Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

January 11th, 2019 Kimberly Review 29 Comments

11th Jan
Artificial Condition by Martha Wells
Artificial Condition
by Martha Wells
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #2
Narrator: Kevin R. Free
Length: 3 hours and 21 minutes
Genres: Science Fiction
Source: Publisher
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible *affiliate
Goodreads
Rating: One StarOne StarOne StarOne Star
Narration: 5 cups

The follow-up to the hugely popular science fiction action-adventure All Systems Red

Artificial Condition continues The Murderbot Diaries, a science fiction series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. "As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

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

scifi SUSPENSE mystery well written

Narrated by Kevin R. Free, Artificial Condition by Martha Wells is the second novella in the Murderbot Diaries an off-planet science fiction that is wildly addictive. The audio is just the right length to devour on a road trip or as I did while doing mundane Saturday chores which suddenly became exciting.

After the ending of All Systems Red I was curious to see what our murderbot would do next. We meet a  research transport vessel named ART.  I loved the interactions that evolved between them. Murderbot is determined to investigate what happened where he went Rogue, and with ART’s help he takes on a contract that brings danger and takes him closer to the answers he seeks.

The unexpected interaction between ART and our SecUnit was fascinating to watch unfold, from viewing movies together to plotting out a way to get the Murderbot on the planet. They work well together and even brought humor to the story. I had a blast listening.

When he hires himself out, to help young technologist who are looking to gain their recordings back we end up getting a mystery, as our Murderbot works to protect the humans. It was fascinating but uneven in pacing, hence the four cups.

If you haven’t yet started the Murderbot Diaries, I encourage you to do so. Grab the audiobooks if you can, Kevin R. Free does a splendid job bringing both the SecBot and ART to life.

Humans, bots and more are all given unique personalities in Artificial Condition. Mystery, suspense and unique characters await you!

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells was an engaging off-planet fantasy brought to life by narrator Keven R. Free #iloveaudiobooks #sciencefiction Click To Tweet
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat. Twitter | Facebook | Instagram

29 Responses to “Artificial Condition by Martha Wells”

  1. MarthaE

    I am interested in continuing this series but its a bit of a bummer that the story is broken into 3 -4 hour parts for $11.99 each. I am glad you are still enjoying the series. Thanks for sharing.

  2. Annie

    I love listening to audiobooks! I’m terrible at imagining sounds and accents in my own mind, it’s much better to hear someone else create them for me! Great review, I’m glad this one mostly lived up to the hype.

  3. Laura Thomas

    I’m finally getting to this series and so thrilled to see you are enjoying them, Kimberly/ I have the eBooks and thinking I’ll also try the audibles. It would be fun to see which format I enjoy more and how the experience differs.

    Laura Thomas recently posted: S is for ….. Spiral Of Hooves
  4. Anne

    I LOVE this so much. I also think Kevin Free does an amazing job with the narration. I have to have them all. I’ve been collecting the audios. It’s an auto-buy series for me. Great review. Anne – Books of My Heart

    • Kimberly

      Awe, your poor thing. I understand as I battled strep and sinus infections. I do hope you are feeling better.

    • Kimberly

      This series is such fun Sherry, but I understand the tbr pile. Maybe mark it and watch for sales or library availability!

  5. sjhigbee

    Hm… I’m SO tempted! I loved the first book, but these novellas are very expensive and as I don’t reread, I can’t justify the cost… but the audiobook… that sounds a lot more doable – a brilliant and very enticing review, Kimberly:)