Back in November of 2018 I joined the cult of Murderbot. After I had read and loved The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet by Becky Chambers Emmalita and narfna had told me that Murderbot needed to be next up in my reading of contemplative, character driven space opera. I was immediately in love. I’ve kept up with the furthering adventures of Murderbot in the intervening years and had decided earlier this year that I wanted to do a full series re-read before I tackled System Collapse which was published last year. Throw in that all things Murderbot is going to be Cannonball Read’s October book club selection and I’m a happy camper.
In my first review of All Systems Red I noted that I felt Martha Wells seemed to have nailed the balance in a novella length work of just the right amount of characterization and world building and forward momentum of the plot. I felt the same way this time, and I know that I’ll never be able to read Murderbot for the first time again and my subsequent experiences are going to impact how I view the work, but I was glad to go back to that original review and see all that I had clocked the first time that still felt true. The subtleness of Wells’ writing, of how deadpan Murderbot is, how the dryness of its delivery of information (and delightful use of parenthetical phrases). This is such a good entry into the larger ideas Wells is exploring, of personhood, of greed, of acknowledging multiple ways of being. I continue to love Murderbot, which would make it uncomfortable, but watching it develop relationships with its humans has only reaffirmed how much I’m looking forward to continuing its story (ART is on the way!).
Bingo Square: Cult. A Cannonball Cult Classic, if you will.
Sweet 16 Books: Binge. This is the beginning of my Murderbot Binge!
