I pre-ordered, ‘System Collapse‘back in June 2023, when the audiobook release date was set. I’d expected to be writing another “Murderbot Rocks!” review by now. Instead, I’m sitting here thinking, “It was fun, in its way, but…*

I first met Murderbot in 2017, when I read  ‘All Systems Red,’ the first novella in the Murderbot Diaries. It was my kind of Science Fiction: in a far distant future where human space is controlled by large corporations who use Sec Units, organic robots with human brain tissue as part of their processing core, to protect their human staff and to enforce their contracts with indentured human assets, one Sec Unit manages covertly to override its governor module so it can ignore its orders and watch more soap operas. It then finds its viewing time being interrupted by inconvenient relationships with humans that it feels it ought to try to keep alive and Murderbot was born. ‘All Systems Red‘ and the next three novellas ‘Artificial Condition‘, ‘Rogue Protocol‘ and ‘Exit Strategy‘ shared a story arc that showed Murderbot coming out of hiding and grappling with having to make choices about what it wants and by doing so, defining who it is trying to be. 

In 2020 ‘Network Effect‘, the first novel-length Murderbot, took things to a new level as Murderbot started to form relationships with others: a snarky, powerful ship AI called ART who has adopted a group of human scientists, another Sec Unit that Murderbot has freed from its governor, ART’s humans and even a copy of itself called Murderbot 2.0. As Murderbot constructs its identity, it is plunged into a conflict involving corrupt Corporations, enslaved humans and contamination from an ancient alien race. It was great stuff and I’d hoped ‘Systems Collapse‘ would be more of the same.

It was and it wasn’t.

I was surprised to find that ‘Systems Collapse‘ read like part two of ‘Network Effect‘ rather than a novel in its own right. 

If you haven’t read ‘Network Effect,’ ‘System Collapse‘ isn’t going to make much sense. If, like me, it’s three years since you read ‘Network Effect‘, I recommend reading it again first. 

‘System Collapse‘ does provide a satisfying conclusion to ‘Network Effect‘, which ended with Murderbot and his team of humans and Artificial lifeforms dealing with the alien threat to the colonists at great personal cost, Now, while they’re mopping up some points of infection and trying to establish legal independence for the colonists, a predatory corporation shows up to try and take ownership the people and the planet and second, independent, set of colonists is revealed.

What followed was fun. The action scenes work. The ideas are vigorous and vividly animated, The plot has some surprises and Murderbot continues along it path of deciding who it is and who it wants to be connected with.

But… 

I’d hoped for more. After a three-year gap, filled only with short stories, this felt too much like a story that should have been released as ‘Network Effect Part 2‘ or which should have been in the original book. 

I know there are more Murderbot books to come and I’m sure I’ll read them but I hope the next one stands on its own and breaks new ground.