5 stars

This might be the best Murderbot book yet (I know I say that every time, but this time it's for real) (It was gonna be hard topping Network Effect and Exit Strategy but Martha Wells managed somehow!)

This picks up a bit after the events of Network Effect, so I am really glad I decided to reread it before starting this otherwise I would have been very lost. So advice to anyone picking this up: do a refresher of Network Effect before you start this!

I love the ART and Murderbot duo, maybe even more than how much I Love Dr Mensah. I really hope the future books have more of Three in them because it was barely in this one. The angst levels were through the roof this time, and Murderbot was finally forced to confront its emotions that it had been suppressing ever since the events of Network Effect. System Collapse wraps up the arc that started in Network Effect. For the first 30% of the book, the pace is pretty slow, the focus is more on what Murderbot has redacted from its memory storage and the dilemma of saving the colonists of the alien remnant planet. So it's light on the action but heavy on the emotions in the first bit. In the final 3 chapters, however, the plot moves at breakneck speed, the suspense is crazy and it's packed with Murderbot's emotional turmoil.

The exploration of Murderbot's trauma (from all the abuse it suffered as well as all the horrifying alien shit it had to deal with) was very very well handled. The snippets added from its sessions with Dr Bharadwaj and Mensah were brilliantly done. I love a good emotional payoff when a character finally has the time to break down and deal with the consequences of the Plot and the Horrors. Not every writer knows how to write the aftermath well without making it seem superficial, but Wells just knocks it out of the park for a non-human character.

We had some of ART's humans in this one. I would like to read more about Iris and her relationship with ART. Ratthi is always a joy when he's part of the squad but the highlight of the book was ART and Murderbot's relationship. One thing I've always loved about these books is how the bots/constructs interact with each other. Last book it was Murderbot and TargetControlSys and this time it was AdaCol2. The interactions are usually always in very simple language but I love how much weight they end up carrying even when Murderbot is interacting with a lower sentient being. It's a really interesting exploration of what is sentience and how different entitities experiance emotions and feelings.

Another thing I loved about System Collapse was how Wells amped up the importance of art and media and how they are capable of changing a person to their very core (code?). Media has always been a very central part of the Murderbot Diaries, the role it played in shaping Murderbot into the person it now is after it hacked its governer module and how ART and Murderbot first bonded watching an episode of Wolrd Hoppers

Art and media really do change the world huh? I don't know what I will do with myself once the final Murderbot book comes out. For now, though, we do have at least 3 more books planned, and I am so excited for more Murderbot, ART and Dr Mensah.