’s a fact. The great scifi battles (pew, pew!), mystery, and intrigue have captivated me thus far, so I was super excited to read this. I have to say, I’m pretty happy with my experience this time around.
Murderbot is living on Dr. Mensah’s world with their crew now. But when they go on a fairly routine mission and are intercepted by a strange yet familiar ship, everything spins out of control. Stuck in yet another confusing situation, Murderbot and team have to figure out how to get back home at all costs.
Overall, this was a good, strong read.
I loved Murderbot’s character as always. Wells always seems to pull off some great character progression, and I think this time around it’s even more important. We continue to understand what it is to be Murderbot, and I really enjoyed that part of the journey. The other familiar characters kept in character and were entertaining in their own way as well.
We are also introduced to even more characters along the way that appear to be a permanent addition. I have to say, I think we’re getting to a point where there are simply too many characters to keep track of. Hopefully in the next book Wells can keep the character list down a bit. There are just points where I am like “Which one is that again? Oh, right.”
The plot started out really great. I’d say the first third of the book was extremely strong and the rest wasn’t quite as strong, but was still enjoyable. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’ll just say that certain things are fleshed out more from previous books that I really enjoyed.
That being said, for me there were great chapters where the pacing was great, then others where I was a bit underwhelmed. The great part about the novellas was that we got a condensed, action-packed story. Expanding to a full blown novel is great, but I wanted things to move along a bit faster in places.
Like always, Wells Murderbot universe is rich with detail. It’s like biting into the thickest slice of cheesecake you’ve ever had. At first it’s great, but sometimes it can be too much. In places there’s just so much detail in both the dialogue and surroundings that I kind of skimmed over or had to re-read to fully picture what was being said. I’ve come to expect this from the novels, but it’s still a minor deterrent for me, and honestly I think that’s why I stalled in reading this since May.
Regardless of my quips, this was another great installment of the Murderbot series, and I can’t wait to read the next book when it comes out!
Murderbot 2020
I have enjoyed everything this author has written!
Murderbot is the best murderbot. Don’t @ me 😀 Fantastic space opera with your favourite paranoid, messed-up, better than most of us Secbot. Start with the novellas but if you’ve read those, run don’t walk to grab this instalment!
This is another great addition to the Murderbot series. It seems to start slowly, with the focus on Murderbot’s usual neuroses, but the pace soon ramps up with lots of action and the reappearance of ART, a great character from Exit Strategy. I feel about this book like I did about all the others in the series: I hated for it to end.
Loved this book — Murderbot is irresistible! I recommend reading the four novellas that precede it first, as it’s easier to appreciate his delightful character when you see the progression from one book to the next. Highly recommended.
Everyone should read the Murderbot Diaries!
Network Effect
By: Martha Wells
Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
Series: Murderbot Diaries, Book 5
Nothing like listening to Murderbot all day! Chases away the blues! Both Art and our Murderbot are more human than most people! What a fun book! Full of wit, humor, great sci-fi, AIs that DO care despite what they claim, action, aliens, and adventure! A feel good story!
Network Effect continues the adventures of Murderbot, a witty and self-aware cyborg construct, one of the most interesting characters in recent fiction, Sci-fi, or otherwise. before this full-length novel, he has been the protagonist of four novellas, that have won numerous awards in the science fiction genre. All of them are exciting, often humorous, with lots of action and thrills. The stories posit many worlds with extreme capitalism and mercantilism. There are a few planets that are outliers, with a focus on academic and research studies as a primary impetus.
Murderbot has become a security expert for an extended family of academics. It seems that many such groups are the intended victims of rampaging corporate entities with little inhibitions in violence. The books seem not openly fearful of the violence these groups are capable of. It makes for exciting stories as Murerbot can become sufficiently violent if pressed. He is a security wizard who can often out-think and speedily and surgically use violence when required. These are wonderful stories, I cannot recommend them highly enough