For an explanation of why I read this book, click here.
I cannot for the life of me remember why I was so excited to get this book twenty years ago. SeFor an explanation of why I read this book, click here.
I cannot for the life of me remember why I was so excited to get this book twenty years ago. Seriously. I remember being astonished at coming across this early edition, and then... yeah, it's a blank. I hadn't ever read anything by the author, so that's a mystery, too.
And now, having read the first two stories in the fix-up novel, I'm even more mystified. The concept is clever enough: aliens, having come across humanity and been unimpressed, have shunted most of our solar system into a pocket dimension until we can prove we're mature enough to join the grownups in the rest of the universe, but at least we still have Mallworld--a giant shopping mall that serves up everything from religious experiences to suicide parlors. Somtow Sucharitkul/S.P. Somtow has a frenetic style that suits the decadent concept, and this future history setting feels wild and Blade Runner-ish.
The thing is, I'm just not connecting with the stories. Maybe it's that I'm reading them too late, and I've seen all this done many times before--challenges to culture and morality, challenges to religion, etc. It's obviously not the author's fault I didn't read these when they were first published to maybe be more impressed by their mildly transgressive nature. Still, it is what it is, and I'm going to mark this unfinished and move on....more
This has everything I want in an action book: fast cars, wild racing "duels," a twisty plot, and a hint of romance. I like the interplay between Cat aThis has everything I want in an action book: fast cars, wild racing "duels," a twisty plot, and a hint of romance. I like the interplay between Cat and Ray--it's not a full-on romance, but the ending makes it fun to imagine things developing in the future.
I've never played Car Wars and this is the first book set in that universe I've read. It's a really solid setting, I think--just the right mix of future tech and dystopia with a hint of cyberpunk. The idea of healing via clones and brain backups is really clever, and Barnson gets the implications of the tech really well, so things remain tense despite how, for the most part, death isn't the end.
The action scenes are gripping, and there aren't so many of them they exhaust the reader--there's a good balance between action and calm. There's also a good balance between POV scenes, and I was never impatient to get back to a different character. Overall, very engaging story....more
I was charmed by the setup of this story, in which a teenage boy passionate about a fantasy VR MMORPG called Omen Galaxica convinces his pregnant mothI was charmed by the setup of this story, in which a teenage boy passionate about a fantasy VR MMORPG called Omen Galaxica convinces his pregnant mother to sign up for the beta of the next expansion of the game. The idea is intriguing: the expansion is going to be controlled by an AI that will modify the game experience based on the evolving choices of the players. To qualify for one of the twenty beta test slots, gamers need to be popular streamers and they have to partner with someone who's never played Omen before. But Jonah, creator of the game, wants a dark horse--and he and the AI (also created by him) add a twenty-first slot just for Nick and Amanda.
This is a fun, relaxing read, and not typical gamelit; one strong theme centers on the VR experience and whether gaming in such immersion makes one more or less satisfied with the real world. There is no Sword Art Online-style crisis that locks the players into the game, and half the story is about Nick and his family and friends and their lives outside the game. I liked Nick's character development, and I found Amanda's cluelessness (she not only doesn't play Omen, she doesn't play computer games, period) endearing because it reminded me of how my own mother would react in that situation.
The other half of the story is about the game, not just the story the players create, but the development of the AI. Its developer Jonah called it/her Galatea, and with Jonah now in a coma after a terrible accident, Galatea is left to figure out her growing awareness by herself. The storyline was fun, and the growing interest in Nick and Amanda's low-key play style compared to the other gamers amused me.
Technically, this would be a four-star review--it's good, the writing is interesting, and I liked the characters, but it's not mindblowing--but after I finished reading it, I found myself thinking about it. A lot. As per my tradition, this gains it a full star.
One aspect of the story really stood out: (view spoiler)[There's a team in opposition to Nick and Amanda whose "newbie" player is a MOBA elite (note: this stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena, and I had never heard the term before despite my children being obsessed with League of Legends), famous for his battle arena-style games. That team plays PvP and likes to slaughter NPC villages, etc. So when it turned out that "KillzYourFase" was a young man who wasn't a psychopath, just dealing with his anger at life, I was so relieved. He's a complex character, and the resolution of the in-game story was perfect. (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, it was a great read, and I hope there's an audiobook eventually, because my dyslexic daughter will love it....more
For an explanation of why I read this book, click here.
