Reviews with content warning for Injury/Injury detail - Artificial Condition

And just like the first book, this was funny as hell too 😭😂 I particularly loved it when Murderbot, with thousands of new media in storage, chose to rewatch their comfort show instead. They're just like me fr 😂

I think I like the pacing and character build-up better in the first book though. However, I just really loved the writing style and the tone of the book. The perfect balance of funny and suspenseful.

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ajaggers324's review

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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emilywemily6's review

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adventurous funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Another cozy sci-fi novella! I enjoyed this one a lot but it didn’t have the same draw as the first one in the series. I’m so excited to start the next one!

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syinhui's review

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adventurous funny lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

The systems of constructs are inherently inferior to advanced bots, but you aren’t stupid.
Yeah, well, fuck you, too, I thought, and initiated a shutdown sequence.

I enjoyed this second novella for the most part. Murderbot and ART's interactions are fascinating and honestly super adorable.

Murderbot calls it 'asshole' because, aside from being extremely introverted and painfully awkward, they can be surprisingly petty and ill-tempered too. Thus, the occasional f-bombs and voiced-out sarcasm. Hooray for free will!

I particularly liked the first half, but then again when the humans got involved, it all fell a bit flat for me. The conclusion was a tad underwhelming, though dear Murderbot managed to kick some ass, which was pretty cool of them.

It's a little disappointing that the human characters seem to take a step back, allowing Murderbot's endearing personality to shine even more. I'm not sure if that's intentional, but this could've been a lot better were the human characters not as averagely written and portrayed as stupid (suicidal and irrational) as Murderbot often thinks they are. Still, I'm following. It's short and fun, a sci-fi series easy enough to digest in one sitting.

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thereadinghammock's review against another edition

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funny mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Ok, after putting off reading MurderBot for so long, I finally get what all the hype has been about! Short but still very impactful, Martha Wells manages to cram so much into these novellas. I did read them a bit out of order, book two then book one, but MurderBot is just as funny. And I loved ART! I have heard that we get more if ART in future books, and I look forward to revisiting MurderBot's favorite research vessel again.

There's also so much social commentary packed into a very contained story. The commoditization of people and places. The autonomy or lack thereof of the constructs, despite being fully sentient AI systems. The constructs being ACTUAL AI systems and not whatever knockoff theft software we're trying to pass off as AI these days. Exploring the concepts of morality and autonomy when free choice is a conceptual gray area. So, so, so much in such short, digestible, and delightfully sarcastic and relatable packages.

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