- Publisher : Tordotcom; First Edition (May 8, 2018)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 160 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1250186927
- ISBN-13 : 978-1250186928
- Author : Martha Wells
Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries #2 by Martha Wells is another fun romp from the Murderbot. I love the murderbot character, the socially anxious, sarcastic, physically powerful, security hacking, combat expert human machine construct. This outing was not quite as much fun as the original, but it was still very entertaining. It was a little contrived in having murderbot happen to get a ride with the super-intelligent ship that was just what it needed to get where it was going and to help it through the adventure. Its ability to override seemingly any security system either directly or with the help of its ship buddy is a little deus ex machina, but what the hell, it is not supposed to be realistic. It is supposed to be fun and it is.
Most of what I said in my last review of Murderbot #1 still applies. The action and adventure are here, but the most fun is murderbot trying to deal with humans and struggling to appear human and working on its own internal struggles. The adventure story is an excuse to let us peer into the mind of an interesting and entertaining character.
These books are well worth the time to read, even if they are mostly a distraction. I will come back to the rest of the diaries soon.
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Plastivore by Matt Truxaw
Matt Truxaw’s newest book is Monster, which released on 1/12/2026. This urban fantasy, horror, thriller will keep you turning the pages.
He is also the author of the hard science fiction thrillers: “Plastiphobia/Plastivore” and “Anthrophobia: A Teacher’s Tale”
You can find them all on Amazon in Paperback, Hardback, Kindle and/or free to read with Kindle Unlimited.
When you read any of them, he would really appreciate a review/rating on Amazon or your favorite book seller/book reader site.
More about Matt:
He was born in Orange County California many years ago and he still lives there. He has been reading books for most of those years and writing up book reviews for the last few years. He gets MANY of his books out of the library/Libby so expect a lot of old science fiction classics book reviews and other science related reviews in addition to newer books he comes across.
If you want to be ‘in-the-loop’ on these and other works, you can follow his author’s page on Amazon or his Facebook page.
For more reviews and articles by Matt here on Amazing Stories (Click here).
Monster: A Novel by Matt Truxaw
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