Network Effect

Network Effect by Martha Wells, 350 pages.
The first full-length Murderbot novel from Wells. Murderbot finds itself and several of its human friends kidnapped by some odd alien -type beings. Being Murderbot, mayhem ensues.
For those not in the know (you should definitly be "in the know" many of my colleagues and the wonderful Ann Leckie have convinced me of this) Murderbot, formerly a SecUnit, a lethal security robot under control of a profit-driven, unscrupulous company, but now, thanks to its ability to disable its governor module, and with the help of ART and some decent humans, an independent sort of lethal robot / human who (which?) often finds itself in mayhem-rich environments. Network Effect is a bit looser and more rambly than the novellas which precede it, but it is still an excellent, excellent book. And, am I the only one who feels that Murderbot and the Expanse operate in the same universe? Very similar universes? Okay, just me. Cool.
Thanks to a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, administered by the Missouri State Library, The MLC, of which UCPL is proudly a member, was able to purchase a downloadable audio version of this book. I read it the old-fashioned way, because I could not wait, but downloadable audio brings an enormous amount of joy to my life and you should give it a try.

Exit Strategy

Exit Strategy, Martha Wells, 172 pages

Martha Wells' Exit Strategy is the final installment in the Murderbot series. It nicely wraps up all the loose ends and plot lines of the series in a very tidy way. Murderbot's ongoing struggle with its emerging human emotions and difficulty in parsing out human interactions still resonate with me. The entire series has had wonderful quips from Murderbot, and this novella is no exception. There were plenty of times Murderbot made me smirk as I was reading, often at its characterization of an incident.