36. System Collapse (Murderbot Diaries #7) by Martha Wells

Murderbot Diaries complete!  What a lot of fun.  As advertised, all the way to the end.  I was half-joking about my previous complaints that Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse were put together in the same book when Network Effect takes place between them, but it really is quite egregious.  System Collapse is more than just a follow-up to Network Effect. It's basically the second half of the story.  System Collapse is entirely dependent on Major plotlines and characters are all established in Network Effect.  It would be quite confusing and spoilery to read it first.  The publishers should at least have put a disclaimer between the two books.  

Network Effect is about rescuing ART's crew and figuring out the mystery of the Lost Colony.  Now that we know what is going on.  And there is a lot going on with factions of colonists, two layers of semi-failed terraforming/colonization, the evil corporation coming and trying to turn the colonists into indentured servants while the good people of ART's university crew (actually more of an advocacy group that secretly rescues and supports lost colonies) and Murderbot's Preservation friends try to save them.

The final act gets a bit confusing and drawn out and was somewhat of an anti-climax.  There were so many moving parts and while it was emotionally satisfying and there was some decent action, I was hoping for something on a grander scale.  An epic battle between secunits riding those crazy alien-contaminated ag-bots for instance would have worked.  I'm nitpicking and as this is an episodic type series, going against my own values.  Still very entertaining.  I'm excited to learn that there is a new novella at work for 2026 and two short stories online that I will read next.

Some thoughts on the Murderbot TV series

I've watched the first 6 episodes and it's not quite doing it for me.  It looks great and most of the actors are excellent (and look correct as well).  I have two issues.  First, while Skarsgard is fine, I hate to be super work but I really have to question the casting.  One of the genius touches of the books is that Wells never identifies Murderbot's gender nor really their appearance.  I realized at some point in that I was vaguely imposing my own masculine default image in my mind, but Murderbot could be any skin colour, gender or body type even.  Like why not a thick, short butch lesbian look?  Skarsgard is about as generic white male as you can get.  It just anchors the show back to the 20th century.  He is an executive producer so maybe a lot of the money came from his work, so I can accept him wanting to star if so, just not an ideal choice.

I can live with the boring safe choice but what really irks me is the obviousness of the writing.  The books are far from subtle but Wells always delivers her various themes with a light touch.  Murderbot is always sardonically commenting on the naivete of humans outside the Corporation Rim, but they are all quite competent (again, for humans) and don't ever flip out unecessarily and screw shit up.  In the TV series, Dr. Mensah has to keep having panic attacks and they even wrote in an entirely new character who would betray them just so Murderbot could blow her head off in front of them all so we could get an entirely new level of freak-out and mistrust by the wimpy liberals.  Yes, they are humanists and soft-hearted, but they are all experienced researchers who come from a refugee colony and have seen some  shit.  I can just see some producer going "we need to punch this up!"  It's just so stupid and obvious and manipulative rather than good characters reacting with complexity to interesting situations (which is what the book delivers so well on).

This concept that progressives are soft and don't understand reality is a long-used propaganda narrative by the right and given that the entire thesis of the Murderbot Diaries is against corporatism and the need for authoritarian control (in the symbol of Murderbot's rejected governor module), it is depressing to see Hollywood once again internalizing it making it a fundamental aspect of the show.  That's your coastal elites for you, always bending the knee to money and the power behind it.

35. Network Effect (Murderbot Diaries #6) by Martha Wells

After a side route down classical literature, I jumped back into the Murderbot Diaries. My plan was to read them straight through, but then I got the publishing curve ball that Network Effect takes place chronologically between Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse (which are both together in The Murderbot Diaries vol 3!).  So I had to scramble to find Network Effect, which I'd been planning to buy  later.  It wasn't available at any of the independent or chain bookstores in Montreal.  On a whim, I thought I'd check out the new genre bookstore that I had passed on St-Laurent when it was being renovated.  I was quite unsure of the concept yet hopeful.  Well it turned out that it was open and while no used books was definitely a real nerd genre bookstore, in both languages!  And not only did they have multiple copies of Network Effect but the guy at the counter had read and loved them all and we had a nice nerdy back and forth.  Beings, I present to you Joie de Livres.  Go and consume there.

