Listened to the audiobook with Kevin R. Free – well read.

I am in a complicated relationship with the Murderbot Diaries – I liked All Systems Red, it is easy to recommend to people because it is light reading and the premise is so good. I also love the idea of telling the story through novellas rather than novels, which is refreshing and makes for nice bite-sized chunks.

At the same time, I found that the action-packed nature of the series means that almost all space Wells has in each novella gets taken up by the plot. What breathing room she has, she uses to develop the Murderbot and its relationship with the humans around them. I understand that choice, but I guess I would have liked Wells to scrape a little of the action scenes to allow just a little more background.

As a result, I have felt that the worldbuilding in the story is a little underwhelming. The novellas have started to feel a little samey, largely because the limits to the Murderbot’s combat- and hacking abilities have never become clear.

I think the Murderbot Diaries contrasts unfavourably with the Singing Hills Cycle of novellas in this respect. In in the Singing Hills Cycle, Nghi Vo manages to subtly flesh out the relevant parts of the world just a bit more in each novella.

So when I saw the next instalment in the Murderbot Diaries was a novel rather than a novella, I allowed the series one more chance to drag me across the line.

I think Network Effect does address some of the issues the series was running into. In particular, I liked that the novel gives Preservation, the home of the Murderbot’s human friends, some time in the lime light. And because Wells takes just a bit more time to introduce them, some of the characters in this novel read as much more three-dimensional than in some of the previous stories.

But Wells does not really go into detail about the limits of what the Murderbot can do, as I really hoped she would. I guess I have to admit now that this is not because she is strapped for space but because she simply doesn’t want to.

So I think Network Effect is, in the end, very similar to the novellas in the series, with the exception that the plot is a bit more elaborate and some of the characters are a bit more developed. Most importantly, it feels less like an extended action sequence and more like a narrative interspersed with action.

I think that Network Effect does take the series to the next level, but it didn’t quite bring what I hoped it would. If you liked the series so far, I think Network Effect is going to fit right in and might even be spectacular. If you’re in the same boat as me… I’m afraid it won’t change how you feel.