Tag Archives: Martha Wells

TBR Pile Review: System Collapse, by Martha Wells

Format: 245 pages, Hardcover
Published: November 14, 2023 by Tor Publishing Group/Tordotcom
ISBN:9781250826978 (ISBN10: 1250826977)

Description

Am I making it worse? I think I’m making it worse.

Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast.

Yeah, this plan is… not going to work.

Continue reading “TBR Pile Review: System Collapse, by Martha Wells”

My Favourite Sci Fi and Fantasy of 2023

YA and Adults – Blog Tours

Children and teenagers – Blog Tours

Non-Fiction – Blog Tours

  • 42: The Wildly Improbable Ideas of Douglas Adams, Edited by Kevin Jon Davies

TBR Pile Books

Audiobooks

  • Monstrous Regiment: Discworld, Book 31 By: Terry Pratchett
    • Narrated by: Katherine Parkinson, Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz
    • Series: Discworld , Book 31 , Discworld: Industrial Revolution , Book 3
  • The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents: (Discworld Novel 28) By: Terry Pratchett
    • Narrated by: Peter Serafinowicz, Bill Nighy, Rob Wilkins, Ariyon Bakare
    • Series: Discworld , Book 28 , Discworld: For Kids , Book 1
  • The Truth: Discworld, Book 2 By: Terry Pratchett
    • Narrated by: Mathew Baynton, Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz
    • Series: Discworld: Industrial Revolution, Book 2, Discworld, Book 25
  • The Susan/Death Discworld books
    • Narrated by Sian Clifford, Bill Nighy, Peter Serafinowicz

TBR Pile Reviews: More MurderBot!

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This short story is told from the point of view of Dr. Mensah and follows the events in Exit Strategy. Kindle Edition, 19 pages
Published April 19th 2021 by Tor (first published May 5th 2020)

My Review

I enjoy MurderBot and this short story kept me going between novels and novellas. Here we read about Dr Mensah’s reaction to being held hostage once they have returned to Preservation Station. Dr Mensah doesn’t want to admit that she’s traumatised. MurderBot doesn’t know what to do but in its own way tries to help.

I enjoyed reading about events from a different perspective and this short story shows how one of the main characters is affected by event without the intermediary of MurderBot. A good addition to the canon.

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No, I didn’t kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn’t dump the body in the station mall.

When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?)

Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans!

Again!

Hardcover, 168 pages
Published April 27th 2021 by Tor.com
ISBN:1250765374 (ISBN13: 9781250765376)

My Review

I had this book on pre-order but forgot when it was due to arrive so finding it in the post pile on Tuesday afternoon as I was leaving for swimming was a great surprise and a very happy one. I read it yesterday afternoon, to relax and because I needed my sci-fi fix.

We’re back on Preservation Station with MurderBot and its human friends. There’s been a murder! So MurderBot helps the Station Security investigate. Station Security really don’t want MurderBot around and initially suspect him, but it soon becomes clear that there are other things going on that no one knew about and a local has been suborned by the Corporations.

In this novella we see an expansion of MurderBot’s relationships and the world around him as the strangeness of Preservation in comparison to Corporate space is explored. As usual events are filtered through MurderBot’s experiences and thoughts, and are told with humour and panache. The final showdown is rather explosive. I love it.

Review: The Murderbot Diaries 1 -5, by Martha Wells

As I mentioned in my post about my future plans, I’m going to have a break from blog tours to make my way through my personal TBR pile. I thought I’d start with a sci fi series of four novellas and a novel by Martha Wells, the Murderbot Diaries.

The four novellas and novel of The Murderbot Diaries
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Review: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

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Hardcover, 176 pages
Published January 22nd 2019 by Tor.com (first published May 2nd 2017)
ISBN
1250214718 (ISBN13: 9781250214713)

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighbouring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Continue reading “Review: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells”