Artificial Condition by Martha Wells (#2 in the Murderbot Diaries series)

In Artificial Condition by Martha Wells, Murderbot (a part human/part robot that is neither male or female) decides to flee the area in which it is required to stay after being freed from the watchful eye of the corporation that used to own it. Murderbot is in search of answers about what happened in the disastrous killing for which the security unit has given itself the moniker "Murderbot". Was Murderbot responsible for scores of deaths? Did it go rogue or is there more to the story?

To keep from being detected, Murderbot has to interfere with cameras, convince various spaceships to let it aboard, and figure out how not to look like a security unit. During the long, boring parts of flight, Murderbot watches videos.

The best thing about Artificial Condition is probably the relationship that Murderbot builds with a particular ship's bot pilot. I didn't know whether the pilot should be trusted or not for a good portion of the book and I liked that uncertainty.

Recommended - While it takes longer for the action to crank up in Artificial Condition than it did in the first book, Martha Wells' writing is stunning and I have no regrets about buying the entire series. I'm deliberately spacing out the reading and trying to save my Murderbot books for times when I feel myself falling into a slump. They're fantastic for breaking the spell because they're so action-packed it's almost impossible to put a Murderbot book down.

Click through to read my mini review of the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series, All Systems Red. You'll need to page down a bit.


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