This was a last-minute substitution for another 1979 book that I'd planned on from the beginninFor an explanation of why I read this book, click here.
This was a last-minute substitution for another 1979 book that I'd planned on from the beginning of this project only to discover I'd only chosen it because I felt I "should" read it. I'm trying to avoid reading anything out of duty, because who needs that kind of pressure when they're having trouble wanting to read in the first place?
Anyway, I picked this one up at the thrift store for 75 cents because I'd never read anything Jerry Pournelle wrote solo (I really liked Fallen Angels). It's a clever story about a band of soldiers picked up by aliens and taken to another planet to bring the natives in line. It's more complex than that, of course, when the natives turn out to have their own ideas about how to live their lives. And even more complex than that because the aliens have seeded this world before, which means there is a culture based on the Roman Empire alongside a feudal one, etc. etc. So, like I said, clever, and I appreciated the main character's knowledge of history and how he used it.
Sadly, the emotional beats are all over the place, and the characters and their interpersonal interactions are really confusing, meaning they give off all the wrong signals. For example, after the initial section with the soldiers, the second section is about a young woman who falls in love with a guy, and the guy gives all the vibes of being a predatory serial killer. When he invited her on a weekend getaway, I was sure he meant to kidnap her, especially when he went on about whether anyone would miss her. But no, what he wants is (view spoiler)[to take her into space with him, because he is also affiliated with the aliens (hide spoiler)]. I still can't figure out what Pournelle thought he was doing. And it's not the only time. Characters do things that don't follow from their earlier actions, and at least once a character reveals a surprise that we should have known about based on that character's inner monologues.
I did want to praise Pournelle for creating some believable female characters. There were only a couple of times I winced and thought, "Jerry, dude, women don't think that way." And the only misogynists were the villains, which to me is acceptable shorthand for villainy. Basically, he could have gone the route of making the women helpless victims, and he didn't. So that was pretty great.
I think, if you enjoy war stories and military strategy and are less interested in the character drama, this might be the book for you. If you care more about political intrigue and character interplay, maybe take a cautious look at it, because it's not terrible. I don't regret choosing this one over the other, but it's not a series I'm interested in continuing....more
This has got to be my favorite book in the series yet. I haven't read book 7--I tend to need breaks between these, because they're so intense--but I aThis has got to be my favorite book in the series yet. I haven't read book 7--I tend to need breaks between these, because they're so intense--but I anticipate things getting even better. (view spoiler)[How Matt Dinniman made me not hate Samantha the sex doll head is some kind of black sorcery. (hide spoiler)] This one accelerates the plot that's happening around Carl, and a lot of information comes out at just the right time to keep me from getting impatient at not knowing details.
I thought I wouldn't like the central conceit of the eighth floor, the trading card game, because those make me tense the way playing a wizard in Dungeons & Dragons does. I am terrible at anticipating what resources I will need, and putting together a deck is painful as I agonize over my decisions. So it's a good thing Donut turned out to love it.
There's too much going on (this book is incredibly long) to pick out all the parts I loved, but I thought the climactic battle was amazingly good because there were about a thousand moving parts and it still never got muddled. On to book 7!...more
Though I've thoroughly enjoyed this series so far, books 3 and 4 were a little hard for me to be connected to. The characterization and action were grThough I've thoroughly enjoyed this series so far, books 3 and 4 were a little hard for me to be connected to. The characterization and action were great, but I had trouble picturing the physical setup. So that was a niggling irritant that kept me from fully engaging.
Not so this book. I loved it from beginning to end. The underlying story about what's going on behind the dungeon crawl/reality show comes to the fore, but the action of the immediate problem of staying alive never gets lost. I love that I was increasingly attached to the characters, even ones I thought I would hate (view spoiler)[Samantha the sex doll head (hide spoiler)]. Of course, that makes the inevitable deaths of some--the attrition rate in these books is off the charts--even more moving. I'm also impressed that the author keeps track of all these little plot threads. This was a really big book, and some of those threads have been waving since the beginning.
