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Title details for Artificial Condition by Martha Wells - Available

Artificial Condition

#2 in series

by Martha Wells
Kevin R. Free
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
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.

  • Creators

  • Series

    The Murderbot Diaries

  • Publisher

  • Awards

  • Release date

    May 8, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781501977237
      • File size: 96539 KB
      • Duration: 03:21:07

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • Publisher's Weekly

      June 11, 2018
      Wells follows the classically tight adventure pacing of All Systems Red with a slightly disorienting shift to self-exploration, making intense moments out of data dumps and matter-of-fact narrative out of fights to the death. Murderbot, a sentient artificial intelligence, is on the lam, hopping cargo transports and hacking security cameras on a quest to discover the truth of its own origin story as the villain of a massacre. Sounds like a rollicking time—which it is, but not in the way one might expect. The real discovery is not about the horrific events Murderbot may have participated in some 35,000 hours ago, but the bonds it never intended to form with beings who were no part of its plan. The most endearing is ART, a wacky cross between 2001’s HAL and Mycroft Holmes, who plays to Murderbot’s Sherlock with acerbic and infinite superiority. The broadening of Murderbot’s experience, however mundane, “make it harder for me to pretend not to be a person,” and the dizzying, inarguable plenitude of personhood is what this dense novella most intimately explores. There’s plenty here to entertain the many fans of the first novella. Agent: Jennifer Jackson, Donald Maass Literary.

    • AudioFile Magazine
      In the second novella in The Murderbot Diaries, narrator Kevin R. Free finds delicate nuances in Murderbot's developing personality. On a quest to research its own disastrous past, the former security android hitches a ride aboard an unmanned research transport. The AI pilot's voice is a nice blend of sarcastic and robotic tones, and Free does an equally fine job with the voices of other characters, particularly the gender-neutral ones, both artificial and human. At times, Free seems to run short of air at the ends of long phrases, and at one point he can be heard to swallow mid-sentence, but overall he delivers a strong performance in this satisfying follow-up to ALL SYSTEMS RED. D.L.Y. © AudioFile 2018, Portland, Maine
    • AudioFile Magazine
      Talented voice actor David Cui Cui embodies the rogue Murderbot in its second adventure. Elena Anderson embodies the computerized voice of ART, the Research Transport vessel who assists Murderbot. Pretending to be a highly augmented human, Murderbot takes on the private job of protecting a team of humans while heading back to the mining facility where it went rogue, hoping to learn if it was responsible for a disaster there. Cui Cui interacts seamlessly with the distinctly voiced cast of minor characters, including the triad of researchers, a vicious CEO, enemy Sec Units, and a Sexbot. Throughout Murderbot's tale, Cui Cui's steady voice delivers all the fights and escapes. M.B.K. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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