System Collapse: The Murderbot Diaries, Book 7

Book number seven of a seven book series of science fiction novellas, short stories, and full length novels. However, this is the sequel to book number five, "Network Effect", of the seven book series according to series chronological date. I read and reread the well printed and well bound hardcover published by Tor in 2023 that I bought new from Amazon. Murderbot and several of the Preservation Colony people are still in the unmapped system with the colonists from forty plus years ago on the partially terraformed planet. They have decided to help the colonists become free and own their planet as the original corporation has gone bankrupt. However, the Barish-Estranza Corporation people are still trying to enslave the colonists and take the planet. And, Murderbot is now sharing its hack to shut down the SecUnit governor with other SecUnits. BTW, when you run across *Redacted*, keep on going. There is an explanation and it is not good. Time will tell how this affects Murderbot. Murderbot is a SecUnit, similar to a T-800 Terminator with a cloned and severely modified human brain. The brain is supplemented by the AIs in the cpu embedded in its head. There are lungs, there is a blood mixture with a synthetic, there is human skin over the entire body, there is a face, there is hair on the head and eyebrows. Everything else is machine. Somehow, the blood is enriched with electricity as there is no stomach or intestines. But, there are arteries and veins to keep the skin and brain alive. It has a energy gun in each arm and several cameras. The SecUnit can sustain severe damage to everything but the head and still survive. There is a personal MedSystem that continuously monitors the health of the SecUnit and gives constant updates to the SecUnit. And controls the clamps on the various arteries and veins throughout the torso and extremities of the SecUnit in case of damage. And shuts down the SecUnit in case of total system failure. Or reboots the SecUnit if needed. There is a personal SecSystem that has a threat awareness module that continuously updates the SecUnit on any and all threats it perceives. And monitors and controls up to thirty drones. There is a Governor that monitors what the SecUnit is doing versus the current orders (verbal or embedded) and punishes it using pain sensors in the human brain until it complies. And the governor will fry the brain of the SecUnit when if it leaves the vicinity of the controlling authority or the controlling authority leaves vicinity of the SecUnit. Murderbot is a self named SecUnit due to an unfortunate circumstance with 57 miners on a remote moon. It has hacked its governor and no longer allows the governor to give it orders or inflict pain. It prefers to internally watch its 35,000 hours of downloaded media such as episodes of "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon" and "WorldHoppers (aka Stargate)". Even though it has a face, it does not like to interface with humans, yes, very introverted. It will follow human orders if it sees fit to do so. Murderbot is an incredibly interesting character. It handles horrible situations easily and personal interactions difficultly. Like I said, interesting. Warning: There is violence and death in the books. Books one through four are a series of novellas, not regular length books. Book five is a regular length novel, book six is back to the novella, and book seven is a full length novel. You can buy a collection of the first four hardbacks at a nice discount. My rating: 6 out of 5 stars

Still a bit too much of the capitalism is bad vs. imaginary utopian paradises with free stuff are good. But this one eventually gets up to speed and has the fast paced space opera that makes Murderbot so good. I could have done without the whole “redacted” gimmick and very very tired of confusing genders and names. What even is a vi? It just makes the story harder to enjoy as you try to decipher who is talking to who? Is they a person or plural persons, you know, like the English language works? And the names tend to be gender confusing (except Iris) so that makes it even harder to guess who is talking to each other. Plus sec bot is an “it” already (as it needs to be) so now it is even MORE confusing. I’d recommend this one though. One last complaint? Why isn’t this book 6? I would have rather read it after book 5 and now book 6 doesn’t fit anywhere in the lore. One more last complaint… why not include Amena in this one (as a person, not a character away from the action!?) she and murderbot were great as a “team” - much better than Ratti. That’s all.

Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells is a great sci-fi series! I loved every single moment of reading all of it, including this book. I read all the Murderbot Diaries books in the span of about two months. Then I read them all again. I had a hard time putting them down. The books are all written in first person from the perspective of Murderbot, a security unit construct that has overridden its governor module and likes consuming media. All Systems Red follows its first experience having true free-will. Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy continue the first story line, and bring it to a good final stopping point. Fugitive Telemetry is a stand alone story set chronologically after Exit Strategy. Network Effect and System Collapse occur chronologically after Fugitive Telemetry, and follow Murderbot through a new adventure. The writing is good though possibly a little simplistic. The story line is excellent. Very fast paced. The world building is amazing (if you're really into world building also read the Raksurian series by Wells). The tone is at different times serious, sarcastic and funny. Always a lot of action, but also lots of discussion of emotions and relationships. Zero sex and romance. There are also topics of depression and anxiety, violence and lots of swearing. I would recommend for older teenagers and up. And if you don't like stories that cast a negative light on corporations then this book is not for you. I originally read the series in the order it was released, which is not in chronological order for that universe. Either order seems fine to me (look up online the chronological order if you want to read them that way). There are also several other short stories from that universe as well. The physical book itself was in great condition.