As to something that worried me in book 4... (view spoiler)[There were a few references to Carl's ex-girlfriend Beatrice in earlier books that made me fear Dinniman wanted to rehabilitate her. I don't remember now what they were, but I shouldn't have worried. Bea's appearance, and the circumstances around it, INCLUDING the fact that it was spiked so Carl and Donut knew she was coming, was an excellent resolution to Donut's feelings of betrayal. I didn't like that Bea was so out of if, because, again, that felt like a way to make things less her fault, but we can't have everything. (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, this was great, and I'm excited for the next book....more
For an explanation of why I read this, click here.
Choosing a short story collection is a little bit of a cheat, given that all the stories appearing iFor an explanation of why I read this, click here.
Choosing a short story collection is a little bit of a cheat, given that all the stories appearing in this book were published earlier than the collection. But this is a book I've been trying to find a replacement copy of for years, mine being worn enough that I don't like handling it, so this was also partly an excuse to replace it. (I actually ended up with this edition thanks to Amazon.in's selection of cheap books.)
I don't think I've ever given a full five stars to a short story collection. Maybe Connie Willis's Impossible Things. (checks records) Nope, not even that. There are always a few stories I don't love, enough that my experience as a whole isn't mind-blowing. So rating a collection or anthology can't reflect the beauty of the individual stories that are mind-blowing. Maybe that's unfair, but I've never come up with a better measure.
In this case, I'd read a couple of the stories individually, years ago. "Semley's Necklace" I remembered well, though I couldn't tell you where I encountered it (is it part of Rocannon’s World?), and "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" was assigned reading in high school. The others were all new to me, and there were only two I really didn't care for ("A Good Trip" and "A Trip to the Head," and I'm sure it's coincidence they both contain the word "trip," but they certainly tripped me up).
"Paris in April," which is a delightful tale about summoning "demons" from other periods of history, was Le Guin's first pro sale from 1962, and it really is fun. You can see hints of what her later style would become, for one, but it's still definitely her writing.
Some other favorites were "Things," about the end of the world and one brickmaker's response to it, and "The Day Before the Revolution," which was particularly poignant to me as I grow older, though I'm not as old as the protagonist of that story. "The Field of Vision" was sort of dull, right up until the last gut-punching paragraph, and then it could have been a Twilight Zone episode.
"The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" may be Le Guin's most famous short story, and I can certainly see why. Her writing is luminous, her narrative voice confiding, and the contrast between the beauty of Omelas and its dark secret is another gut punch. But it is also the sort of story that seemed profoundly meaningful when I was young and simply raises questions now that I'm older. It is a representation of a philosophical puzzle rather than a story, I think, because in essence it asks readers to consider what their response would be. Everyone wants to believe they would walk away, but would they?
I'm sure my ambivalence is also related to having argued with readers and critics who want to read in this story an indictment of Christianity. Given that Christ was not a mentally-deficient child who had no choice in being a scapegoat, this is not an argument I'm at home to.
Since I bought this omnibus collection, I now have the stories of The Compass Rose to read someday. It's been a while since I read a Le Guin novel, so I can't say whether she was better at long or short form, but I would recommend most of these stories as a good introduction to her early fiction....more
So, basically, I waited 14 years for this book. Shades of Grey remains one of my all-time favorite books, and I was patient. Then I was grateful that So, basically, I waited 14 years for this book. Shades of Grey remains one of my all-time favorite books, and I was patient. Then I was grateful that whatever happened to Jasper Fforde that made him disappear as an author for many years didn't destroy his career, and I waited for him to cycle around to this. Then I waited for the publisher to make a final decision and stop delaying the publication. To say I was ready for this book is an understatement akin to calling the Great Flood a bit of wet weather.
It was worth waiting for. I don't know that I'd call it on a par with Shades of Grey, but it doesn't have to be; it fulfils the promise of that book so well I never felt the need to compare.
