Book Details
Title: System Collapse
Author: Martha Wells
Publisher: Tordotcom
Genre: Science Fiction
Age Group: Adult
Content/Trigger Warnings: Depictions of anxiety, depictions of PTSD, violence, blood, gun violence
Book Links: Bookshop::B&N::Amazon::Goodreads
Goodreads Synopsis
Am I making it worse? I think I’m making it worse.
Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back.
Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.
But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast.
Yeah, this plan is… not going to work.
My Review
Thank you to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a free e-ARC in exchange for an honest review! All opinions contained within are my own.
In 2023, after having read All Systems Red years ago, I decided it was finally time to buckle down and read all the books in the Murderbot series. I fell in love with our titular reluctant hero after the first book and I wanted to know if I would enjoy the rest of its journey just as much. Spoiler alert: Murderbot has fully cemented itself as one of my favorite characters of all time! So when I was approved for the e-ARC of System Collapse, I was beyond stoked. The fact that this momentous occasion was quickly followed by a months-long reading slump was… unfortunate, to say the least, lol. But I’m back, I finally read it, and now I need to gush!
If you don’t know, the Murderbot series follows an AI construct that would much rather minimize any interactions with sentient species and watch drama programs until its processors stop functioning. In the first book of the series, it finds itself on a mission with a group of scientists that goes horribly awry. And, much to its chagrin, it would much prefer this particular group of scientists to remain alive, thank you very much. Now that we’re into the seventh book of the series, our not-so-murderous SecUnit has been through it and the hits keep comin’. In this installment, it’s trying to keep yet another group of humans alive while they do dangerous things… like trying to save an entire lost colony from indentured servitude.
The aspect of this series that I have always loved the most is the characters and this book is no exception. In this installment, we see Murderbot dealing with a lot of complex emotions. Which is weird since, ya know, it’s not even supposed to have emotions. It only made me love it more, though! Murderbot has been through a lot and it is interesting to see how a non-human character, an AI that’s not supposed to feel, processes something as complex as trauma. I thought the author did an incredible job of describing Murderbot’s struggle to deal with the events that have happened on this lost colony planet while trying to continue to do its job as though nothing is wrong. I just wanted to give Murderbot a big ol’ hug, but it would not have appreciated the gesture. Still, it amazes me that the author can make all these characters still feel so fresh and intriguing when we’re seven books into the series. Admittedly, only two of them are full length novels, but I feel that makes it all the more impressive!
I also thought she did a fantastic job with the plot of this novel. As mentioned, most of the books in this series are novellas, so I feel like they focus more on the character development than the plot. But this one was a full length novel that went heavy on the character but also managed to deliver an fast-paced and interesting plot. The conflict with the terrible company from the Corporation Rim had me on the edge of my seat, wondering how things were going to turn out for Murderbot’s favorite humans, especially with it not performing at its peak. I was wrapped up in the drama and tore through the story as I was eager to see how it ended.
Overall, this was an incredible addition to the saga of Murderbot! It had the character development that I always expect from a book in this series along with a tense plot that had me absolutely hooked. I loved the exploration of PTSD and watching Murderbot continue to learn what it means to be a part of a family. Even if it would deny up and down that it was. Now I’m chomping at the bit for the next installation in what has to be my favorite sci-fi series!
Kerri McBookNerd 