I am happy to say that Network Effect continues all the great elements of the previous Murderbot books:  awesome sci-fi physical and computer action, hilarious techno-neurodivergent yet overly-emotional and sensitive Murderbot commentary on stupid humans (I love the "privacy blah blah blah" line), super cool space setting with evil corporations and mellow hippy planets thwarting them.  And all this goodness in full novel length!

This time, Murderbot is out with a scientific team from Preservation (including Amena, Dr. Mensah's adolescent daughter) when they get raided by a tougher yet weirdly more primitive transport ship that turns out to be ART, Murderbot's old transport bot/secretly super powerful research AI friend that has somehow been deleted and taken over by these weirdly grey humanoids.  Murderbot gets most of the crew off and seemingly saved except for Amena and the two of them get sucked into a wormhole that leads to an abandoned colony planet and a fun mystery.  This narrative has two main themes that keep you turning the pages:  Murderbot needing to save both him and ART's crew while dealing with a corporate that wants to claim the colony and figuring out the mystery of who these gray people are and how could they have taken over ART with some weird mold.

The climax is really cool as we get not only another SecUnit involved, but also a copy of Murderbot in software form only and the three of them work together with ART.  It's complex and fun and also allows Murderbot to get all in huff constantly because he can't deal with his emotions.  I'm turning into one of those fans who will be demanding more when I finish the last book.

34. The Odyssey by Homer (translation and forward by Daniel Mendelsohn)

Years, actually decades ago now, I drove solo from New York City to Golden, B.C.  in a 1993 Nissan pick-up.  I would have made record time if not for the shit birds at Canada Customs who blocked me at the border on a threat (I didn't have proof of insurance in Canada for the truck so the RCMP would pull me over as soon as I crossed the border; a total fucking lie by a power-tripping junior border guard in training but forced me to spend the night and get a fax of the paperwork).  A friend lent me the books on tape (on cassette) of the complete Odyssey for the trip.  I'm ashamed to say that I can't remember who did the reading nor the translation, though pretty sure it was the Lattimore.  I was a bit skeptical but the friend assured me it would be entertaining.  He was totally right, it kept me cruising for two of the three days on the road and had me screaming and pumping my fist in the air at the climax when Odysseus finally lets that second arrow fly.

So I was quite excited when I heard about this new translation, to the point where I once again went against my own rule and bought a new book while my on-deck shelf is full (been doing this a lot this year).  My plan was to take it on our summer trip to Vancouver, both to have as a beach read but also to get in on that Hot Guys Reading Instagram trend. I carried and read it ostentatiously on the plane to absolutely zero effect or reaction.  None on the beach either.  Hey, I tried!

My experience was similar actually reading it.  The Odyssey is a narrative the keeps moving forward. It twists and turns at times and has stylistic repetitions and phrases that tend to keep the modern reader from fully falling into the story.  Despite that, you get caught up in it and it becomes very easy to read.  The primary emotional driver is much more the suitors storyline then Odysseus' actual journey (all the cool parts are actually told in flashback).  Those guys are the worst and the epic draws out there shittiness to the breaking point before you finally get the relief of revenge.  This really is the ur-text of revenge that dominates so much of masculine fiction.  Bad guys threaten my family/home but I can't get to them yet...  There are several side narratives that bolster your emotional connection:  Telemakos learning to stand up for himself, Odysseus' super-loyal swineherd, the faithful older maid who reveals the betraying slut maids (this one is quite rough, actually).  It really is an expertly crafted story that weaves all these elements together into an immensely rich and satisfying tapestry almost equal to something Athena would have crafted (of course, not equal to Athena's level, which is that of a God).

Strongly recommended.  I really do not have the knowledge of Greek mythology nor ancient Greek to comment on the translation but it worked for me!

33. Fugitive Telemetry (Murderbot Diaries #5) by Martha Wells

Now that the initial plot cycle of Murderbot going rogue and then re-uniting (and rescuing) the original survey crew of mellow humans has finished, we can move on to further episodic fun.  This time we get a classic domestic murder mystery, taking place on the space station outside of the Preservation system (the home world of the mellow scientists).  Murderbot has to navigate his new role in this relatively free society, where sentient bots are considered living beings but they have never actually tried this with a secUnit (who have a reputation to be wildly dangerous and most humans fear).  He also is still very paranoid about GreyCris the evil corporation trying to get revenge on Senoir Mensah.

