Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi, Fantasy
Content: Strong Language


It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…

I still love Murderbot, even though I thought this book wasn't quite as good as the first one. That could have just been because I listened to the whole thing instead of sitting down and reading it. Sometimes I do have a harder time connecting to a story that way. But I was able to listen to this complete book on a 2 hour drive home so it was the perfect book for today.

In this book Murderbot ends up having to physically alter itself to look more human so it won't be recognized, and it isn't happy about it one bit.

“It was the logical choice, it was the obvious choice, and I would still rather peel my human skin off than do it. I was going to have to do it.”

  I continue to get a kick out of Murderbot's aversion to humans in general, and to its more "human" side. That side is a lot more human than it wants to be, but Murderbot's evolution is what's really the best thing about this series so far.

Recursion by Blake Crouch

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi
Content: Strong Language

 
Memory makes reality.

That’s what New York City cop Barry Sutton is learning as he investigates the devastating phenomenon the media has dubbed False Memory Syndrome—a mysterious affliction that drives its victims mad with memories of a life they never lived.

Neuroscientist Helena Smith already understands the power of memory. It’s why she’s dedicated her life to creating a technology that will let us preserve our most precious moments of our pasts.

As Barry searches for the truth, he comes face-to-face with an opponent more terrifying than any disease—only he and Helena, working together, will stand a chance at defeating it.

After reading Dark Matter by Blake Crouch I was looking forward to this book, but I ended up not enjoying this one as much. I think part of the problem is the repetition. And yes, I'm aware that a book titled Recursion is going to have a lot of repetition, and I was prepared for that, but it still got a little old two thirds of the way into the book. I think maybe part of the reason it got old was because it took the main characters until the end of the book to figure out the solution, a solution that seemed rather obvious to me. I also predicted who was going to have to do it.

That being said, this was a good, thought provoking book. Blake Crouch has a way of writing characters that I don't necessarily like a lot, or feel very attached to, but I'm still able to root for them anyway. His stories are mind bending to say the least, and I recommend giving them a try if you enjoy books with time travel elements, or alternate realities.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an advance copy of this book.

June 2019 Book Club: All Systems Red

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Sci-fi
Content: Strong Language



On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

I've had this on my to-read list for a long time and had pretty high expectations after seeing all the glowing reviews. The story was surprisingly lighter than I thought it would be. That didn't really disappoint me, I was just thinking it was going to be darker in tone. I ended up loving Murderbot. It was at times very amusing to see things from its perspective, and I really liked the sometimes awkward interactions between it and the humans in the story. The fact that it spent a good bit of time bingeing TV shows was also very amusing.

"I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure."

 

This was our book club book for May and there was some debate about whether Murderbot is a "he" or a "she" most people thought it was a female. Although I was leaning slightly toward male in the beginning, I think mainly because of the audio book narrator, in the end I think Murderbot seems pretty androgynous. I also doubt it would call itself male or female since the thought of being human is a horrible thought to our dear SecUnit.

If you are looking for a quick sci-fi read, then look no further.

Arkadian Skies by Lindsay Buroker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong Language, Off page sex, with little description


 
This was another enjoyable read in the series, but I'm disappointed that there is very little forward movement as far as the plot goes. As a friend of mine said, this series seems to be written like one long book and we aren't going to see those things resolved until the end. My only other complaints are that, in this book and the one before it, Alisa comes off as rather juvenile with her obsession over wanting to consummate her relationship with Leonidas. The jokes, innuendo, and inner dialog are funny to a point, but the author has taken it too far. It's old now and Alisa needs to grow up and stop pressuring Leonidas to do something that he can't do. I do however, very much enjoy the chemistry between the two characters. I also feel like Mica's character is underutilized and she has just turned into more of a grump than a pessimist. Other than those things I still love the witty banter between characters, and I'm looking forward to reading the last two books in the series.

Spirit's End by Rachel Aaron

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Content: Strong Language

 
Eli Monpress is clever, he's determined, and he's in way over his head.

This was a good end to the series. There were perhaps too many people who cheated death, and things may have ended a little too neatly, but overall I enjoyed this series. I recommend it if you enjoyed any of Rachel Aaron's other books.

Cleon Moon by Lindsay Buroker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Category: Adult
Genre: Space Opera
Content: Strong Language


 
Alisa must survive vengeful mafia clans, rogue Starseers, and genetically engineered predators, while she worries about the ancient relic hidden on her ship, a beacon to anyone in the system who craves its power. If Alisa can’t navigate the moon’s chaos, she may lose her only chance to catch up with her daughter.

I'm still really enjoying this series, but I feel like something major needs to happen in the next book. Alisa needs to find who she has been looking for, or Leonidas needs to get the help he has been looking for. Most of the books in this series have reminded me of other books/movies/TV shows. Book one was definitely Firefly. Book 4 was raiders of the lost ark, or Tomb Raider, and this book was like Jurassic Park. It will be interesting to see if the next book reminds me of anything. What I continue to enjoy the most about this series is the humor.