Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


For a being as sophisticated as you are, it is baffling how little understanding you have of the composition of your own mind

Network Effect by Martha Wells

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CBR16 BINGO: Tech, because Murderbot is a construct of robotic and human parts (Obviously) As my Bingo board can confirm, I’ve been zipping through the Murderbot Diaries this summer and having a good time getting to know SecUnit and its “friends.” Book #5, Network Effect, is the longest entry in the series so far, the first “full-length” novel in a series previously comprising novellas. In Network Effect, Dr. Mensah, SecUnit’s favorite human, sends it on a research mission with a couple of new characters–Mensah’s teenage […]

Seeking revenge, making friends

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

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CBR16 BINGO: Scandal, because Murderbot is seeking to uncover all sorts of illegal activities by the GrayCris Corporation Having recently joined the ranks of the Murderbot fandom, I’m eagerly frolicking my way through the series. While the third installment, Rogue Protocol, struck my fancy less than the first two installments, it’s still a good time and I’m itching for more. In Rogue Protocol, the construct known fondly by us readers as Murderbot and by others as SecUnit is still gathering evidence that the GrayCris Corporation […]

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”

All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1) by Martha Wells

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In five(ish) words: Free will, space-faring, android, science fiction, charming. I see how “charming” might seem out of place for something called “The Murderbot Diaries” that revolves around our understanding of a security droid’s awakening to and wrestling with purpose, but here we are. This novella packs a lot of meaning and thought-provoking content (and even a little humor) into its pages. This book reads like a space episode of Doctor Who, the type where the Doctor and their companion is stuck on a space […]

Murderbot, why are you like this

System Collapse by Martha Wells

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  I love Murderbot. For someone who does not consider themselves a person, our SecUnit is still very relatable. When things get stressful, they love to retreat and re-watch their favourite TV shows. When I find everything getting a bit stressful, I retreat and read Murderbot. We’re not so different, really. System Collapse is the seventh book in the series and it directly follows the events of Network Effect—so the following review is going to be a bit spoiler-y by nature. When we were last with […]

The big reread that I should have done before my last review

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Network Effect by Martha Wells

Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

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After reading the latest novel in Martha Wells’ Murderbot Diaries, I decided I wanted to reread the whole series, which I originally reviewed for CBR14. I had thought of doing this before reviewing System Collapse, but I told myself it wasn’t necessary and I should focus on all the books on my TBR list. But I love this series so much and going back through the whole run was fun. I expect this is the kind of thing I will do with every new Murderbot release. […]

Free Will

System Collapse: The Murderbot Diaries Book 7 by Martha Wells

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I read all the previous Murderbot stories at the beginning of CBR14 (reviews here, here and here), and while the details of those novels were perhaps a little fuzzy for me when I started this latest Murderbot, I was quickly up to speed and enjoying the continuing saga of everyone’s favorite misanthropic human-robot hybrid. As usual I zipped through this and loved it for its snarky humor and for its development of Murderbot’s relationships with the humans it works for and the artificial intelligence it […]



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