Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

New Year, New (to me) Murderbot!

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

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Oh Murderbot, you charming unit, you! I enjoyed the first entry in this series, and I enjoyed it because y’all told me I would! Murderbot is a much-loved (and rightfully so) character here at CBR, and after reading the first entry back in November, I tried to pace myself. Well, I waited until a whole new YEAR *cough cough few months* before diving back in! I didn’t want to do what I did with Becky Chambers earlier last year – read through everything then spend […]

My anaylsis of Murderbot novellas 2-4

Artificial Condidtion: The Murderbot Diaries 2 by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol: The Murderbot Diaries 3 by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy: The Murderbot Diaries 4 by Martha Wells

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For self care, I started reading the second Murderbot novella the day after the election.  I then proceeded to blitzkrieg my way through the other two novellas and the novel.  Once I was finished I realized I couldn’t separate the books well enough to write reviews.  I was going to give myself review amnesty but instead decided to re-read at least the novellas and write a review immediately after each book. On this re-read, I’ve been thinking about the function of each book.  All Systems […]

Oh Murderbot, why did it take me so long to heed your call?

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

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Thank you again, Cannonballers, for alerting me to another treasure that would have stayed hidden from me had I not seen your many rave reviews!  I am a sucker for both “robot learns to person” and “people learn to robot” stories; I do not know why it took me so long to give Murderbot a go! Earlier this year I was awed by the beauty of A Closed and Common Orbit, but this time I was delighted by some good old-fashioned gruesome space violence. Our […]

Murderbot lives up to the hype: cbr12bingo – “Fresh Start”

All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries 1 by Martha Wells

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If memories serves, I first became aware of Murderbot through Cory Doctorow and was intrigued.  Then came all the love for Murderbot from Cannonballers.  When bingo was announced and there was a “Fresh Start” square, I knew immediately what I was going to read, All Systems Red. All Systems Red is set in a distant, space faring future, where all planetary exploration is done through the a corporate entity referred to only as ‘the company’.  Company requirements demand that Security Units (SecUnits) must be included as […]

Murderbot: I finally read it.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

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This book has been reviewed so many times!  Everyone loves it!  And I liked it.  I’m glad I read it.  It didn’t change my life, but it is a well-crafted and fresh novella, easy to read, with great worldbuilding and endearing characters, especially for a novella. Our narrator, the Murderbot, is a sarcastic, socially awkward robot.  Murderbot has hacked the software that controls its actions — space robot gone rogue!  Well, kinda – but this Murderbot just wants to watch videos and avoid people, mostly.  […]

First Impressions About Half Right This Time

Network Effect by Martha Wells

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I don’t often pre-order, but the Murderbot series is one of the few that I will do that for.  I am however realizing that this often means I have to wait a few days after the release to actually get the book; this was true even before pandemic close/slow-downs. This meant that I was getting a little impatient for Network Effect to show up. When the novel showed up, I got into it right away, and I think this might have been a bit of […]



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