MURDERBOT - SERIES REVIEW
Вставка
- Опубліковано 20 сер 2024
- My review of the Murderbot series by Martha Wells!
Get Murderbot here: amzn.to/39jVkQu
Box Set: amzn.to/36jCiYt
Merch: teespring.com/...
Patreon: / danielbgreene
Discord Server: / discord
Twitter: Da...
Twitch: / fantasynews
Instagram: / dgreene101
Subreddit: / danielgreene
Podcast: afictionalconv...
I LOVE MURDERBOT!!!
ME TOO!!!
YES!!
I thought the first book was a little dull and it put me off the rest of them.
When I wrote my review of the first 4 novellas, I asked Martha Wells about Murderbot's pronouns. She said Murderbot should be referred as "it."
Daaaaang now I gotta check it out
Daniel: "I love [insert name of series here]."
My wallet: *cowers in fear*
Lols
Check out your local library to see if they have digital borrowing like Libby or Hoopla. Definitely suggest the audio book. (Though ofcourse buy if you can)
@@ElizaKnows My local library is shut down due to Covid (I'm in the UK). I also don't really do audio books, as I've never found a narrator to ever make me concentrate on the story more than when I just read it in my hands.
Even Kramer and Reading were just "eh" to me.
@@michaelandrews117 fair enough! I drive a lot so I got into audio books.
@@ElizaKnows Yeah my brother does the same, he works freelance so is driving a lot and gets through a few books a week
Murderbot has become my Sanctuary Moon. I can read them over and over when shit's going bad and it's just such a comfortable place to be. Pratchett's "City Watch" books are the only other books in that category.
Yes!
Well played. Bravo... totally understand.
LITERALLY
And if you enjoy the books, try the audiobooks. The narration is excellent and gets better as the series progresses. Listen! Repeat!
Yes, and the audiobooks!!!
I disagree about Network Effect being bloated. There is not much more plot then the novellas but there is so much more emotional growth. This book is about trauma processing and I feel like all the fluff serves to show Murderbots development through finding safety for the first time in its life. It makes the book more emotionally impact full and I believe in the future will serve as a bridge between the novella arch and future story archs. It reminds me of Memory in the Vorkosigan Saga which was needed to take Miles from the admiral Naismith books to the lord auditor books.
Same. I think it was a great way to build that development and then come back to novellas.
Totally agree. It’s increased length is completely earned by how much more nuanced and “wtf?!” the narrative/mystery is, compared to the novellas. Unlike how streamlined and ultra-efficient the novellas are, the extra space is populated with super interesting & enjoyable character evolution and (sorely needed IMO) world building.
Im currently waiting on my library’s copy of the audiobook for network effect but from where exit strategy left off, i think it makes perfect sense for the next book to be bigger. give murderbot some time and space to work stuff out! it’s what it deserves
I read the first book, and adored it. Murderbot is the most human character I’ve read in a long time
Funny that it isn’t even human, and u say that. U know u r great at writing characters if u can make a robot human
Irony
Ironically, it would hate to hear you say that. :-)
My response when someone recommends me a book “Yeah that series is good, but is it break your microphone good? “ 🧐
It's can't help but re-read it multiple times so you definitely got your money's worth good.
Who doesn't love a introverted cyborg murder machine completely hooked on soap operas?
"Shits about to go down.
Murderbot's gonna... murder."
😂 He's not wrong, murderbot is a badass fighter
I JUST finished Exit Strategy yesterday and it's by far my favourite in the series. Mensah and Murderbot's friendship always melts my heart.
Same I just finished it today and it almost made me tear up near the end
Same!! i just finished ES today and i cant wait to see what happens in network effect, i hope theres more mensah-murderbot friendship :)
I want to read it, but my TBR is already longer than my future.
Let it be. Start this ASAP though
Same, but I put this series to the front because it’s so short and I’m glad I did. I got through 5 of them in 2 days
same here, I just started Mistborn and Ship of magic . =P
You’re missing out big time
The audiobooks, man, the audiobooks.
I love Murderbot!!!! I’ve read the first two and am on the third. The stories themselves are pretty good, but Murderbot as a character is solid gold. I think it would be OBSESSED with K-dramas.😂
I honestly headcanon that all the shows he's watching are the space equivalante of k-dramas
I use to refer to Murderbot as "he", but I changed that to gender neutral because it seems important to recognize that it is seemingly a gender neutral character.
It isn’t important tho, pronouns means absolutely nothing in this specific situation, identify it as whatever you want.
