Her adolescent interests reflect the SecUnit’s approximate emotional age and she helps it process what is happening as it realizes that it might be in love with ART, a ship’s intelligence it met during one of its earlier adventures and nicknamed “Asshole Research Transport.” The main human relationship the SecUnit has in this book is with Amena, Mensah’s adolescent daughter. “Do you need emotional support? Do you want me to call someone?” Her expression had turned all melty and sentimental. She made a snorting noise, an involuntary expression of amusement. I lie to humans a lot, but not to Arada, not about this.

When SecUnit has just saved the life of one of its humans by killing a target, the person asks “was there any other way…” and the SecUnit replies “no” which makes its human respond by asking it “are you trying to make me feel better?” “No.” it says: SecUnit is unfailingly loyal to those it cares about, but it doesn’t want to articulate that and it especially doesn’t want anyone (human or otherwise) to react to it. There are many delightful examples of underplayed emotion. I think the best possible way to review this book is to use Jo Walton’s question “what makes this book so great?” Let me give you a few examples. Arada said Oh SecUnit, I wish you wouldn’t call people ‘targets’).” This adventure starts when the former security unit (SecUnit) cyborg that calls itself “Murderbot” (because it was created to kill and has since rebelled against that imperative) finds itself protecting its adopted group of humans against raiders, who the SecUnit refers to as potential targets “(That’s ‘potential’ per the earlier conversation where Dr. But of course you can read Network Effect and enjoy it on its own terms because Martha Wells is a whiz at constructing plot and delineating character, even if there is a story arc that runs throughout the first four novellas and continues in this novel. A new Murderbot novel! If you’re just now asking whether you need to have read the first four novellas in order to enjoy Network Effect, by Martha Wells, all I can say is boy, do you have a treat in store: you want to read All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocoland Exit Strategy.

Martha wells network effect review