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Book Summary and Reviews of Network Effect by Martha Wells

Network Effect by Martha Wells

Network Effect

The Murderbot Diaries #5

by Martha Wells

  • Published:
  • May 2020, 352 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

You know that feeling when you're at work, and you've had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot.

Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you'll read this century.

I'm usually alone in my head, and that's where 90 plus percent of my problems are.

When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action.

Drastic action it is, then.

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Book Awards

  • award image Hugo Awards, 2021

Reviews

Media Reviews

"A welcome expansion of this universe and lays the groundwork for more stories to come in a series that continues to grow and impress." ―Booklist (starred review)

"SecUnit's gloriously candid, frequently confused assessments of its crew and their predicaments allow for an amusingly childlike perspective on what it means to be human... Series fans and anyone who enjoys humor-infused space operas won't want to miss this." ―Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"This is a perfectly paced space opera adventure novel... I could read about Murderbot all week." ―Locus

"If the first books were episodes in a four-part TV miniseries, then Network Effect is the feature-length movie with the bigger budget and scope... Murderbot and the world it inhabits constantly leave you wanting more, in the best possible way. Network Effect is a wonderful continuation of the series, and I highly recommend it." ―NPR

Network Effect is the perfect fare for any seeking the perfect weekend binge read or escapist vacation." ―BookPage

"If you're looking for a mystery that perfectly tempers grisly scenes with lighthearted humor, this is the series you need to read." ―Bustle

This information about Network Effect was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

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Author Information

Martha Wells

Martha Wells has written many novels, including the New York Times and USA Today-bestselling Murderbot Diaries series, which has won multiple Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards. Other titles include Witch King, City of Bones, The Wizard Hunters, Wheel of the Infinite, the Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads and ending with The Harbors of the Sun), and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer, as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, and nonfiction.

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