System Collapse
Murderbot Diaries Book 7.0
ISBN 9781250826978
eISBN 9781250826985
ASIN B0BQGJHG3Q
I have been working my way through this series. It has only been a few weeks since I read book 6, and a few months before that book 4 and 3, but it had been almost 2 years between it and each earlier volume. The series came highly recommended from an author I love. I read this volume over a single day. It was so hard to put down. To quote C.S. Lewis
“No tea cup is big enough nor book long enough for me to be satisfied.”
The earlier stories in this series were novellas then a full length novel and now back in the novel range for this one. All of the stories in this series are excellent reads. And I was excited find out after reading this that an eighth volume has been announced for release early in 2026. Prior to reading that first book I had never heard of Martha Wells, but author Arthur Slade mentioned his on social media. And specifically, he mentioned that first book, which he had just finished. I have read a few books over the years that Art has plugged and have never been disappointed. And that was the case that time as well.
I bought and read book 1 while sitting in PICU after my son had spinal surgery. When I picked it up, I did not realize that it was part of a series. Let alone this long, a series, but it gives me several more books to look forward to that year, or at least that was the plan. It is in many ways a classic science fiction tale. It reminds me of stories I read a lot of in my youth but only pick up from time to time now. The description of this sixth instalment is:
“Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells's bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.
Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.
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.”
Our hero or anti-hero depending on your perspective was formerly property. But not it has ties to certain humans. And this story continues directly from the previous offering. That volume took places sometime after the previous story. We were not given the time gap, but long enough there is no direct reference to recent events. Murderbot, his ship friend ART, and humans they both care about are stuck on a plant trying to keep the humans there free and given them a choice for planning their own future. The main story focuses around Murderbot and a small team having tried to make contact with a separatist group on the planet only to find out that the corporation was already there.
There is less action than the other stories in this series, and since Murderbot has learned and grown a lot since hacking its governor module. This is more of a story with Murderbot playing the lead in trying to find a way to prevent the colonist from signing themselves into slavery to a corporation. Murderbot and a mobile fragmentation of ART have a lot on their plate, and need to work together towards a shared goal.
I said it before but this book and series remind me of James Bolivar diGriz, Slippery Jim aka The Stainless Steel Rat. And as you can tell from the first, it is a thinking book. Not just fluff to entertain. That feeling was even stronger with each offering in the series. I especially love Murderbot’s conversations with ART, or at least a part of art and they way the team is working together.
The stories in this series in some ways reminds me of the Stainless Steel Rat Series by Harry Harrison. And in other ways it reminds me of Starship Troopers by Heinlein. The action and mystery reminds me of the Rat; and the deep reflective internal dialogue of Rico from Troopers. It is an excellent read in a great series. I can easily recommend this book and series.
Books by Martha Wells:
The Murderbot Diaries:
0.1 Obsolescence
0.5 Compulsory
1.0 All Systems Red
3.0 Rogue Protocol
4.0 Exit Strategy
5.0 Network Effect
7.0 System Collapse
8.0 Platform Decay
...
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