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A review by eiion
Network Effect by Martha Wells
4.75
This was SO close to being another 5 star read for me, and honestly, I might bump it up to a 5 star read if I ever do a re-read, because it was just so special.
Network Effect was what we had all been hoping for, deep down: A full length MurderBot book. What I really loved about this installment was how nicely it tied everything together. Obviously in Exit Strategy, we saw MurderBot return back to Mensah, Preservation, and to the reunion that we had been building up towards since MurderBot left at the end of All Systems Red and started searching for clues in the other 3 novellas.
In this, we saw the return of old characters, the introduction of new ones, and the start of a new journey for MurderBot and its friends. There was so much development here, which I genuinely just adored, and obviously, you know that any book withART in it will hold a special place in my heart. I really felt like MurderBot got to explore a lot more about its connections in this book, which is my favourite part of its development. Obviously, seeing its humanity and its emotions evolving is fun, but there's something really special about MurderBot finally having friends and people that it cares about.
And of course, the entire arc with ART was just absolutely perfect. They had a baby together are you kidding me??? Granted, MurderBot did, well, murder the baby within the same day but I promise it was really sweet. Their connection and their relationship (platonic? romantic? special third option of robot relationship thing that's somehow both platonic and romantic and really adorable regardless?) is just so touching and I absolutely love seeing them work together.
This also wouldn't be a good review without mentioning Three, who I genuinely hope becomes a more constant character in further books. As much as I adore MurderBot, I think we missed a lot of its development in All Systems Red relating to what it was like being newly freed from its governor module. I have really high hopes that Three will be a valuable addition to the team and will be a great way to see some of the early development of a free SecUnit.
There is almost no criticism I can supply about this one. I honestly just loved it, and I think it's a great way to explore and wrap up certain parts of MurderBot's story and life and a great introduction to the next 'era' of MurderBot adventures.
Network Effect was what we had all been hoping for, deep down: A full length MurderBot book. What I really loved about this installment was how nicely it tied everything together. Obviously in Exit Strategy, we saw MurderBot return back to Mensah, Preservation, and to the reunion that we had been building up towards since MurderBot left at the end of All Systems Red and started searching for clues in the other 3 novellas.
In this, we saw the return of old characters, the introduction of new ones, and the start of a new journey for MurderBot and its friends. There was so much development here, which I genuinely just adored, and obviously, you know that any book with
There is almost no criticism I can supply about this one. I honestly just loved it, and I think it's a great way to explore and wrap up certain parts of MurderBot's story and life and a great introduction to the next 'era' of MurderBot adventures.