@@alexlazerboy8354 actually that is completely wrong. Misgendering some one is always important no matter the situation and you should never fucking do it
@@nupadia1864 did you not read my comment? Dog people think it’s just ok to instantly bounce to conclusions when I specifically specified that IN THIS SITUATION cause it is a robot, virtue signaling ape
@@alexlazerboy8354 Murderbot is an it.
Murderbot itself is very clear that it finds the idea of being male OR female to be a horror to it. It doesn't use any of the alt genders that other characters do.
Ignoring someone's preferred pronouns would be a dick move.
Especially in this context where (in the fictional world and story at hand) it has never had control of any of itself, its body, its name, its destiny, its memory, its work... When somebody without much historical agency makes a stand, you respect it.
@@nupadia1864 There's only two genders. Male Female. You can call yourself whatever you want but there's no third sexual organ
The best exploration of dismissive avoidant attachment style in modern literature
Is Martha Wells a psychologist btw?
I don't know about her background, but her portrayal of trauma + avoidance is chilling. For all Network Effect's unnecessary complexity, it's a necessary read. "Session redacted." This is a painfully real and very human portrayal.
For those that are curious, Martha posted an 'Ask Murderbot(and ART)' where they specified both of the main constructs as preferring it/its pronouns.
Murderbot and Three?
Where? I’d like to see that.
What a useless information lol
'bot is growing from it to they, no matter their preferred pronouns.
Danial: "Humans make him extraordinarily uncomfortable."
Meme: "Same."
Me: "Me too." lol
My rating for the series was:
All Systems Red - 4/5 stars
Artificial Condition - 5/5 stars
Rogue Protocol - 4/5 stars
Exit Strategy - 5/5 stars
Network Effect - 5/5 stars
Basically, I love this series and I can’t wait for the next release. MURDERBOT SLAPS.
I got the ARC of Fugitive Telemetry and it is such a solid novella!! Though, admittedly, it probably wasn't my favorite -- I was really looking forward to more of the story post Network Effect because of certain characters, but that was on me for not realizing that it happened pre-Network Effect until I was halfway through it. Definitely a great continuation of one of my all time favorite series though!!
Also, the audiobook narrator is definitely what sold me the most on this series when I first started out -- Kevin Free really brought Murderbot to life for me.
Last time I was this early Greene Daniel was still alive.
F
this has a risk of aging badly for at least 20 years
@@uhm3487 So does my life lol
I haven't had a chance to check out Murderbot yet, but Martha Wells' Raksura books are a very underrated fantasy series. Great characters, with a super unique world unlike anything I've come across in a novel before. I've been devouring those books lately, and I guess I'll move onto Murderbot after!
I actually find her other books weirdly tedious, especially the Raksura series. I just... couldn't... care about any of them or what they did. Which is why Murderbot came out of left field for me!
I loved that Network Effect was written like a Novella. I didn‘t want it to have a huge point, or anyting like that. In wanted it to be just like the Novellas that I had loved so much. I just love love love the tone of the novellas!!!
But Murderbot is agender? It always refers to itself as it? Same with ART! They both prefer 'it' pronouns, although I think Daniels point on self-projection is acurate tho so I don't fault him.
Well it is a robot
Yup, "it" seems to be the standard pronoun for bots and constructs in-universe, and doesn't appear to be derogatory. Personally, I always hear Murderbot as slightly feminine in my head, probably because Martha Wells is a woman and I always hear first-person narratives in the gender of the writer.
@@theholyduck5520That's pretty valid, I ended up pretty biased too when I first started reading Murderbot. I don't know if it's because I heard about it from daniel's review of the first book or because I thought it looked masculine on the cover, but I had assumed it was male presenting when I first started reading it. I'm just glad that this book is supporting non-typical pronoun use. Not to even touch on all of the diversity in the relationships and other characters present in these books.
@@spiritedangelfire9065 all the people talking about it supporting "alternative pronouns" make me not want to read this at all.
@@barryallen2240 cyborg, technically. Does have clone human parts with the robot parts. :)
Video uploaded 32 secs ago.
Me: I am late!!!!!!
Same here
* Count Dooku voice *
"I've been looking forward to this"
“‘I love Murderbot!’ - Ann Leckie” - Daniel Greene
Still waiting for Daniel to read/review the Ann Leckie trilogy...
That little blurb was what got me to buy All Systems Red and I will forever be grateful to Ann Leckie for it.
Get out of my head, Daniel. I stumbled across this series accidentally a few weeks ago, and ended up devouring the first four audiobooks in under a week. Amazing!