The thing is, this is clearly not the book Fforde had in mind when he finished the first one all those years ago. Not for the obvious reason that he's a different person now. If you look at the back of the first edition hardcover which OF COURSE I own, I'm a proper obsessed fan, there are two titles listed as sequels to Shades of Grey, and neither of those is the title of this book. What's more, he makes choices that I'm sure, having re-read the first book obsessively, are different from what he might have chosen earlier. And what astonishes me is that this difference isn't a drawback. The book still answers everything he left hanging. (Almost. (view spoiler)[I'm not sure how I feel about the ending. It feels like a conclusion for Eddie and Jane and even Violet, but there are still all those others of Chromatacia who are suffering. That feels unanswered, and yet I don't feel like there's another book in this world. I would love to be proved wrong. (hide spoiler)])
I love this two-book series. And even if it's not more of this--which after a 14-year wait feels like a greedy wish, more of the same--I look forward, as always, to seeing what Jasper Fforde comes up with next....more
This will be my last read of 2024, and it did not disappoint. I loved the Eldritch Surela's first story and was captivated by the premise: exiled traiThis will be my last read of 2024, and it did not disappoint. I loved the Eldritch Surela's first story and was captivated by the premise: exiled traitor, her life bought by the wife of the man she wanted to marry, sent into space where everyone expected her to pout and waste her life. And she proved everyone wrong.
In this second book in the series, ten years after An Exile Aboard Ship, Rel and the crew of the Earthrise have been going about the Empress's business quietly, until new instructions come; they are to escort another Eldritch back to the homeworld. Add to this Rel's exuberant Chatcaavan daughter and the fact that the one they're meant to escort doesn't want to go, mix in a mysterious tear in space, and the story really takes off. Lots of action, lots of drama, and a satisfying ending made this one of my top reads of the year.
I remain thrilled by the fact that Surela takes even the most unexpected things in stride. There aren't enough characters who bluff their way through the impossible in literature, and it's easy to read her as the several-centuries-old political animal she is by how quick she is to adapt and, yes, bluff like her life, and that of others, depends on it. Which she does, with ease.
I also enjoy the setup to the next book, which is going to be great. For those who have not made their way through Hogarth's entire Peltedverse canon, which is vast, all I can say is that if you're able to figure out background from context and don't try to work too hard keeping every little detail in mind, this makes a good entry point. (Though I still recommend starting with Earthrise, which is the four-book series preceding this one.)
(And I'm in the acknowledgements! Yay, I participated!)...more
I was surprised to find this collection of short stories sounds so like Terry Pratchett in his more mature years. I expected, having read a few reactiI was surprised to find this collection of short stories sounds so like Terry Pratchett in his more mature years. I expected, having read a few reactions to it, that it would be amateurish. But it really isn't! There were a few stories that were awkward, and a few that were really funny, but most of them fell into the category of "good, not brilliant, but you can totally see what the author will mature into."
I loved the explanation of how the stories were found through the patient digging of two devoted readers. How exciting that all their work turned up something I think Pratchett wouldn't be ashamed to own....more
I was fascinated enough by this book's concept to read it despite knowing nothing about the events that led to Surela's exile. I am happy to report thI was fascinated enough by this book's concept to read it despite knowing nothing about the events that led to Surela's exile. I am happy to report that it's possible to enjoy it under those conditions. The idea of the heroine having been a villain, and seeing that "villain" be redeemed, intrigued me, and I loved how well that redemption played out. Surela's relationships with the captain and crew of the ship were all different and so well realized. I especially loved the part near the end where they confront her with all the decisions she's been beating herself up over and force her to reevaluate who she is.
The thing that really sold me, though, was (view spoiler)[Surela gets approached by someone who believes she's primed to betray her people, given that she already made a play for the Empire and lost. And when this stranger sits down at her table and starts talking like she knows him, she goes along with it and ends up tricking her enemy through a long string of epic Bluff checks. (hide spoiler)]. I love reading about clever people, and I never felt any doubt that Surela was, in fact, veteran of centuries of political intrigue even without the failed coup.
I'm going back now to read those earlier books, though Surela is a side character (and I am curious about what Theresa Eddings was like before all this happened), but I hope there are more Shieldmatron books in the pipeline....more
This is not a science fiction novel. It is a screwball comedy. If the content isn't enough to prove it, there's the title--is aSo, first things first:
This is not a science fiction novel. It is a screwball comedy. If the content isn't enough to prove it, there's the title--is anybody old enough, like me, to remember the Bob Hope/Bing Crosby "Road To..." movies? Those were a mad mixture of comedy and adventure and romance with a little music thrown in. (I admit I didn't get this at first, but the title was niggling at me for weeks.)
