System Collapse: Book Review

Today, we will be reviewing System Collapse by Martha Wells, the seventh book in the Murderbot Diaries series. Keep reading to find out if you should read this sci-fi novel next and what we thought of it!

System Collapse Summary

The novel picks up after the events of Network Effect. a Barish-Estranza explorer arrives on the planet and engages with Murderbot and ART’s crews. The group discovers a separatist group of colonists and have to take action in order to protect them for becoming enslaved by a corporate entity.

Murderbot and crew find a legacy computer that Murderbot tries to befriend as the group tries to convince the separatist group of the impending threat. The Barish-Estranza group uses low-end tactics to make the separatist believe that they have their best interest at hand. 

Things go south when negotiations fail and Murderbot’s crew is facing off against the Barish-Estranza group. Double crossings and internal dissent lead to a situation nobody expected. With time against them, Murderbot and friends have to try new things or the separatist group will become corporate property. 

Commentary

System Collapse was released in 2023 and follows the events of Network Effect, the fifth book in the series. The order in which you read the books doesn’t matter too much and you can put two and two together with ease.

I enjoyed the second arc in this series and Wells does a great job of raising the stakes as well as developing Murderbot as a character. Comparing Murderbot to ART is a great way to see growth and that while ART is stubborn and refuses to adapt, Murderbot is more willing to for the people it cares about.

We see many new characters and Murderbot using its past experience to solve future problems. There are a lot of fun and interesting twists and we see Wells making use of the sci-fi genre to its fullest. There is a lot of action and the pacing is great as always.

Conclusion

I discovered The Murderbot Diaries this year so I didn’t have to wait for any of the seven books to be published. That means I devoured the whole series in eight days and enjoyed every second of it. You can also read the short stories in between which are available at Tor.com.

This has been one of my favorite series and one that I will be rereading in the near future. I also watched the Apple TV adaptation of All Systems Red and recommend it to anyone who enjoyed this series. I won’t stop talking about Murderbot until the next book is out. Until then, happy reading!

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