(I love Murderbot!)
It's great, everyone should read it.
The best depressed robot is Alan Rickman’s portrayal of Marvin from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy.
No.
Rickman rocked it.
YAAASSSS!! FINALLY A KINDRED SPIRIT!
Vaguely recall that Murderbot prefers to use 'it' as a pronoun.
"Vaguely recall" had me laughing. Murderbot makes it very clear that not only is it genderless, it also doesn't consider itself human, and prefers to maintain that distinction. I just love the way you said that though. :)
Only mental patients care about pronouns.
I’m about to start this series, perfect timing!!
it was so surprising how much I LOVED it. I just couldn't stop reading the series, I finished 4 Books in 2 Days. A Freaking Masterpiece.
Murderbot is excellent, any time snarky commentary goes along with a solid story, it is a good time.
Five minutes in and I JUST paused your video to order the hardcover murderbot diaries boxset. This sounds right up my street and I'm excited to have a new series to jump into. Love your videos sir.
Would love to hear you talk more about Novellas and the different feels between them and novels
As A used bookstore employee thank u for putting me on to this series. My check will now deplete lol
Cool. You made me read it. I finished the first novella yesterday! I loved it and I'm not even a native English speaker, so it was... okay the writing is was pretty easy for foreigners. Loved the character. MurderGoblin over
I did find the novel slower, but I still loved it and the things it set up for the future. I flew through all of the books so fast and it easily became a favorite series of last year (of all time?) for me.
My instinct on starting the first Murderbot novella was to go for she/her pronouns. Have since then used they/them as I see Murderbot as largely nonbinary.
Same here!
Me too!
But he is entirely binary
@@slowmotionwriting8714 what?
Yes. Murderbot is a robot without sex mods.
I'd love to see Daniel review "This Is How You Lose The Time War"..
For the record, Murderbot is specifically agender and uses it/its
Daniel Should do a tier list for dark lords best to worst and honorable mentions etc also if you do come across this Daniel first I'm a huge fan second if you love space corporations all the borderland games especially the pre-sequel will fit your fancy Stellaris is another good one.
Turn the hand the other way (palm facing forward) and then it's not offensive anymore!
I need to get to murderbot soon...
Agree with you on Network Effect. It felt really repetitive and dragging the plot just to get that page count.
Enjoyed Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol the most. Really liked the idea that all of these bots secretly have personalities and can get attached to their humans like guardians (ART, Murderbot) or pets (Miki), or they can hate people if they were always treated like disposable property.
Every time I read it, the mandalorian theme plays in my head for some reason...
I finished the first two novellas in one day. Now I‘m sitting here waiting for the delivery of the next two. It‘ll take two weeks. I‘m sad.
From what I read in book one, I feel like murderbot isn’t much a man or a woman, like Janet from the Good place, a robot doesn’t need a gender because it’s not an actual person
Agreed completely. Murderbot is agender, I sometimes refer to it as they/them but Murderbot refers to itself as it
@@BooksToAshes EXACTLY I feel bad calling murderbot it
Agree! I tried the audio and ended up returning it after two chapters because I couldn't deal with the decidedly male voice which just didn't feel right for the character. Got the physical books instead and loved the first one... moving on the the rest!
Have you read her Raksura series? Martha Wells has a very deep understanding of characters and personally, the worldbuilding in those books surpasses Sanderson's. If you enjoyed Murderbot, i am sure you'd love The Cloud Roads. Some people have issues with it since the the main character isn't human.
I only heard about the series a few months ago. Working in a book store we had a customer place an order for all the books, ordered another copy too and loved it!
Hi I’m currently reading the Black prisim by Brent weeks so far it’s good.. happy reading to u!! 📽🎬📼📹📽 like ur videos!!
i am so glad you like murderbot and was psyched to watch this, but DID wince every time murderbot was referred to as he/him
I read a lot, everything from classics to SciFi. What worries me about Murder bot is that I have more empathy for it's character than I do any other fictional character I've read. I would happily devour more novellas though I'll admit I found the longer format book slightly less appealing. If Martha Wells requires simply more ideas for future novella then I'm sure we could propose them. Hopefully she's not sick and tired of producing more. I do wish they were a little cheaper though - they're great reading but the price per page ratio is eye watering.
I love murderbot, on twitter there is a murderbot bot that is adorable. Ive read everything available at this point and i love murderbot as a mystery solver i hope there are many more adventures ahead!
Murderbot is played by Aubrey Plaza.
I picked it after your recommendation! I LOVED IT!!!!
