Book Review: Murderbot

[osprey_archer]

I have finished Martha Wells’ Network Effect, thus bringing me up to date on all the Murderbot books!... except not, because Fugitive Telemetry was published two days ago. However, I am 18th in line at the library, so I will take this little breathing space to muse briefly on the Murderbots to date.

One thing that struck me about the Murderbot books is that they are basically the opposite of a space western: instead of taking place in a world where there ain’t no Ten Commandments and a man can raise a thirst, they take place in a galaxy where even the most remote of frontier worlds are caught up in a litigious web of contracts. The violence occurs not because of an absence of law, but because most Corporate Rim law is really just a legal fig leaf over injustice and brutality.

The other thing that struck me is that Murderbot is SUCH an iron woobie. (Side note: in the course of polishing the fangirl book, I have learned that modern fandom no longer uses the word woobie. I realized the book was a snapshot of a specific fandom moment but I didn’t realize it was THAT much a fly trapped in amber). This is such catnip for fandom; no wonder I was bombarded by recs for this book on all sides.

I know this is a minority opinion, but at times I wanted Murderbot to be, how shall I put this - fucked up in an uglier way. Yes, sure, it’s pissy and nihilistic in its thoughts (Murderbot uses ‘it’ pronouns), but at bottom it has a rock solid protective streak toward every single decent human being that it meets, and sometimes I wanted a less prosocial manifestation of its trauma.

However, when you have made a character who basically an unstoppable badass, maybe you can’t afford to have it act out its trauma in damaging ways, given that “damaging” might in this case mean “literal mass murder of innocents.” (Also, let’s be real, it’s sooooo satisfying to watch Murderbot rain righteous vengeance on the baddies, no one would want Murderbot to be less unstoppable.)

Also, for some fic brainstorming, check out this Wednesday Reading Meme where oracne and I discussed a possible Murderbot and Mrs. Pollifax crossover. Carstairs sends Mrs. Pollifax on a mission to the Corporate Rim, where she accidentally befriends Murderbot in a concourse on a station or something, which soon after results in Murderbot saving her from Peril in the very nick of time. (Mrs. Pollifax is always making unlikely friends who become integral to the spy plot.)

Also, somehow Mrs. Pollifax befriends a CombatBot. (Actually, I think it would have to be a CombatUnit? The actual bots Murderbot fights didn’t seem to have enough sentience to be befriendable.) Either the CombatUnit has already hacked its governor module, or Murderbot helps it hack its governor module, or Carstairs sent the CombatUnit to protect Mrs. Pollifax, in which case Mrs. Pollifax will probably have Words with him about the CIA’s use of enslaved sentient constructs when she returns.

Anyway, Murderbot hates the CombatUnit, because (1) it is a CombatUnit, and (2) at the end of the story it goes home with Mrs. Pollifax to become a GardenBot and Murderbot just can’t be having with this pet bot business… By which of course I mean that Murderbot pings GardenBot at least weekly, just to make sure Mrs. Pollifax hasn’t gotten herself in Mortal Peril again, not because it actually cares about GardenBot or anything.

Comments

[oracne]

I figured Bot rather than Unit because Murderbot seems extremely protective of Bots.

[asakiyume]

I really *loved* Murderbot's ability to rain righteous fury down on baddies--it pinged all my happy competence porn buttons.

Speaking of having enough sentience to be friendable, I liked how Murderbot interacted with bots up and down the self-awareness/sentience scale--in fact I was pretty charmed/amused when she'd be dealing with some very limited ship navigation bot, etc. Yeah, she would pull the wool over its eyes, but always politely and in a friendly way.

I really liked the time we got to spend with the other SecUnit in Network Effect, because it showed just how much of Murderbot was Murderbot's own personality and not, y'know, "Well, any SecUnit who's freed of its governor module is probably going to be like/feel like/act like Murderbot." I liked that that was an eye-opener for Murderbot itself.

Can't speak to your Mrs. Pollifax crossover having never read Mrs. Pollifax, but I'm sure you'd have takers!

[troisoiseaux]

I have learned that modern fandom no longer uses the word woobie

I've seen "sweaterboy" used on Tumblr in recent years, although it lacks a verb form a la woobify.

[genarti]

MURDERBOT AND MRS POLLIFAX!! CombatUnit turned GardenBot!! Oh my god, I never realized how much I needed that fic until I read this. What a glorious prospect!

And you're right, of course, MurderBot is utterly and completely an iron woobie. Which is a trope I love when it's well-written, so no complaints here, but "iron woobie with anxiety who binge-watches media" is just an INCREDIBLY concentrated payload of fandom catnip, lol. Kudos to Martha Wells!

[kore]

That crossover idea is amazing! Someone write it!

I am weird so I think my very fave thing about this series was Murderbot getting a lot more comfortable with humans joking. It's always had its own black humour jokes, but now it seems to be like "okay some of the humans that don't suck joke too, all right."

I did miss ART. ART + Murderbot = my absolute fave BROTP.

Murderbot is very concerned with names. “Its name is not JollyBaby.” Tell me its name is not JollyBaby.

My second very fave thing was the giant rescue bag. I dunno if it was an actual nod to Le Guin's Carrier Bag Theory of fiction, but Murderbot twigging that it couldn't use the thing that would ID it and actually using a piece of history in a very pragmatic way was just awesome. Murderbot will rescue you!....IN A BAG.