This books seems to be more about the affect of the Murderbot-ART relations on ART.
September 28, 2026
September 26, 2026
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Murderbot interacts with a powerful transport AI, his first socialization. He shares his downloaded media with the transport and develops a tenuous relations ship with something he fears.
On a mission to learn what really happened at a remote station where he presumably killed a human party, he has to disguise himself as a human at ART’s [the transport AI: Asshole Research Transport] advice, he is forced to interact with humans in a way that is very uncomfortable to him. He moved a step toward human.
June 26, 2026
The Eye of the Bedlam Bride by Matt Dinniman
This episode started off ok but it felt like it really bogged down in the middle. I’m finding the fight scenes a bit boring, the new items and monsters just don’t seem enough, and there are so many of them.
The book does build on the galactic politics and events, that is the books saving grace. It also really picks up in the final chapters, building a lot of questions to be answered in upcoming books.
I almost wanted to rate it lower, but my final feelings after finishing were pretty positive, but I do think the book would have benefited by being shorter.
June 15, 2026
Naked in Death by J. D. Robb
This series is set in the not-to-distant future. I believe this is so the author can play a little loose with culture. The technology doesn’t get in the way of the story but does play with police procedures a little bit.
The mystery involves someone killing prostitutes, which is a legal and governed occupation in the setting. The first was the daughter of a senator who complicates the investigation. The primary suspect, on loose evidence, is an extremely wealthy man named Roarke.
The protagonist, Lt. Eve Dallas, is a woman who begins a compromising relationship with Roarke. The investigation seems to take a back seat to the relationship for much of the book. Eve develops into a complex and interesting character through this relationship and how it relates to her boss.
The Eve-Roarke relationship included sex scenes developed the characters but felt overly explicit and excessive. I had some trouble accepting that Eve would tolerate Roarke’s almost chauvinism and arrogance.
The mystery’s denouement was complete and ended the book on a satisfying note.
Although the book was decent, I doubt that I’ll read more of the series. I found the love interest too much and not enough mystery, for me there are better series.
May 6, 2026
The Three-Body Problem by Cixin Liu
This is an interesting but, but it didn’t seem on a par with other Hugo winners that I’ve read.
I found the story creative and pretty well told. I had some trouble with all the Chinese names but the list at the beginning of the book really helps.
It’s difficult to describe adequately without giving spoilers, so it has a first-contact with an unusual culture in an odd manner that leads to an invasion of the earth. And that’s misleading.
This is the first book of a tetralogy and ends on a down note.
March 31, 2026
All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells
This is the first in a series by Martha Wells. The book has won numerous awards including a Hugo and Nebula.
Murderbot is a self-given name of a security robot. It is a hybrid of cloned organic and inorganic parts that include weapons, armor and communications equipment. He has no sexuality. And the story is told in first person from his point of view. His internal dialog feels alien.
This one had a problem with its control module and was able to bypass it, giving it a certain amount of autonomy.
The story involves a science team surveying the flora and fauna on a planet. When they discover parts of the maps of the world are blank, they investigate, to discover another team that was killed by their security bots.
The planet was home to a dead civilization, someone wants to keep that secret, profits provide the motive. Murderbot comes up with a plan to keep the scientists alive, who purchase his contract and give him his freedom.
The story is short, well-told, and not predictable. It makes the me look forward to the next book.
December 5, 2025
The Expanse: Origins by James S.A. Corey, Hallie Lambert and Georgia Lee
I found this book enjoyable. As best as I can remember, it does seem to be compatible with the other novellas about the character backgrounds.
The stories are well told, although I’ve always felt that graphic arts media usually have too fast of a pacing, this one didn’t seem bad.
One issue I had was that the backstory of Amos Burton seemed odd. I believe it is symbolic of his inner mind. But it doesn’t seem to fit with the style of the book overall.
