Book Review - Artificial Condition, The Murderbot Diaries #2 (by Martha Wells)

Title: Artificial Condition
Series: The Murderbot Diaries (book #2)
Author: Martha Wells
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor.com / Tom Doherty Associates
Release Date: May 8th, 2018
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 158

"It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.

Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…"

Artificial Condition (The Murderbot Diaries #2)

(click to read an excerpt on marthawells.com)

- Review -
What Made Me Read It
It's the sequel to "All Systems Red" and Murderbot is trying to find out if it really was responsible for the murder of its former clients.

The Plot
"Artificial Condition" picks up shortly after the events of "All Systems Red". On a previous contract, Murderbot had been responsible for the mass murder of its clients. Or so the Company claimed. Since its memories were partially purged, and in light of the events depicted in the previous book, the SecUnit isn't certain the story released to the public is the true version. Murderbot also feels the need to know whether it hacked itself before the incident and caused the massacre, or if it hacked itself after to prevent the same disaster from happening again. To find the answers as to why and how the malfunction took place, Murderbot is on its way to the RaviHyral mining facility to try to figure out what really happened.

In order to reach the mining facility, Murderbot hitches rides on automated transports, exchanging its collection of entertainment media with the mindless bots controlling the ships for safe passage. Then on the last leg of its journey, it hitches a ride with an empty university research vessel that turns out to be far more clever and sentient than expected. Murderbot promptly nicknames it ART, short for Asshole Research Transport because of its complicated blunt personality. Out of boredom, ART decides to take Murderbot on as a pet project, offering help and resources to solve the mystery of RaviHyral, plus a lot of unasked-for advice.

But finding out the truth isn't as easy as it first seemed. The site of the incident has been shut down, the exact location and all information on the massacre wiped from record, a work permit is required to be permitted on the moon and Murderbot, because of recent publicity, isn't exactly unrecognizable. ART advises Murderbot to pose as an augmented human and take a freelance job as a security consultant to a group of young naive researchers on their way to RaviHyral mining facility, trying to retrieve some stolen data back from a local criminal entrepreneur. The job turns out to be more than Murderbot bargained for and now the SecUnit is stuck with another group of dumb humans in need of protection.

The Good
"Artificial Condition" is the second installment of "The Murderbot Diaries", and like the first book in the series, this one is also a novella at little over 150 pages written in the first person through the eyes of the protagonist. Because of the limitations in length it lacks complex world building and secondary character development. Still, the author manages to pack enough details to expand the universe to include a new planet, more info on the governing corporations, particularly the company that constructed Murderbot, and introduce new types of bots.

The main focus is once again on Murderbot (it is its diaries after all) and its journey of self-discovery. The character is very well developed and complex, a sympathetic protagonist with recognizable and relatable human traits. Murderbot remains the same socially awkward, lazy and snarky cyborg, who would rather spend its days binge watching serials on space netflix but finds itself forced instead to interact with other beings, both human and robotic, at every turn. This time the SecUnit strikes an unwanted friendship with a highly advanced ship navigator AI, whom Murderbot nicknames ART, while bonding reluctantly over shows they watch together on the journey to the RaviHyral mining facility. While being two different kinds of constructs with distinct personalities, they still blend and complement each other well. ART is cynical, sarcastic, overbearing and a know-it-all that gets on Murderbots' nerves. But its experience dealing with humans proves essential in helping Murderbot pose as an enhanced human and more or less successfully deal with the SecUnit's new clients and complete its mission.

The remaining secondary characters are only marginally developed but their sole purpose is to provide context for Murderbot's journey, a job done well enough.

Final Rating

"Artificial Condition" is fast-paced, exciting and funny, with enough twists to keep us engaged throughout the whole plot. It has mystery, adventure and danger but it also poses interesting questions about the nature of sentience, responsibility and free will. This book provides answers to some of the questions from book 1 but there is still plenty of mystery left for books 3 and 4. Recommended for those who enjoy a thrilling adventure in space featuring sarcastic sentient robots.

About the Author (interviews)

Previous in the series: All Systems Red, The Murderbot Diaries #1 (book review)

Next in the series: Rogue Protocol, The Murderbot Diaries #3 (book review)

Next in the series: Exit Strategy, The Murderbot Diaries #4 (book review)