Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

Network Effect by Martha Wells

43 reviews

bexi's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious tense 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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery, Xenophobia, and Grief

abitbetterbooks's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

Another Murderbot triumph! I loved being able to spend a full novel with these characters and have a larger, more complex plot unfold. 

The exploration of Murderbot’s grief and navigating its newfound feelings beyond anger were absolutely fascinating and I have found the characterization so refreshing and fun. I just love viewing the world through Murderbot’s eyes (and drones, I suppose) and seeing its worldviews and beliefs be challenged by new experiences and interactions with the people that care about it. 

Also, Arada and Overse forever ❤️❤️❤️

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Kidnapping

Minor: Slavery

aseel_reads's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

3.75

I liked the proper story element of this one, I much prefer it over the shorter story. Unfortunately, it was still a slog to get through, and I think it's because of two things: 1) there is too much tech/science details included and 2) because murderbot can think quickly and think a lot of things at once, the writing reflects this but it is hard to follow and you just need a lot of concentration to read these books, and I don't have a lot to spare 😅

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail

chris_reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Grief

Minor: Death, Slavery, Medical content, Trafficking, and Acephobia/Arophobia

emilywemily6's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I love Murderbot and I really enjoyed seeing the progression of their relationships with both new and old characters. Lots of 
funny moments between Murderbot and a certain bot pilot. I did find that the pacing of this story wasn’t my favorite compared to the novellas (a little slow for the first half) and some of the information about what was really going on a talking about killware and TargetControlSystem was hard to understand. I had to reread a few parts just to know enough of what was happening to skip over the details, so this read wasn’t quite as enjoyable as others. And even though I’ve finished, I still am not quite sure what all we learned about what really happened. I think the novellas experience this a little bit (and of course, Murderbot is a bigger brain than me) but it was much more pronounced in this full-length novel. I’m still really looking forward to the next installment because of adore these characters and how SecUnit is growing as a person.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Medical content, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Slavery, and Blood

Minor: Sexual content

menagerie_of's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny tense fast-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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gun violence, and Violence

Moderate: Slavery, Blood, and Kidnapping

lonelylooper's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious 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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Cursing, Slavery, Blood, Medical content, and Murder

amjappe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny fast-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

The return of a certain beloved character deserved a full length novel, and we got it!
So much fun to see different character's paths converging, and get enough of a page count to read a more involved adventure. Another great read in this series!

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Blood, Kidnapping, and Colonisation

Minor: Slavery

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This is a re-read since it has been a long time since I caught up with the series and I forgot how good this installment in the series is.  It’s a huge culmination of what happened previously seamlessly leading into uncharted territory.  There is a lot to say about what makes you you.  I especially appreciated the self awareness of trying to figure out your purpose in life.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

pacifickat's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

"Please calm yourselves and stop talking. Plan A01: Rain Destruction has been superseded by Plan B01: Distract and Extract." -Parihelion

Fun, if not a little confusing. I adore the Murderbot series, and Network effect is a worthy, novel-length addition. Definitely did a lot to push the emotional growth of Murderbot forward, adding in a whole cast of new characters, as well as bringing back some old favorites. 

I love how Wells writes Murderbot's unique interactions with various sentient beings beyond its human clients. I also have enjoyed Murderbot's

slowly dawning realization over each new story installment that it is valued, admired, and perhaps even loved by a whole host of individuals it has met over its many adventures since going rogue. It may have been designed to be a disposable tool, but to its friends and found family it is worth fighting for, and never to be abandoned. It's original purpose may have been to sacrificially defend others, but it has developed something more than factory-set objectives and parameters, grounded in an unflinching resolve to maintain personal agency even among those who see it as an object without personhood.

These books are so very fun, deeply empathetic, and manage to pack so much character development between fast-paced storytelling and wonderful action sequences. 4 stars for this one.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Adult/minor relationship