I just read All Systems Red and I absolutely lovedddd it!!! As someone who really appreciated and related to the gender neutral representation of the character I feel that giving or assigning Murderbot a gender does disservice and also feels a little bit like its erasing that aspect of their character and the important representation. I totally get that they are a robot and I completely understand wanting to project yourself on the character (they are super relatable)! Nonbinary, Trans, genderqueer folks are constantly struggling and fighting for representation so having a prominent MC in the SFF community that everyone loves I thought was really exciting! This is a long rant but in short it just made me feel sad that you chose to gender them. Something for you to consider I hope? Thanks!
I completely agree. It really upsets me when people misgender Murderbot :(
I agree. Thank you for eloquently stating this important point. I was going to give Goblin Greene a pass, because he acknowledged that no pronouns were used, but I do think it's contributing to an unfortunate narrative.
I especially love how the universe is FULL of non-binary and agender folks, and they are wonderful and treated with matter-of-fact respect, with gender ID/pronouns as just a fact to be noted like name.
A Wheel of Time fan thinks the Murderbot novel was slow paced? 😂
I too love Murderbot. Simply the best scifi I have read in years.
I love Murderbot, one of the few robots I’ve read who does not want to be human. Love the character.
Haven't started your video yet, but I'm hyped. I listened to the first 3 or 4 audiobooks in the series, but I own all of them. Been Meaning to get back into them. The overall stories and characters are great, and the voice actor for murderbot is just fantastic!
Edit: Watched the video, and I'm glad you enjoyed the series. I just picked it up one day on the goodle play store and listened to it while I walked. It's one of those rare series in any medium, books/movies/games, that I feel has re-readability. Anyone who likes audiobooks should pick this series up. The dryness of the VA really adds to Murderbot's humor!
“Certified shouldn’ta done that” lmao that’s a gentle way to put it
Thank you so much for this review. I'd not heard of the series until now, but after watching the video I ordered the first book and devoured it. Currently awaiting the others to be delivered. Thanks again
Based on your video I started All Systems Red via Audible, OMG I'm now obsessed and binging the series! I never thought I could love such an introverted and sarcastic character, let alone a robot character so much! Thank you for the recommendation!
So good, right?
You should mention the pricing dilemma. Book 1 is $3.99 then all the other novellas are $10.99 for ebooks.
This. I’m surprised Daniel didn’t mention it.
Feels like I’m getting ripped off.
Your value is really high. They are tightly written and layered with levels of nuance. Rereads will make you think differently about some of the concepts and conflicts. They are also available through most public libraries.
I agree with you about the price. It didn’t end up bothering me because I’ve reread all of them multiple times, so I feel like I got my money’s worth owning them, but that’s not going to be the same for everyone. They are definitely worth the effort and wait of putting them on hold for Libby or your local library.
Daniel you should read Andrzej Sapkowski's book the Tower of Fools which was published in English last autumn. He wrote it after the Witcher saga and I really liked it.
Is it a Fantasy? Or is it more historical fiction? I've heard it's historical and so haven't picked it up.
@@thedeadd.c.207 It's historical fantasy. Based in 15th century Silesia. Lots of fantasy elements. Witches, magic and even metamorphosis.
@@thedeadd.c.207 It's pretty much a fully fleshed medieval fantasy. Just without its own world.
The ending made me smile. The amount of times I've seen that hand gesture from American UA-camrs and thought "Why are they swearing at their audience? Shouldn't it be the other way round?" 😂
Bro, what's the music in the back?? Sounds great!
Network effect is as awesome as the rest of the series, the pacing was 👍 perfect❤
The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon
Hahah, I really love the fact that a genderless bot is he/she/it to every reader. To me, Murderbot is a she. I've always read her as she (apparently the audiobook is in male voice). I know she/he/it doesn't have a gender, but I find it extremely wonderful that people read a gender that feels like the most natural to them. Some read Murderbot as non-binary which is probably most true. But I always imagined her human face as a woman's face. And it feels so weird to me when you call her him. :D So yeah... Awesome!
Oh, you just addressed this in your edit. :D So yeah, it is fascinating and shows that characters can be read as both if they are this well written. And it also shows how our ideas of female/male dichotomy are a bit... strange. :)
It has a very clearly expressed gender, that it defines using words: it.
The Audiobooks are Amazing!
As someone from the Uk, I am laughing at your outro. Yeah, peace is with your hand the other way round, that means something else entirely.