Connie Willis does some great screwball comedy. There's one in Impossible Things called "Spice Pogrom" that is just hilarious. But she doesn't do it often, and it usually takes a back seat to her more traditionally funny work (To Say Nothing of the Dog) or her serious stuff (Doomsday Book). I was surprised and pleased to discover she'd managed an entire novel in this tradition. There's misunderstandings, secret identities, lack of communication, and ridiculous set pieces. And it all mostly works.
The premise is simple, but contains all the right elements: Francie is set to be her best friend's bridesmaid, but is prepared to talk her out of her wedding because the woman has a long history of choosing weirdos and losers. (Bridesmaid as setup for romantic plot, possibly with a groomsman: check.) The wedding is going to be held at a museum dedicated to aliens and alien encounters. (Zany setting: check.) Francie begins the book with extreme difficulties in even getting a rental car to get to the venue. (Absurdity of real-life intrusions: check.). It all runs along as smoothly as any Willis novel, which is to say there are plenty of strange characters who believe they're normal and Francie herself is the lone spot of sanity in the book.
And then Francie is kidnapped by a real-live honest-to-goodness alien.
This is a major departure for Willis, maybe not so major after Crosstalk, which has a similar issue. In almost all her books and stories, anything strange or in violation of current knowledge is founded on realistic extrapolation. Aliens, though (I don't care what you read in the news these days, guys) are in the realm of speculation, as is the kind of telepathy featured in Crosstalk. To me, this departure fits with the book being screwball comedy. The existence of aliens is no more or less absurd than the fact that nobody in this book knows how to send text messages.
To me, Willis's great strength has always been her characterization, followed closely by how her characters fit into her creative and innovative settings. And here she is at the top of her game because the format of this type of story allows for the most extraordinary and ridiculous characters who nevertheless come across as real. The people Francie and Indy the alien accumulate through their progress through the Southwest, searching for something Indy can't communicate, are funny and odd and unexpected. Except for the alien true believer, who bugged me--but even that, I believe, is intentional.
The romance is a true whirlwind, and again, it only works because of the constraints of the story. Two people can fall believably in love in the course of 400 pages if it's comedy or a Mary Stewart novel. I was deeply impressed by Willis's ability to hit all the right emotional beats over such a short time frame, because I was invested in the romance even though it was, just like everything else about this book, completely unlikely.
The parts that didn't work for me mostly came down to things Willis has increasingly depended on in her writing, things that over the course of many books draw attention to themselves. I can't tell you the number of times people are cut off in the middle of saying something important or revealing a key fact. It started to feel weak rather than funny, as if Willis couldn't figure out a better way to spin the mystery out a few more pages. There are also some stretches of logic that push even my tolerance for screwball comedy: (view spoiler)[The whole thing with the marriage certificate, and manipulating the officiator into performing the wedding, was way contrived. How did Wade know all those details about what was necessary? Why didn't the officiator act more nervous after being essentially threatened by a government official? I really had to reach to grant Willis her premise here. (hide spoiler)]. I think the book rides close to the line in enough cases that it will probably be too much for some readers, but comedy is like that--it either works or it doesn't.
I enjoyed this more than I did Crosstalk, which I didn't hate--I don't think I've ever hated anything Willis wrote--and unlike that book, I anticipate reading this one again someday....more
I think Kindle very high-handedly recorded that I'd finished this without giving me an opportunity to review. Also, it chose the wrong date.
This book I think Kindle very high-handedly recorded that I'd finished this without giving me an opportunity to review. Also, it chose the wrong date.
This book picks up almost right where Network Effect leaves off, with Murderbot and its humans dealing with a colony of previously-abandoned settlers who will end up conscript labor if nobody steps in. That the colonists themselves don't seem to believe there's danger makes this a bigger coil. And then our guys learn that there's another group of humans out there...
Murderbot is also dealing with a traumatic incident that is at first only referred to as redacted in its record, and I thought I knew what the problem was (view spoiler)[the death of Murderbot 2.0 (hide spoiler)] but I was wrong. Since my happiness didn't hinge on being right, I was satisfied with the plot twist when Murderbot finally addressed it. That twist combined with the conflict between two other human groups (view spoiler)[or three, once the Barish-Estranza group started eating itself (hide spoiler)] made for a tense, exciting story.
