Review: Platform Decay, by Martha Wells

Format: 244 pages, Hardcover
Published: May 5, 2026 by Tor Books
ISBN: 9781250827005

Description

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn’t know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for… eye contact!

(Emotion check: Oh, for f—)

My Review

Now I’m settled in to my new home, I’m working through my currently reading pile and this was the first one I’ve finished. I still have an entire library to unpack, but there are a few books that I’ve fished out and I’m working through them and the books I was sent over the summer.

I enjoy The Murderbot Diaries a lot and have all of them. I find Murderbot’s cynical response to events entertaining. The development of its relationships with the humans in its orbit and the continuing development and expansion of the world really gives depth to the story. Martha Wells is a skilled writer and every development is well paced.

The plot is gripping, packed with action and emotion as Murderbot tries to deal with its own emotions, understand the emotions of people around it, and keep everyone alive. It actually makes decisions based on whether or not the humans will be traumatised and barely kills anyone in this instalment.

If you’ve not read the other Murderbot Diaries, this book might be a bit confusing, so I’d recommend definitely reading the other 7 books before this one.

Now, I need to go and dig out the other books so that I can shelve them.

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-FictionBlog 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