Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Network Effect

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Network Effect by Martha Wells

8 reviews

astrangewind's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad 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

4.75

It feels downright indulgent to read a 350-page Murderbot book.

There was a lot about this book I liked. Because it was longer, we get to see more of Murderbot's interactions with various humans and bots / constructs as well as its overall character development. I liked the creepy atmosphere toward the end, and seeing Murderbot get upset thinking

ART was dead

. I liked the serious tone; the book really reframes a lot of the previous material.

For example, that Murderbot's relationship with the company, which it often jokes about, is based deeply in trauma. And when Murderbot sees another SecUnit that was ordered to stand down and then killed by its governor module. It's like a joke or an annoyance at first, and this book really shows the reader that this isn't to be taken lightly.

That said, the plot felt like it moved really, really slowly, and then went way too quickly at the climax. In the other Murderbot books, because they're novellas, that doesn't seem so weird, as the overall effect is that the entire plot moves quickly. But it doesn't work in the full-length novel. Additionally, it seemed like Wells wanted to expand on a bunch of themes - the self-awareness of other SecUnits, Murderbot's ability to have meaningful relationships, corporate greed - but wasn't able to fully explore all of them. There were so many different pieces, many of which worked well together, but some of which didn't.

Also, and this is a problem with all the Murderbot books, there are just so many damn characters.

I did really love this book, though. As a novella with much the same content, I probably would have given it 5 stars.

Content Warnings

bexi's review against another edition

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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

arinheck's review against another edition

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adventurous dark funny 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

5.0

I love Murderbot. I laughed out loud reading this. I cringed. I gasped audibly. I cried. I laughed some more. Truly an epic story that had me on the edge of my seat. New cast of characters were a welcome addition to the Murderbot universe (although I forgot who was who very often). In many ways it was the same old Murderbot story, but also I felt more than ever we saw it grow in this book. TLDR: loved it.

Content Warnings