I love the character interactions throughout, particularly between Murderbot and ART and ART-drone (ART's secondary persona, separated because of technical issues you could say were plot manipulation if you are a heartless monster). This may be the first time Murderbot has had to rely on humans for anything related to its job, due to redacted, and it's handled really well, without the humans turning into plucky sidekicks.
The ending line is great in how it promises a new set of adventures, something I look forward to--hopefully in the not-too-distant future....more
I read this many months ago (as of writing this review) and I put off reviewing it because it is actually the first part of a single very long story. I read this many months ago (as of writing this review) and I put off reviewing it because it is actually the first part of a single very long story. Unfortunately, I haven't managed to read part two (more on this later) and I've decided I should go ahead and write this one up regardless.
This is beautifully-realized science fiction, with aliens who feel believably alien. It's also deeply religious, as the alien race (technically, as the main character is one of them, it's humans who are alien, but whatever) have a profound and tangible connection to their God and are motivated by prophecy. There is no sideways dig at religious people, either; at no point does Zafiil have her faith broken, nor does she discover that It's All Been A Lie. I love that.
However, this is a very slow-paced story told out of sequence, and I've had trouble thinking who I can recommend it to despite how much I like the story, the characters, the worldbuilding, and the underlying concept. Even with all that, I've had trouble getting through book two because I'm rarely in the mood for what it offers. It's hard for me to convey how odd it is to be both captivated by a story and be disinclined to dive into it.
So this probably sounds like damning with faint praise, and it really isn't--I loved this book and I loved being immersed in it. Hogarth has a solid grasp of character and is incredibly inventive with her alien universe. (view spoiler)[Zafiil's people mature physically when they make a connection with their "lifemate" (not what they're called, but it's been long enough I can't remember the word) and she does so without realizing who of all the people she's encountered triggered the change, and I really, really want to see the culmination of that plot. (hide spoiler)] If I haven't finished the story, it's not because the books are flawed. I hope I'm eventually in a place to finish it....more
I came across this by way of meeting the author (in a virtual online exchange of emails way). It seemed like a good entry point for the Peltedverse, wI came across this by way of meeting the author (in a virtual online exchange of emails way). It seemed like a good entry point for the Peltedverse, which is HUGE and daunting. And it is a good entry point, more or less. I really liked all the stories and loved one or two--"Dark Lighthouse" is a heartbreaking romance that left me wanting to shake the main character (view spoiler)[I am not nearly so certain as Taylitha is that she will ever get another chance with Avram Hancock, and who gives up on a relationship with someone who is very likely perfect for her just because he's the wrong race? And yet her reaction, while frustrating, was so in character I was only heartbroken and not mad. (hide spoiler)]--and the art is a charming addition.
I'm going to give this five stars for my own reaction, but call it four stars as far as recommending it as a starting point for the series goes. I personally enjoy putting events and concepts together from hints and clues, and this requires a bit of being willing to be immersed in an unfamiliar world--not something everyone likes. For me, this was a very comfortable read, and I'll have to find another way into the series and see if I like the rest of it as well....more
I love Murderbot's voice, and I love Martha Wells' writing, but this felt slight by comparison to earlier Murderbot stories. On the other hand, it is I love Murderbot's voice, and I love Martha Wells' writing, but this felt slight by comparison to earlier Murderbot stories. On the other hand, it is a good mystery, and I like that it fills in a hole I didn't realize I cared about. Very enjoyable, but not quite five stars....more
Re-read 11/28/23: Had to read this again because System Collapse picks up almost immediately after it ends and I didn't remember enough. This time I wRe-read 11/28/23: Had to read this again because System Collapse picks up almost immediately after it ends and I didn't remember enough. This time I was a little less satisfied with the distinction between the pre-CR colony and the Adamantine colony, which for some reason I had trouble with, but the story itself is still great.
Read 6/3/20: It surprised me, when I read the first four Murderbot stories, that I was satisfied with their novella length. Usually I prefer longer stories, but those were just the right length for what Martha Wells wanted to tell. And this book is the same--just the right length for this story about friendship and sacrifice and, for lack of a better word, humanity. Murderbot would be irritated at that categorization, since it has no desire to be human, but its journey has been not only about it learning what it wants to be, but also about the humans around it. So it's not so much Murderbot's "humanity" as it is that of everyone it encounters.
