Reviews with content warning for Murder - Artificial Condition

I would give this book 10 stars out of 5, and I look forward to reading it again.

This one sets the stage for the ART x Murderbot situations in the future and I am grateful for it.

Content Warnings

karin_goodreads's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

I made it back here!

I guess you can’t tell a story from the point of view of something that you don’t think has a point of view.

Murderbot is such a fun series to read and I find it very amusing. I'm glad to be back and, once again, excited for the adventures ahead!
This time Murderbot goes back to the mining facility where it went rogue to find out what really happened. Murderbot teams up with ART (aka Asshole Research Transport) and their duo is just perfect! I don't know what it is, but I was a tad sad to see them go their separate ways. I do hope that we get to see ART again in later installments!

For my entire existence, at least the parts I could remember, I had done nothing but accept the inevitable. I was tired of it.

Murderbot is undoubtedly more human-like than before, it has a personality and to some extent even a moral compass. I love reading about it's thoughts and opinions, how it becomes a human - always evolving and growing as a person. And still as relatable as ever!

Sometimes people do things to you that you can’t do anything about. You just have to survive it and go on.

It's been a while, since I started this book and truth be told, I don't remember the beginning that much anymore, only bits and pieces. The ending was definitely a quicker and more enjoyable part, but I'm not sure why the beginning was such a struggle, since now it seems like a really great story. Ready for more in the future either way! (~~Please~~~~, ART, I miss you and Murderbot!)~~

There was a huge difference between knowing something happened and seeing the reality of it.

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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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