Review: Network Effect

Network Effect by Martha Wells
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

So I've waited until the day before release because a) so many of my friends have bookenvy for this one, and b) it's hard to tell you about Murderbot's evolution as a character without spoilers. They are still full of sarcasm and capable of the sharpest of retorts, but Murderbot grows in this novel.

As this novel opens, our favorite SecUnit is adjusting to some life changes. He's still running security for Dr. Mensah, of course, but he's doing it without his helmet and body armor and most importantly, he's doing it as a team member. The difference is striking in how this impacts SecUnit. For the first time, we see him expressing serious feelings about things. And by this, I don't mean "Ugh, I had a 'feeling'." (There is still some of that, but they start to soften a bit, in spite of how complicated it all is.) SecUnit contemplates a lot of things, including what he needs to do to take care of Dr. Mensah, who has serious PTSD issues, her teenage daughter Amena, who has that bold adolescent need to question everything and defend SecUnit fiercely, and most of all, what do about ART, our favorite Asshole Research Transport. Early on in the novel, it appears that ART may have been deleted by a nefarious group of what can only be viewed as space pirates. At first, SecUnit is viscerally angry about this. But the truth is a lot more complicated than that, and the mystery of what happened to ART, how, and why will occupy much of the book. The good news is that SecUnit proves to be a good friend and hey, maybe even a good third mom. But being these things means dealing with a whole lot of humans, some of whom may not exactly trust SecUnit.

Wells has further developed Murderbot in this full-length novel. At first, I felt like the character had been made a tad too emotional, but it all comes round and you'll come to understand some of the changes. Some aspects of the story add poignancy to the series' usual humor. Best of all there is room for a sequel to the series.

I'll update with my thoughts about the audiobook when I've had a listen but there's no reason to think that narrator Kevin R. Free will be any less spectacular than with the four novellas he previously narrated in the series.

I received a Digital Review Copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

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