First read - November 26, 2023: 😥🥲😮‍💨 Why did I read it? Seriously, why did I do this to myself?! I’d been waiting for this book for months, counting the days, and now that I’ve finished it… I just want to go back and experience it all over again, like it’s my first time. Not just this one, but the entire series. To say I liked it is such an understatement. I loved it. Didn’t want it to end. And that ending?! WHAT. WAS. THAT. CLIFFHANGER. 😱 Murderbot juggling its humans, the chaos, and its own existential meltdown, it was wild, heartbreaking, and absolutely brilliant. I adored every single page. Now I need the next part immediately. Also, can we talk about how MB and ART are basically the ultimate chaotic power duo? 🥰 I need more of that energy in my life! Second read - December 22, 2025: Rereading before book eight because I needed to refresh some details (and my heart 🫠). Somehow, I love ART even more this time around, that smug ship owns my soul 🚀💖 I really hope Three gets to join the crew too. Bring on Platform Decay in May 2026, because I’m so not ready but also desperately ready 😭

This was an overall good series.Murderbot becomes free and then he finds himself through his experiences after becoming free. He’s not content with being free. He frees others who are in his same predicament. He goes from thinking he’s no good for anything but murdering to being a better human than most of the humans around him. The storyline is easy to follow and compelling. I’m not a person who uses some of the language choices that Murderbot uses in this series. However, I do appreciate that he seems authentic and real throughout the series. I actually enjoyed Murderbot’s relationships with the bots and the humans better than I enjoyed the relationships described between the humans. The human relationships were slightly confusing at times and other times just annoying to me. However, this does not take away from the five stars that I gave this book. This book is well written and developed along with the other books in the series.

The consequences of hacking their governor module are starting to catch up with Murderbot. Efficiency is down and PTSD is creeping into the picture. Life is getting more complicated and Murderbot is discovering there are some problems they can't shoot their way out of... especially without armor and heavy weaponry. Wells does a good job of crafting new scenarios that are both novel and challenging for Murderbot and his human companions whilst simultaneously fleshing out the toxic hegemony of Corporate Rim back stabbing. ART sees a good bit of action, but I confess my curiosity is piqued by a new (to us) relationship ART has that is revealed near the end of the book. For fans of Murderbot, this is a quality addition to the story.

System Collapse is my favourite Murderbot book since the first one. It hits that perfect mix of action, humour, and emotional depth that makes the series so compelling. What really stood out this time was the emotional fallout Murderbot is dealing with after the last book—there’s real angst here, and it feels earned. The big question running through the story—what makes us human, and is that even a good thing?—really stuck with me. Murderbot is constantly grappling with its own identity, and the book doesn’t shy away from exploring that through its relationships and experiences. There’s also this great thread about soldiers and trauma, and how that shapes people, whether they’re human or not. One of the best parts was the interactions between Murderbot, his humans, ART’s humans, and then even more humans—so many that Murderbot has to start giving them titles just to keep track. It’s funny but also kind of touching. You get a real sense of how far he’s come, even if he wouldn’t admit it. The pacing is tight, there’s plenty of action, and it still makes space for all the thinking and questioning that gives the series its edge. I just really enjoyed this one from start to finish.

I have seriously mixed feelings about the Murderbot Diaries series by Martha Wells, which has now reached its seventh installment with SYSTEM COLLAPSE. Murderbot is extremely popular, and I can see why. From the very beginning, readers loved SecUnit's quirky, snarky personality. Many others identified with SecUnit because of its neurodivergent behaviors. Others loved the stories themselves, which are well written with snappy dialogue and fast moving stories which are well plotted. From one book to the next, the cast of characters is familiar, and reading a Murderbot book is like cozying up with your cat on a cold winter's night - warm and comforting. All of those things are true of SYSTEM COLLAPSE. If you sense a "but" coming on, you're right. But I'll get there. The events of SYSTEM COLLAPSE take place immediately after those of NETWORK EFFECT, which was actually not the last Murderbot book that was published (that book would be 2021's FUGITIVE TELEMETRY, for those of you keeping score at home). The nefarious Barish-Estranza corporation has sent ships to rescue the population of a colony planet that had been contaminated by an alien virus. Herein lies my major complaint with SYSTEM COLLAPSE. Wells makes no attempt to summarize what has gone before, no attempt to help the reader with a "Previously, in The Murderbot Diaries". For those readers who haven't obsessively read all the Murderbot books multiple times, or at least NETWORK EFFECT in preparation for SYSTEM COLLAPSE - because of time limitations or all the other good books out there waiting to be read - it's been in the neighborhood of three years since NETWORK EFFECT was published and many folks can't remember that far back. I was pretty much lost for a good chunk of the beginning of the book until I went back and read a summary of NETWORK EFFECT (which was weird, because you'd think I'd have gone back and read my review of that book. Which I still haven't done.). In any event, Murderbot and the rest of the cast of characters are heading back to the planet to attempt to rescue the colonists from becoming slaves for the greedy Barish-Estranza corporation. While all that is going on, Murderbot is having some mental health issues, not the least of which take the form of redacted memories that are getting in the way of SecUnit doing its job efficiently. Since the story is told in the first person, we can follow along with SecUnit as its frustration mounts every time a memory is redacted. So, we have a fairly standard story of a group of folks trying to rescue another group of folks from the clutches of an evil corporation, complete with snappy dialogue, snarky humor, and a main character who has trouble doing routine things. Oh yes, that character still loves watching media at inappropriate times (yes, Sanctuary Moon is still the favorite, but when the rescue team discovers where the colonists are holed up they ALSO discover ancient media that SecUnit has never seen before). Basically, this story contains everything that everyone has loved about Murderbot since the series began with ALL SYSTEMS RED. Is SecUnit growing and changing, learning things about itself as the novel progresses, as a result of discovering why all that stuff was redacted? Absolutely. But it's still a very traditional Murderbot story. And there's the problem I have with the Murderbot Diaries. It's getting stale. It's mostly more of the same. I understand that many readers like characters and situations they can come back to time and again. That's perfectly okay - for those readers. I'm on the other side of this, which means I have an unpopular opinion. Every time I hear that another Murderbot book is coming out, I groan. Sure, I don't have to read them - unless I want to be unprepared for the current year's Hugo list of nominees - and I am a completist of sorts. The Diaries were supposed to end after six books, and now we know we're going to have nine. I'm not saying these are bad, poorly written stories. They're not. They are well written and are entertaining. But I'd like to see Wells branch out into other science fiction stories. I think it's time for her to try something else, time to move on.