Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Network Effect by Martha Wells

21 reviews

pacifickat's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

"Please calm yourselves and stop talking. Plan A01: Rain Destruction has been superseded by Plan B01: Distract and Extract." -Parihelion

Fun, if not a little confusing. I adore the Murderbot series, and Network effect is a worthy, novel-length addition. Definitely did a lot to push the emotional growth of Murderbot forward, adding in a whole cast of new characters, as well as bringing back some old favorites. 

I love how Wells writes Murderbot's unique interactions with various sentient beings beyond its human clients. I also have enjoyed Murderbot's

slowly dawning realization over each new story installment that it is valued, admired, and perhaps even loved by a whole host of individuals it has met over its many adventures since going rogue. It may have been designed to be a disposable tool, but to its friends and found family it is worth fighting for, and never to be abandoned. It's original purpose may have been to sacrificially defend others, but it has developed something more than factory-set objectives and parameters, grounded in an unflinching resolve to maintain personal agency even among those who see it as an object without personhood.

These books are so very fun, deeply empathetic, and manage to pack so much character development between fast-paced storytelling and wonderful action sequences. 4 stars for this one.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical trauma, Cursing, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Abandonment, Confinement, and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

maddie_can_read's review against another edition

adventurous funny informative inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I realized I was expecting a lot more from this full length Murderbot when I started and had a hard time getting into it. I felt a bit disappointed. 

I still love the characters, did enjoy the book, and am excited to see what's next for Murderbot.

So happy to see ART again, loved meeting his crew, thought the new characters were good, enjoyed the humour (but thought there could have been more), thought the concept of people getting muttated was really interesting but we didn't go as deep into that as we could've, and loved Murderbot "making a baby" with ART, and Murderbot finally successfully freeing another Secunit from their governor module.

I think shorter-form/ faster pace Murderbot stories work better. 

especially if the book follows the same exact plot of Murderbot has to rescue people, develops along the way. I think I felt so disappointed because I thought given the longer format, something out of format would occur? Like we'd see Murderbots relationship with Dr Mensah develop more? But what ended up happening was just a lot more details about like the fight sequences and the the technical aspects of the book that were never why I loved the series because I have a difficult time visualizing these things. So this one felt confusing, especially the audiobook version! Where the new Secunit sounds identical to Murderbot.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Colonisation, Violence, Confinement, Abandonment, and Blood

bluestockingbookworm's review

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Violence, Grief, Classism, Cursing, and Colonisation

Moderate: Death and Kidnapping

Minor: Blood, Deportation, War, Murder, Confinement, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail

pedanther's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Grief

Moderate: Body horror, Colonisation, Confinement, Blood, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Cursing, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Gore

Minor: Slavery

amylynn44's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Colonisation, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Violence

jhbandcats's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I love Murderbot. Its snarky comments, its jaded outlook, its loyalty to its humans, its love of soap operas - I’m just smitten. I first read this several years ago but didn’t remember it very well. I’m about to start System Collapse which takes place immediately after Network Effect so I reread this to refresh my spotty memory. 

As with all the Murderbot books, the story moves fast, the characters are as fleshed out as can be when some are fleshless, and the plot has Murderbot back with its friend ART, a research vessel, where Murderbot gets to rescue ART’s crew from … well, the plot is complicated. 

But the writing is excellent, really drawing the reader in from the beginning. I hope, hope, hope there will be many more Murderbot stories in our future. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Gore, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence

karin_goodreads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

The Murderbot Diaries' first full novel! Murderbot needs to deal with its crew getting mixed up in a space kidnapping, taking on a strange planet and its colony, while keeping everyone (mostly) intact and alive. An old friend from the past makes a return with a urgent help request. Murderbot just needs to get through all of it in one piece (mentally, emotionally & physically)... how challenging can it be?
 

It could be one more weird anomaly in this unending cycle of what the fuck.

I am so entangled in this universe that leaving is impossible (not that I'd even want to do that). I feel like someone grabbed me by my shoulders and shook me so hard that my brain got bounced around.
What the fuck? I was NOT prepared for all of these emotions and the raw reality of learning to live. This was more than I could even dreams of - Murderbot, its crew, ART with its crew, space adventures and a fuckton more! (So much happened in here I swear.)

I hate it when humans and augmented humans ruin things for no reason. Maybe because I was a thing before I was a person and if I’m not careful I could be a thing again.

 
Well, the adventures were overshadowed by the amount of emotional damage that every other page of this book decided to hit me with. I was genuinely worried and crying by the last chapters, it's not even funny (the book is funny tho). Nevertheless, the writing, the characters, the plot and all the dynamics are to die for! I am thrilled to continue the series and get to witness even more of Murderbot's journey! <3

I don't want to not see you again.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Violence, Death, and Gun violence

Moderate: Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Colonisation, Blood, and Kidnapping

Minor: Grief, Slavery, Confinement, and Panic attacks/disorders

ladythana's review against another edition

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror and Violence

Moderate: Kidnapping, Colonisation, and Gun violence

Minor: Medical trauma, Confinement, and Murder

helfire124's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Mental illness, Violence, Confinement, Gore, Medical trauma, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Abandonment, Body horror, Slavery, Confinement, Vomit, Colonisation, Forced institutionalization, and Trafficking

alexalily's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring lighthearted mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Blood

Moderate: Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Confinement, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Minor: Abandonment, Pandemic/Epidemic, and Slavery