SecUnit faces longer odds than in prior installments, primarily a result of operating in a constrained environment (a terraforming installation partially controlled by neutrals) while countering multiple security units sent by Barish-Estranza, the hostile corporate entity intent on taking over everything. SecUnit's ultimate gambit is both characteristic of its own personality and abilities, and at complete odds with anything the opposing security units are programmed to counter. The plot is fast-developing and full of the typical elements seen up to now: unforeseen threats, combat and strategy, world-building nuggets evident in prior Diaries; and barrels along to a satisfying if not novel conclusion.

More than any previous installment, System Collapse serves effectively as the conclusion of a two-part story begun in Network Effect. Significantly, the division between the two books is marked by an offstage event: something unprecedented happened to SecUnit which impairs its capabilities and even basic assessment of unspooling events. SecUnit's attempt at working out for itself, and then revealing for the reader, just what that event was comprises a major part of this book, and a new vantage from which the attentive reader gains additional insights.

"I don't know how to respond when humans say that. It was always my job to get hurt." [SecUnit's reaction to expression of concern, 68]

//

Adamantine was the corporation originally terraforming the planet, predating the current Corporation Rim-dominant setting. Some of the same dynamics evidently guided those efforts (SecUnit describes installations as subject to "lowest bidder" quality), but not as extreme as characterises the bond company which created SecUnit.

SecUnit refers to its procedure module (in effect a template for addressing situations or problems) as its panic module, which it only resorts to when forced by events. Often the guidance is not especially helpful.

Another parallel to history of white supremacy in U.S.: indentured servants, whether after voluntary or forcible indenture, could not testify in court proceedings against the corporation holding their contract. [182]

Tarik embodies a human analogue to SecUnit in terms of his social position: a former Corporation Rim combatant now working against those interests, and facing suspicion and bias due to this past. Three, a security unit given the means of hacking its governor module, is noted to be working its way into community; another adversarial security unit chooses to hack its own governor, and while demonstrating some level of collegiality in the midst of hostilities, does not choose to join SecUnit or Preservation Station.

The PTSD subplot is extended and at least partially resolved.

On reflection, the series offers a wrinkle in the epistolary format: narration is a hybrid of contemporaneous recounting of events (a diary) interspersed with an edited reflection after events are over (a memoir). Distinct from literary tradition, it's plausible SecUnit literally narrates / records events in media res, having processing power to both fight a battle, for example, while simultaneously documenting and analysing those events as they occur, without leaning on genre tropes (a found manuscript, pretense of photographic memory as to dialogue, a third-party observer documenting minute happenings of intimate associates). ( )

Murderbot Diaries 7
This picks up right after the end of #5, [Network Effect] as Murderbot and ART are trying to identify the colonists and their options. Meanwhile Barish-Estranza representatives are trying to recover what they can from the colony.
This novel is a big exploration of Murderbot's feelings and capacity of working with others including new humans.
This felt huge to me in a good way. Murderbot is rattled and his self deprecation is sincere as opposed to arrogantly ironic. I love the internal processing going on while facing dwindling resources (need more drones!) and challenging circumstances. ( )

This is a continuation of the events in Network Effect. Murderbot, ART and their humans are still on the planet and making plans to evacuate the surviving colonists when the evil corporation shows up.

library book read 5/16/2024 ( )

Murderbot never fails to deliver. System Collapse has a slow start and then it hits that one point where everything happens all at once with a race to the finish. I'm glad the REDACTED thing got explained mid-way through as it was starting to get annoying hah

I am sad to be all caught up on Murderbot. Fingers crossed it's not a long wait for the next installment. ( )

This novel takes place immediately after the only other novel in the series, Network Effect. I wish that I had read them back to back, not in publication order, but this is a minor point.

Our SecUnit has physically recovered from being imprisoned by the alien contaminant, but something is off. As the Preservation members and University team work together to try and convince the colonists to leave with them, SecUnit finds it challenging to manage both job and emotions.

I loved Network Effect, and this novel is set in the same world and situation. Murderbot's journey to self-actualization is relatable, which is odd, since SecUnits are cyborgs. But there is such a human vulnerability behind the wise-cracking smartass. ART, on the other hand, is so superior to humans in processing ability that I find it harder to relate. I can't wait to see where the author takes us next. Wherever it is, I will be along for the ride. ( )