Artificial Condition by Martha Wells Narrator: Kevin Free
Series: Murderbot Diaries #2
Published by Recorded Books on May 8, 2018
Genres: Science Fiction
Length: 3 hours, 23 minutes
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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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.
This Murderbot Diaries series is just the most fun. “Murderbot” as it calls itself, is logical which is hilarious as its unfiltered thoughts. In this novella, Artificial Condition, it goes to figure out what happened when it went rogue, since its memory was scrubbed. The records of the event and even the place it occurred have been deleted.
I can’t say too much; I don’t want to spoil this short story. To get to the place where it happened, it needs a contract. So it takes a contract as a security consultant. In doing so, it gets another round of humans who aren’t always logical. Actually, they are not at all logical. The humans are going to a meeting to get their research which was taken from them when their contract ended, which is not typical.
” I was only 97% certain this meeting was a trap. ~ Murderbot”
Murderbot is an irresistible delight to humans, including me. I can’t wait to read and review Rogue Protocol which releases on August 7. It is about double the length of the first two novellas and more a full length book.
Narration:
I continue to love the way this narrator voices Murderbot and its humans. He gave it a straightforward style with lack of emotion one would expect for a droid but the words contradict this at times. The witty thoughts and comments are executed with great timing. I enjoyed it immensely. I’m going with the whole series on audio. I listened at my usual 1.25 speed and LOVED it.
Listen to a clip:
About Kevin Free
Kevin R. Free has appeared on national television in commercials and on NBC’s Law & Order and Law & Order: SVU. New York audiences have seen Mr. Free Off-Broadway, creating the role of Memphis in From My Hometown both for Amas Musical Theatre and at the Gramercy Theatre, for which he was nominated for an Audelco Award. He was also seen Off-Broadway at the York Theatre in Taking A Chance On Love, and as Bubber Brown in The New Federal Theatre’s acclaimed The Conjure Man Dies. He has been featured in concerts with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and with the education department of Symphony Space.
Mr. Free has performed regionally in many places, including his home state of North Carolina at Charlotte Repertory Theatre (Belize in Angels in America, Paul in Six Degrees of Separation) and at the North Carolina Shakespeare Festival (Francis Flute in A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Ariel in The Tempest). Other favorite roles in the musical theatre include Dromio of Ephesus in The Boys From Syracuse at CENTERSTAGE, Nemur in Chasing Nicolette at Prince Music Theatre in Philadelphia,Milton in Avenue X at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Gift Guy in Adventures In Love at the Ordway in St. Paul, MN, and Flick in Violet at Stage One in Wichita, KS and at the Arden Theatre in Philadelphia, for which he was nominated for a Barrymore Award.
About Martha Wells
Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including The Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads), the Ile-Rien series (including The Death of the Necromancer) as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, media tie-ins (for Star Wars and Stargate: Atlantis), and non-fiction. Her most recent fantasy novel is The Harbors of the Sun in 2017, the final novel in The Books of the Raksura series. She has a new series of SF novellas, The Murderbot Diaries, published by Tor.com in 2017 and 2018. She was also the lead writer for the story team of Magic: the Gathering’s Dominaria expansion in 2018. She has won a Nebula Award, an ALA/YALSA Alex Award, a Locus Award, and her work has appeared on the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Award ballots, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been published in eleven languages.
She has had short stories in the magazines Black Gate, Realms of Fantasy, Lone Star Stories, Lightspeed Magazine, and Stargate Magazine, and in the Tsunami Relief anthology Elemental, The Other Half of the Sky, Tales of the Emerald Serpent, Mech: Age of Steel, and The Gods of Lovecraft.
She has essays in the nonfiction anthologies Farscape Forever, Mapping the World of Harry Potter, Chicks Unravel Time, and The Kobold Guide to Magic.
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I read all types of books but my favorites are urban fantasy and romantic suspense.I like some romance and some action / adventure / mystery in everything.I like sex in my books but please, only between TWO people.Intimate conversation is equally important to the sex in a book.It lets me see the characters.The other thing I enjoy is humor.
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Reading this book contributed to these challenges:
- 2018 Audiobook Challenge
- 2018 New Release Challenge
- COYER BSBB
I’m not that much a Sci-fi girl but with a 5 rating, I’m curious!
I love sci-fi, at least space opera and technology stuff. It’s a small step from urban fantasy for me. But this one is so smart and funny. It looks at “people” who are different and how they feel, how others treat them. It seems especially relevant today. Plus it’s funny.
I have the first audiobook on my wishlist..now I have 2..lol
I’m a huge sci-fi / space opera fan and this is just funny so it is a real favorite. I hope you enjoy them.
I love Murderbot! And I enjoyed this one. She could keep writing these forever and I’d keep getting them lol. And I didn’t know Rogue Protocol was longer- yay!
Me too! Yes excited for the full regular book length. Although I plan to review the audio version. Thanks Greg.