This series has come up a ton in my recommendations and I was always kinda turned off by the title and blurbs. Reservations about anthropomorphized AI aside I might have to give it a try.
You’ll know after reading the first couple of pages. All Systems Red draws you in right away.
No one asked, but my favorite might be Network Effect. I loved it so much and I’m really curious to see how System Collapse compares (it’s not out yet as of this comment, but NE and SC are both novel length so I’m hype to see if I like it just as much as I liked NE)
Absolutely loved this series. I also referred to it as she but so interested that people do it differently and don't think there is a wrong answer. Can't wait for the next book out in April❤️
Yeah this was a great series. We loveeeee ART lol
Before the video even started, i knew you were gonna do that murderbot voice ahah Iconic!
Love Murderbot. I would just love to see a TV adaptation.
Been waiting 12 weeks for #5 in my Libby app. Only 3 weeks to go. My favorite series read of 2020 hands down.
I waited about 4 months for book 5 on my Libby app and it's finally coming in next week. I can't wait!
Alright lol you’ve convinced me to read this now
I saw your video on getting started with modern fantasy and am currently reading Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan because of your recommendation. I am thoroughly enjoying it. After watching this video the other day, I immediately ordered All Systems Red. Received it last night and am looking forward to diving in. I really appreciate your content and look forward to when your book is released.
Just finished the whole series! Waiting for the new book in April 🙌🙌
Just finished this series and omg I want mooooore.
Thank you Danny. I'm going to Amazon right after the period of this sentence.
Just checked. There is a free audible books of Murder Bot, with free trial. I hate Audible.
Thats funny network effect was my favourite of the series!
Glad you came around.
Sooo... the music in this video...i loved it. Normally i dont read si fi, so i dont often listen to reviews but with that backround music? Yes please
Wait, how is the peace symbol offensive to Europeans? I'm from Germany/France, and it's totally cool here. Can someone catch me up to speed?
Here in the UK it's a little like giving someone the middle finger. Supposedly to do with archers showing the French that they still had their fingers at a time where it was believed the French would cut off those two fingers to render their English prisoners incapable of firing a longbow. A symbol of defiance and disdain. Not sure that's the true origin, but it still basically means "f*** you!"
@@MrLGDUK oh ok, it's a UK thing then
@@milospollonia1121 Yes, although I'm not sure if it's only the UK - maybe the French still consider it offensive?
@@MrLGDUK well I'm half french half German, and having lived in France for the better half of my life, I've never even heard of it, so idk...
My experience has been - fingers toward someone is equivalent to a middle finger in the same pose, but away (like giving yourself the middle finger) is, well, the 'peace' symbol. It just depends on orientation. If that makes sense?
(Written as someone in the UK :) )
Just picked up All Systems Red from the library last night. Can't wait to read it this weekend!
I am from Europe and must admit I've never felt offended by your waving hand 😂
I just started this series and I’m starting the 3rd novella now. The novellas leading up to the novel reminds me of the Witcher series actually
Thanks for the review...I have read all the Murderbot books and can't wait for the next one. I disagree with your thoughts on the Novel, but everyone to their own. Personally, I visualize Murderbot as a "he" aka Micheal Fassbender !
Wow, what an awesome review. I'm still learning how to review books on Goodreads but man, you really explain how you feel about the book extremely well. Jealous.
I have loved Wells writing for years. Outstanding fantasies. I think she is one of those authors that doesn't get enough mainstream recognition.
Kind of a side note, I know your trying to touch anime. I would highly highly recommend watching/reading Spice and Wolf. It's similar to murderbot except a romance in medieval Europe(?) following a merchant. Very much a economic mystery story, with great characters.
I love the novellas and am yet to read the novel. I am looking forward to it. I absolutely love your videos and reviews and have added quite a few books to my TBR because of them. Thank you!
"I need to stop doing that, because it's offensive to Europeans"
As a European: ...whuh?
L
I'm loving these books. Half way through book 5, started reading on Monday.
Me too! Reading it for the fourth time this week
I read the first one this month as a break between things! Murderbot is such a great character. I use it/its pronouns for the character, but my instinct was to use she/her, even though I myself am he/him. Love the story and can’t wait to read more ❤️❤️
Lol. I was the opposite, using he/him at first despite being a she/her. I've taken to using it's preferred pronoun of "it" but still picture it as more masculine than feminine in appearance.
I read the first 2 novellas in Murderbot, but I've DNF'ed it for now because it got a little formulaic for me already. But I think I'll get back to it.
Nice background music thing you did🔥👍
Thinking about getting the box set! Can't wait to read!