Though fairly straightforward plot-wise and quick reads, there are a lot of layers to this series.  For instance, the portrayal in the media of SecUnits is mostly as out of control killers or every now and then self-sacrificing heroes.  They are basically slaves.  Starting to see the connection?  She doesn't shove it down your throat but the issues are there and explored and exposed subtly to add depth to the reading and make you think about our own world.  Despite that, Wells never fails to deliver the cool sci-fi stuff and action the reader also wants.  The resolution to the mystery in this one works perfectly to do this (won't give away anymore).  I stayed up past my bedtime finishing it.  Enough said.

Now annoyingly, I have to go find the novel, Network Effect, because it takes place between Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse which are both together in a single volume, argh! 

 

32. Exit Strategy (#4 in the Murderbot Diaries) by Martha Wells

Turns out this is a conclusion of the narrative of the first 4 books in the Murderbot Diaries.  Like so many science fiction series these days, I find the marketing and grouping of the books really confusing.  They should make it clear.  What's also annoying is that Volume 3 contains two novellas (Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse) but when I went to check for reading order (after seeing that Exit Strategy closed off the story started in book 1) I see that there is a novel that is set chronologically between those two!!  So now I have to go find the novel before I can read the second novella.  Annoying.

Anyhow, Exit Strategy was another fun chapter in Murderbot's attempt to figure himself out and get back at these shitty corporations.  This time, as he heads out to his original boss Mensah's home world to give her the damning evidence of GreyCris illegaly foraging ancient alien artifacts, he learns that she has been kidnapped by GreyCis.  So he has to go back to their corporate hub and kick some ass.  There is some cool surveillance tech fun in this one, as he is now in a very populated place with fancy hotels and cafes and stuff, all already staked out by the enemy.  There is some pretty good space combat as well. Wells gives a nice mix of the humour and human stuff but she never neglects a good robot or space battle, which made doubly entertaining as they are fought on the physical and the network/cyber levels simultaneously.

31. Rogue Protocol (Murderbot Diaries book 3) by Martha Wells

Cruised through another "episode" of the Murderbot series.  Now that he (she? it?) has learned the truth about the massacre for which it felt reponsible, it has now decided on a bit of a whim to investigate the GrayCris company (who was responsible for the sabotage in the first book and the original massacre).  Murderbot learns about a failed GrayCris terraforming investment but suspects it was actually a cover-up for another illegal alien artifact dig.

Murderbot sneaks onto a contracted shuttle that is going to the now shuttered terraform unit to reclaim it and ostensibly use it for some other purpose.  Murderbot makes acquaintances with a humanoid helper bot called Miki that is treated as a colleague and equal by the rest of the crew and uses Mike as its sensors and interface while murderbot remains hidden.  This state of affairs last until the crew arrives at the terraforming station and is attacked.  Much exciting bot on bot action (including three increasingly creative combat bot kills) and several layers of double-crossing, Murderbot once again helps a gang of outmatched and too sentimental human hippies against corporate malfeasance and then makes her getaway.  Still fun.

30. Artificial Condition (Murderbot Diaries book 2) by Martha Wells

Well over 2 years ago, I was enthusiastically looking forward to continuing to read the Murderbot series, but dang these are hard to find used!  I broke down and bought the first 3 volumes (2 books per volume) at Dark Carnival.  I even bought the first volume, half of which I'd already read and it has a super annoying Stream on AppleTV+ sticker on the cover.  I am really starting to lose my principles as I age!

Artificial Condition is truly a novella.  I read it in an afternoon (a deliciously hot day in Montreal).  In the first half, Murderbot learns more about itself against its own will as it is grilled by a very smart data processing transport bot (who runs a ship owned by some university for research purposes but is contracted out for transport in between projects).  In the second half, assisted by this new robot "ally" (murderbot is extremely annoyed by it and reluctant to allow it to get close), he investigates the site of his own early massacre and helps out a family of miners who got screwed out of their data.  It's quick and satisfying.  

