Review: Network Effect by Martha Wells

Network Effect was number 4 on my top 5 most anticipated novels of 2020. And it did not disappoint! 

It's the story of one mixed-up sentient cyborg that doesn't know what it wants, but it does know it does not want to be touched. Network Effect is the first full-length novel starring Murderbot, the sentient former security cyborg that doesn't get to watch nearly enough too much television. Ms Wells has a fully-realized future setting here, full of evil corporations, capitalist slavery, bots and transport ships with artificial intelligence, technologically enhanced humans and technological humanoids, planet-hopping via wormholes, and academic contracts. And it is on full display. When an old friend/killer super-intelligence of a spaceship kidnaps its humans, can Murderbot figure out how to unravel the mystery of an ancient alien relic without having to bother doing anything it doesn't want to?

Network Effect is everything you could want from a science fiction novel: action and violence when necessary, jargon and technobabble that doesn’t read clunky or otherwise unnaturally, fully realized characters and an emotional story arc that remain prevalent without getting in the way of the plot. After having read those quick first 4 novellas, it was a thrill to sit down with a full length novel that didn’t once sacrifice any of that wit or charm or quick narrative pace I’ve come to love. Especially because Wells manages to use these with apparent delight to tell a thrilling tale of intrigue and terror in outer space. I highly recommended Network Effect to fans of the series, and I am nearly certain this novel is standalone (as I have not read the novellas more than once and spread out my reads over nearly two years) but I’ll confirm that at another time. Meanwhile, if you’re looking for a morosely humorous science fiction story that doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel while it takes you down a different path than you’re familiar with, look no further!

Oh! And because we don’t do this enough with science fiction novels anymore, here’s my favorite quote from this one:

“Because change is terrifying. Choices are terrifying. But having a thing in your head that kills you if you make a mistake is more terrifying.”

- Frank

More But I'd Rather Be Reading! here.