goals

My goal for this year is to read a total of 25 books. Ideally, I'll read more than that, but that's the minimum. I used to be a much bigger reader, but I've been in a slump these past few years--- I'm trying to remedy that. I tend to be a better writer when I'm reading (lol).

stuff i've read this year

• All Systems Red - Martha Wells
• Artificial Condition - Martha Wells
• Rogue Protocol - Martha Wells
• Exit Strategy - Martha Wells
• Penpal - Dathan Auerbach
• FLCL Omnibus - Gainax

reviews

This series was recommended to me by my uncle. I'm not a huge fan of him, so I was a little hesitant, but I found myself hooked from the first chapter! I'm a huge fan of cyborgs and androids in media (Data is my favorite on Star Trek...), so Murderbot immediately charmed me. He's one of the most relatable protagonists in modern sci-fi in my opinion; I, too, just want to hole up and watch shitty soap operas.

The worldbuilding in this series is great! There are times where it comes across as a little infodump-y, and it definitely slows down a few scenes, but it's interesting enough that I don't really have an issue with that. Murderbot is very tech-savvy (he kinda has to be, being a tech construct) and it definitely shows. Lots of fight scenes revolve around the use of nearby tech--- it's a really creative way to spice up what might otherwise be a standard sci-fi blasterfest.

I've seen other reviews criticize Murderbot's character arc; saying it's too slow, that he's an asshole, and to that I say that... that's kind of the point? Obviously, I'm not a robot (or am I?), but I can say that learning to care about other people and work in a team when you never have before is difficult. It's not a linear process. Murderbot shows that really well!