Brent Maxwell

A completely addictive space adventure. Wild in the breadth of it. 3 parties: Earth, Mars and The Belt, and the dynamics and the whole worldbuilding is just unbelievable. It's a very special world that's been created here. Believable, harsh, gritty and full of adventure. The characters are fantastic too. So well crafted, and they evolve over time too. And the science is excellent.

It leaves you craving more.

Why not 5 stars? It's a little light on the emotional side. No larger moral arcs or deeply moving aspects. It's more like a spectacle than something to tug the heart strings, and that is awesome, but I'm not sure it's something I'd take lessons from that would change my view of the world, and 5 stars is reserved for that class of novel.

This book is great! An interesting story that gives you a rich feel for the world the characters live in. Multiple characters have excellent development arcs, and the plot is fantastic. What starts as a seemingly accidental group of misfits forced into crime have a much richer, more nuanced and complex backstory that intersects with the the events during this story, and leads into a fascinating future.

Lots of great sci-fi, and even philosophy. Surprisingly awesome book.

It's a very depressing book, and a dark take on humanity and the future. I think it's good that it explores the dangers of authoritarianism, as we do need to beware, but it leaves very little plot development.

The story is set "in the future" but reads like a historical fiction, as it shows a time when society takes a step backwards. It's very dismissive of HOW we got into that mess, just that it happened, and that it's horrible. The protagonist is a slave that lives in constant fear, with every action needing to be weighed and with no agency whatsoever. It kind of means there's little room for character development, as she can't actually take any action.

The writing is beautiful though. Very American, in that the language is simple and the sentences short, but it's very poetic, and the book is worth a read for that alone.

A rescue mission! Pretty good. Nothing too interesting though.

A pretty good adventure whilst trying not to confront the trauma of being a murderbot.

Ok so this turned out to be a detective novel. Not a bad one, but a little uninspired.

This book was AMAZING! I can't believe how good it was. The other books in the series were good but this is where Martha really fell into rhythm. There's mystery, relationships, sci-fi, hacking, and, and and aliens and mind control and human/digital viruses and missiles and space battles and holy fucking shit this book was incredibly fun, and the way the story played out and the characters evolved was just superb.

So excited to have experienced this :D

Such a great short series. The character development of the protagonist is great. Cyborgs have feelings too!

A super fun book! Pretty straightforward premise. A sentient AI cyborg removes it's control module.

What's unique is the angle. The narrative follows the awkward, semi-aloof protagonist - the Murderbot - as it navigates moral and social issues. Nothing is complicated about the plot, but the psychology makes it super fun, and pretty funny!

Another great instalment in the Murderbot series. The plot is also fairly straightforward, but the fun comes from the social and psychological elements. The sci-fi is really well done, with an interesting take on how a walking security system could compromise the systems it encounters... unless it misses something.

Some good character development too on our murderous, kind-hearted Murderbot. Is it murder if you were programmed by someone else?

Another great instalment of a fun short story series.

An interesting book explaining a bunch of mathematical principles impacting everyday life in unusual and useful ways.

A fantastic extension of the series, where humanity starts to transcend the confines of the jail they found themselves in, with the galaxy on the cusp of complete turmoil. The character development is also great.

Just sad we have to wait for the next instalment!

Ok this book made the series worth it. The whole series stepped up a notch, with the stakes raising as we learn more about the nature of this ridiculous game show and why it plays such a central role in the broader universe. The story develops super well, and the characters too.

At this point you can see that there's a larger plot underpinning everything, and it's really novel and interesting. I am so excited to see where the story takes us next!

Mildly enjoyable extension of the series.

More of the same.

Decent casual LitRPGing.

Pretty entertaining instalment. Nothing special.

A pretty fun LitRPG adventure. I don't see why this particular one's taking off so much, as there are a few awesome ones like Rogue Dungeon and Viridian Gate Online which are comparably good. We'll see though: many more instalments!

I love the overarching plot concepts though: there's a large universe out there, and this book taps into just how large it could be!

A solid close to the series. Not quite happily ever after, but a great story arc for all characters.

Good story. Not a satisfying ending though.

A long and arduous journey in Geralt's attempt to - unsuccessfully - find Ciri, who is headed down a dark, dark path. Fun, but dark. So much death.

Good progress on the story arc of Ciri and Geralt.

The story really comes into it's own here. We're getting a rhythm to the plot and the characters, and it comes together well.

Now we're really into the Witcher adventures. They're essentially a set of seemingly unrelated stories, but over the arc of time they unexpectedly start weaving together. This one rounds out with an incredible ending, where choices and destiny play out to a make for a great tale.