Quirky Cat's Fat Stacks

Murderbot Is On The Move in Network Effect

Network Effect is the first full-length novel to come from the world of the Murderbot Diaries. Martha Wells wrote this series following a rogue SecUnit – a partially organic bot designed for protection (and more).

Murderbot has four novellas following their adventures, which is why fans (myself included) were so excited to see them getting a full novel to tell their story. It is every bit as action-packed and full of humor as we could have hoped for.

Last we saw, Murderbot had allied themselves with several humans (or, more accurately, one human and her massive family). Naturally, these humans have a talent for getting themselves in situations where a SecUnit would be needed to save the day. The events in Network Effect are no exception.

Writing

I will confess a bit of a bias right out of the gate: The Murderbot Diaries is one of my favorite series. I adore this Rogue SecUnit, from their sense of humor and their exasperation with humans to their adoration of crummy TV shows. So, I loved Network Effect. I was destined to love it from the start.

Network Effect is a brilliantly written and highly entertaining novel. The characters were delightful (both Murderbot and the secondary characters), the events were epic, and the exasperation was on point.

This is a novel perfect for fans, old and new. The old fans will adore all of the references and appreciate the impact of certain scenes. New fans will have little to no trouble diving right into this world. I’d recommend reading the past novellas if you have a moment.

Development

There is a lot to love about Network Effect. The pacing and humor are major elements in this story, but there’s also a significant amount of character development. All together, these elements make for a brilliantly fun read.

The development of Murderbot’s character is, without a doubt, a highlight of this novel. They were pushed to new levels, both physically and emotionally. It made for some intense moments, of course. But it was enlightening to see how Murderbot would react to those moments.

Best of all? Martha Wells took the time to set up for future Murderbot adventures. I couldn’t be more excited to see where this setup will lead us. It’s the sort of plot arc that could allow for a whole lot more character growth, as well as some hilarity and entertainment along the way.

Favorite Quotes

One of the (many) things I loved about Network Effect is that it seemed to have dozens of quotes I fell in love with. Seriously, my digital copy is covered in highlights (only a slight exaggeration).

While I don’t normally include quotes in my reviews here, this time around, it just felt appropriate. However, I did struggle with limiting the quotes to just a few. That being said, don’t worry! These hilarious lines should be relatively spoiler-free (as long as you go into it assuming that Murderbot will be protecting humans while getting frustrated by them).

“This would have all been a lot easier if I wasn’t so worried about the stupid humans.”

“It’s always nice when a human looks relieved to see you.”

“I was leaking a lot, and I hate leaking.”

Conclusion

Network Effect is everything the fans deserved – and so much more. Murderbot’s latest adventure is the longest of the bunch and thus is, accordingly, more dramatic and entertaining than ever before.

My biggest regret about reading and finishing this novel? I want more. The past two days have found me in mourning, wishing I had more Murderbot to read. I already caved and reread the novel once and will likely dive back into the novellas in short order. So consider yourself warned!

This review was originally written for Word of the Nerd, but has been ported over to Quirky Cat’s Fat Stacks now that the site has shut down.

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