System Collapse by Martha Wells is book 7 in The Murderbot Diaries series. I felt like this book was a return to form after really not liking book 6 Fugitive Telemetry. Murderbot is back and reunited with ART (my favorite series character). This book follows book 5 Network Effect (my favorite book) and restores the timeline. The character of Murderbot is so interesting and this book plays into the psychology of Murderbot becoming more human as he has to deal with human traits like anxiety and nightmares. The nightmare scene was great and reflects the trauma of the character that was once a killing machine that now protects humans. The plot for this story is nothing new as Murderbot once again saves dumb humans that are in over their heads, but this book like the others is a character study for Murderbot and the character is still fascinating. What’s new in this book is Murderbot is figuring out how to start liberating other Sec-units like himself. Murderbot is starting to care more for his humans as he watches the humans more than his media. The ending was intense and I doubted if everyone was going to make it out alive. The opening scene was great and one of my favorite of the series. The pace is fast at the beginning but gets pretty slow in the middle as a scene wear Murderbot searches for missing colonists goes on way too long. The last 25% of the book is very rapidly paced. AppleTV+ has recently announced that they will be developing a ten-episode Murderbot series starring Alexander Skarsgård and the creators and directors are Chris and Paul Weitz. System Collapse was published on November 13, 2023.

Plot Summary: Murderbot is with ART (an acronym for “Asshole Research Transport”, and the scientists that work for the Preservation and help other colonists survive the corporations that want their planets and research. The Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet that has been infected by aliens. The Barish-Estranza corporation says they’re on the planet to relocate but Murderbot and the Preservation don’t trust them and think they will try to make the colonists slaves. The Preservation gets to most colonists on the planet but learn there is a lost colony that lives underground that they must protect.

What I Liked: The shit-talking between Murderbot and ART is always entertaining. I liked the psychology of Murderbot that is being explored, especially his past trauma. I liked the plot about Murderbot finding out how to give other Sec-units a chance to not be controlled and make their own choices. I loved what the crew came up with to convince the lost colonists to trust them and not the Barish-Estanza corporation. I liked the lead negotiator for Barish-Estanza and what happens with her character. I liked the plot point about Murderbot fearing a panic attack as his anxiety is high. I did like that Murderbot and ART were still at diminished levels of power, with Murderbot not having that many drones, and Art not able to see everything that goes on.

What I Disliked: We never see any alien interference at all, I don’t know what these aliens changed but it seems pretty minimal. The middle scene where Murderbot tries to make it down to the lost colonists lasts way too long and is kind of boring, I’m glad on the escape they do use this way, to pay off for all the boring detail that was described earlier in the story.

Recommendation: System Collapse is one of the better Murderbot stories. I have loved reading how the Murderbot character is evolving. This book is filled with humor that made me chuckle. I recommend my followers check out this book and series. You can skip book 6 it is the worst and not in the timeline.

Rating: I rated System Collapse by Martha Wells 3.9 out of 4 stars.

Ranking: I raked the 7 books and 1 short story from The Murderbot Diaries series so far in order from best to worst: 1) Network Effect, 2) Artificial Condition, 3) All Systems Red, 4) System Collapse, 5) Exit Strategy, 6)Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory, 7) Rogue Protocol, and 8) Fugitive Telemetry.