What I am enjoying about the series so far is that it is episodic.  There is a loose over-arching metaplot of murderbot figuring out what it wants to do, which seems to be evolving with each novella.  In this one, he wants to go back to the site of his massacre (he has the memory of having killed 57 that was covered up as an industrial accident) to find out what really happened.  It's part of the plot in this book but is secondary to the narrative of the episode.  It makes for me at least for more enjoyable reading.

29. The Floating Dutchman by Nicolas Bentley

I took this purely on aesthetics and the joy at finding a small vein of British 50s and 60s paperbacks at the Rennaissance on St-Denis.  I love the colours of the photo cover, though the image is a bit indistinguishable. It is relevant to the story though I don't think the pouch of stolen jewels ever actually sits in a pool of blood.

Unfortunately, the book itself wasn't so great.  One definitely could (and did) put it down.  There is nothing straight-up bad about it, au contraire, it is very competently written, the characters and situation all feel very real.  It's just super dry and almost anthropological in its look at a narrow slice of crime in 50s London.  The emphasis of the storylines are unevenly distributed as well, so you aren't really sure who is the main character and about whom we are supposed to care.

It takes place around a bar that is run by Victor, a career criminal with a heroic military past in Italy.  He's never been caught and as we learn is involved in a scheme to steal jewels from wealthy people's homes while they are out eating at a restaurant (Victor is in cahoots with the head waiter).  The ostensible other protagonist is Alexander, an undercover cop getting in good with Victor to trace and find proof of his selling the stolen jewels.  We also have a young hostess working at the bar who is of course too beautiful for such a place but there to watch her reefer-addicted brother who plays in the house band.   Marijuana is treated like heroin in this book.

It's quite procedural and detailed but all kind of dull (though an escape from a surrounded luxury apartment building at the end by Victor's right-hand man was quite cool in its detail).  The ending is supposed to be an ironic twist but you don't really get enough of the characters' relationships for it to register.  

 

28. Sunrise on the Reaping by Suzanne Collins

Thought I'd jump right into the next and latest Hunger Games book, Haymitch's origin story (he is the trainer played by Woody Harrelson).  It is another page-turner but I have to say I was disappointed with Sunrise on the Reaping and found it wanting on many levels.

This Hunger games is the second Quarter Quell, so the 50th one and 40 years after The Ballad of Snakes and Songbirds.  It's very similar to the first Hunger Games book in that you see it all from the perspective of a District citizen, how the games and the oppression of The Capitol impacts his world.  It's dark stuff.  Collins does not pull her punches and I have to always respect her for that.  This is Haymitch's origin story, the second District 12 Tribute to win and it fills a narrative gap between Snow's romance with Lucy Gray and the main saga with Katniss Everdeen.  From that perspective and for those kinds of fans, this book does a serviceable job of showing how all the strands connect, especially in the District 12 community (Haymitch's love is Lucy Gray's daughter and his friend Burdock is Katniss' dad).

Unfortunately, the overall plot and portrayal of the Capitol and the Games are not that innovative.  Snow, in particular, is the full-fledged omnipotent evil he is in the main series.  It would have been nice to see a bit more of his evolution to this insane levels of control and cruelty.  Likewise, the plot is not really that interesting.  Haymitch stumbles his way to victory, being confused and bummed most of the time.  There is no real moment of victory or even any kind of catharsis for him or the reader.  And then he just gots screwed and screwed and screwed at the very end.  Again, Collins does not hesitate to portray evil, but I just wish there had been some more development in his personality or some way that he irked Snow and forced a change in the system or something.  If he wasn't from District 12, this story would have just been a basic Hunger Games underdog victory story where the upstart gets punished and we learn that if you try to confront the Capitol you and everyone you love will be destroyed.

Another annoyance for me was that the ending basically reprints almost the entirety of Poe's The Raven.  There is some clever plotting of Snow's evil manipulations but it felt lost in a very long denouement interspersed with way too many stanzas that didn't seem all that relevant.  Kind of felt like Collins was either trying to pad it out or just loves the poem so much she wanted to force it down her readers' throats. 

I hate to say it, but it felt like fan service drove the need for this latest book rather than a true inspiration to to tell Haymitch's story and open up the history of the Games.