The characterization in book five of the series reaches new heights as Murderbot gets to know new people, human and otherwise, as well as encountering old friends. Having said that, I immediately have to dive into spoiler territory: (view spoiler)[I was as devastated as Murderbot by the idea that our old friend ART might be dead--worse than dead, because its "body" is still functional. (hide spoiler)] This, however, sets up the entire heart of the book, which is Murderbot's friendship with ART. It's an extraordinary relationship, complex and multilayered, and (view spoiler)[I look forward to the next book, with Murderbot traveling with ART and its crew (hide spoiler)]. It allows for some very good conversations about what love is, and I liked the contrast with Murderbot's friendship with Dr. Mensah--there's a moment when one of the characters asks Murderbot if it loves Mensah, and Murderbot says "not the way you think." Murderbot is asexual, and that never changes, but there are elements of the romantic that deepen those friendships without ever being the kind of romantic a human would expect.
While the heart of the story is relationships, the plot is jam-packed with excitement and terror. Wells is a skilled writer with a great sense of tension, and I read the book in a single three-hour session, swept along by the action. Part of the joy is, of course, seeing how Murderbot reacts to the irrational humans it's nevertheless very attached to, but watching the humans interact with each other is nearly as good. Liking Mensah's teenage daughter Amena was a huge surprise. The first time we meet her, it's under conditions that make her look like a typical self-involved teen, but she turns out to be smart and quick-thinking and mature in the right ways. (view spoiler)[She calls Murderbot "third mom" at one point (Mensah being one of her two mothers) and that was a delight. (hide spoiler)]
The climax is sweet and terrible and emotionally fraught, and I'd like to burble about it, but I think it's better people just read the book. I very rarely recommend a series so wholeheartedly, because I don't believe anything is a "must-read", but this is a series that starts out looking like nothing more than an action novel and gradually builds to something very powerful.
Okay, a little burbling: (view spoiler)[The creation of Murderbot 2.0 made Murderbot's apparent death way more plausible and therefore way more affecting. I loved how everything worked out, from 2.0's sacrifice to the way SecUnit 3 began its journey of self-determination to ART wanting Murderbot to stay with it. Also, I calculated a while ago how long Murderbot had been free of its governor module because number of hours doesn't translate to actual time in my head, and SecUnit 3's uncertainty is a reminder of how much longer Murderbot has had to become what it is. I'd love to see more of SecUnit 3. (hide spoiler)]
On a more personal note, I have been a fan of Martha Wells since reading Wheel of the Infinite back in 2002 (I'd read and loved two earlier books, but that was the one that really hooked me) and it has been an absolute joy to see her achieving such amazing success with this series. It's like seeing my favorite underdog team win the World Series, and I'm not a sports person so I'm not sure why that's the analogy I came up with, but there it is. I hope people who discover her through the Murderbot Diaries go on to pick up her fantasy work; I realize that's not a natural crossover, and a lot of readers of SF aren't into fantasy and vice versa, but what she's done here is the natural culmination of years of writing powerful stories about complex people. So if you're one of those readers, give her other stuff a try....more
This fourth Murderbot novella is possibly the best of the lot. Let's just take a minute to digest that. Four books in a series, each better than the lThis fourth Murderbot novella is possibly the best of the lot. Let's just take a minute to digest that. Four books in a series, each better than the last, all of them wonderful. Series don't always manage that.
So I did read this back to back with Rogue Protocol and it was an intense experience. For me, what made it great is that it's the natural end point for events that started in All Systems Red, which is to say that we're back with Dr. Mensah and some of the others Murderbot considers its crew. I loved getting to see the humans again, particularly Mensah, who I just love. She is passionate about her work and justice and doing what's right, but she also makes mistakes. And she's smart, which is nice to see, and I appreciate that almost as much as Murderbot does.
This story is a straight-up thriller, and it moves like one. I cannot imagine this being a novel because it would give readers a seizure from how fast it moves. I love how Murderbot thinks like a security-minded person and is always (until the end) a few steps ahead of the enemy. It reminds me of Jane Whitefield from the Thomas Perry novels (starting with Vanishing Act), another character I think is great.
