Small Reviews

Father Christmas thankfully did enable me further, but on settling in to read I realised that there was actually a short story (yes, I know not technically a book) available to read for free on tor.com. This one breaks with the series and is told from the view of Mensah. It adds an interesting second perspective on a couple of points, but there was something about the writing style and narrative that didn't feel like it fit as well. It felt almost janky after fitting so well with SecUnit's delivery. Still, a nice little addition.

This concluded my 4-book boxset, and left me sadly Murderbot-less over Christmas until I could find out if Father Christmas would further enable my binge. This one was basically non-stop action, but it also deepened its important relationships and had some really touching interactions. I'm trying to work out why I haven't given any of these 5 stars yet, so hell, it's Christmas, let's go for it!

Another one done! This one started more slowly and I was thinking it maybe didn't quite have the same hook as the others. But no, after arriving at an abandoned mining facility (what could possibly go wrong?!) it all kicked up a gear and was flat out up to the end. The inevitable twist was pretty predictable, but maybe that's just because I've read too many pessimistic space stories and am suspicious of everything.

More of the same good stuff, basically could be a complete short story continuation of the last in terms of pacing and tone etc. Enjoyed the addition of ART as another very human not-human.

Enjoyed this so much I'd bought a box set version of the first 4 before finishing it. Murderbot is just a brilliant character, one who I empathised with from the start, and I want to find out a lot more about. This is a short read and the main criticism seems to be how pricey they are for the length, but I had no criticism in terms of the content. Really enjoyed the setting and how it panned out, looking forward to more.

I know this is pretty much blasphemy, but I was surprised at how little I enjoyed this book. I started reading it after watching the TV show, and for me it's one of the rare times that the show is better than the book. I found his writing style a slog to get through, the stories were unremarkable, and at no point was I dying to read on. It was also really notable that there's not a single woman (even mentioned in passing) until about 80% in. One appears with a non-speaking part, and then the next is a nagging wife character.

Flew through this, really easy read as was the first book. Mostly set in space, which I really enjoyed. Liked the character development and greater insight into people's motivations, and how this book continued some really insightful descriptions of topics like privilege. Still found the romantic aspects cringy and clunkily written compared to the rest though!

Easy to get into, and enjoyed most of this. Felt it lost its way a bit in Argelo but figured that was part of the pacing. But then the last two chapters just lost me. A bit too weird a payoff, and an unresolved ending that felt like it just gave up. Also Sophie is a dick, and there were tons of weird relationship dynamics that just didn't feel believable or something to get behind.

Wasn't sure I'd be into it initially as the first chapter or so didn't grab me. However ended up going with it and enjoyed it by the end. Not as "I must read more" as previous books by them, but would consider reading a sequel.

Flew through this book during a week off. Really easy reading, some interesting characters, although wasn't a fan of the really cheesy and sometimes clumsy writing about attraction and sex between the main characters. A lot of the writing on anxiety and prejudice was more deft and resonated. Definitely enough to want to find out what happens next.

Just... pretentious stupidness. I stuck with it, and it does get better about halfway in. But it tries to be far more clever than it is. Poorly written, you don't understand half of what's going on, don't care about the characters, and reads as never having met a real woman as there are such caricatures.