And, of course, the ending: (view spoiler)[I said in my review of All Systems Red I hadn't realized at first that Murderbot couldn't go with Mensah to her world because it wouldn't be a free agent. It was great to see Mensah apologize for that offer and explicitly make that point, showing she understands. At this point, it's right for Murderbot to go to Preservation, because it will be a person and have the opportunity, if it wants, to make a push for legal recognition. To paraphrase the final lines, Murderbot still doesn't know what it wants, but maybe now in Preservation it has a place to be while it figures that out. (hide spoiler)]
Now, of course, I have to wait with everyone else for the release of the novel. I have my suspicions about what it will be about--suspicions only, because much of the action of the series so far is wrapped up here. But I am certain it will be as good as these novellas. (I preordered it. And I will not wait two years before reading it.)...more
So, after a good night's sleep, I moved on to book 3. Good thing, too, because this one is a nail-biter. If All Systems Red is a typical SF thriller, So, after a good night's sleep, I moved on to book 3. Good thing, too, because this one is a nail-biter. If All Systems Red is a typical SF thriller, and Artificial Condition is more of an espionage thriller, this is SF horror in the vein of Aliens. I was on edge the whole time, waiting for more bad things to happen, and Wells does a really great misdirect that makes it all work beautifully. (view spoiler)[I felt the way Murderbot did about the corrupt human security duo, that it had been so preoccupied with believing they were on edge over its presence it hadn't considered that they were an actual threat. It was a great twist. (hide spoiler)]
Don Abene and Miki are two of my favorite side characters to date. Miki in particular is complex and interesting, since it (I actually did think of this one as "she" because Miki to me is a female name, but it's an it) starts off sounding like a puppy and gradually shows its more intelligent, helpful, and loyal side. (view spoiler)[Miki's death was powerful for those reasons, not just because I came to really care about it. It was one of those horrible, senseless things that happen sometimes, and yet Miki wouldn't have died if it hadn't been trying to help a friend. (hide spoiler)] I think Miki is the most powerful influence Murderbot has had to this point in learning what it means to have a friend who isn't like you. (view spoiler)[I also think this influence is a strong point in leading Murderbot to realize it has to go back to Mensah. Murderbot isn't really conscious of Mensah as a friend yet, but that's what she is. (hide spoiler)]
Anyway, this one is creepy and brilliant, and Murderbot keeps growing in its understanding of itself, and I'm almost afraid to read the next one. (That's a lie. I went straight from this one to the fourth.)...more
In this second Murderbot story, Murderbot is on its own and pursuing the truth about events it only vaguely remembers. It's even better than the firstIn this second Murderbot story, Murderbot is on its own and pursuing the truth about events it only vaguely remembers. It's even better than the first, possibly because it's built on that book and draws from the emotional events already established.
This one was where I more fully appreciated the novella format. I think Wells was smart to write it this way rather than as a single really big novel, because the emotional impact is greater when each of these lovely little stories (none of that is meant derogatively) is set off as a self-contained unit. The format also, I think, makes Murderbot's journey--or journeys; both the quest to find out what's really going on and Murderbot's discovery of self--more distinct. Or maybe I mean more structurally coherent. In any case, it was a great choice.
And what can I say about ART? That there are other self-aware artificial intelligences in this world should not be a surprise, and one of my favorite things (I have a lot of favorite things about this series) is how some of them aren't in humanoid bodies. I loved ART's relationship with Murderbot and its influence on guiding it toward a better understanding of who it wants to be.
(All those "it" pronouns reminded me that Murderbot really does not strike me as male or female. Kudos to Wells for pulling that off.)
Learning some details of Murderbot's past intrigued me. (view spoiler)[It appears to be the only survivor, but what if there was more than one of the SecUnits who wasn't destroyed? (hide spoiler)] And once more Wells creates human characters whose natures are not only realistic, but go a long way toward establishing Murderbot as a non-human self-governing individual. I love seeing it grow in its individuality. I also love that it's fundamentally shy--it's an endearing characteristic.
I managed to read All Systems Red and this back to back before being overcome by the sheer intensity of the stories. I hope ART shows up again eventually. I hope Murderbot finds what it's looking for--what it doesn't yet know it needs....more
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