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A wonderful addition to the series that makes me love Murderbot even more, which I didn’t think was possible.

I don’t think one needs to re-read Network Effect to be able to enjoy this, as the redacted parts in the first parts of the book only lightly refer to the previous, but mostly consist of things happening within the timeframe of System Collapse. Now if it’s been years and you don’t remember why Murderbot had a bad time planetside, then sure, re-read it. The redacted parts, while maybe a little disorientating, are showing the effects of trauma in a way that’s true to my own experiences, which added a richness to the story that just telling me Murderbot’s traumatized couldn’t.

I saw some comments about this feeling like the missing half of Network Effect. I wholly disagree. It’s in the same system and planet, but the situation is entirely different and the themes and events present reflect that. If the series has the potential of going in the direction presented at the end of Network Effect, then I would expect more time spent within a place vs the episodic nature of the novellas. Plus as Murderbot gets more resources, things have to go that much more spectacularly wrong and that takes more time to resolve satisfactorily. YMMV, but I love it and think Network Effect and System collapse are the strongest entries yet. I hope for more novel length entries going forward.

I've been looking forward to reading this since the authors essay on the subject matter was released on tor.com (I highly reccomend the essay). This is absolutely a book that will stay with me for a long time and one that is worth a slow burn, or if you're like me and can't put it down, then a re-read. It was devastatingly beautiful, brutally human.

The most fascinating and compelling aspect of the book for me was the interplay between the relationships: to the multitudes of inner selves and their relation and manifestation to other selves l, and to the feedback loop that exists with all social interaction. This is a story about how we relate to others (no matter their embodiment), and how those relations are influenced by our own perspective and habituated behaviors. It's also about so many other things that are best discovered first hand.

The sheer amount of depth and nuance in such a small space is a work of art and I'm sure a result of much painstaking effort. There is a beautiful economy of words, that when constellated, emerge as something entirely new.

Having finished the series, I felt I was time to add a review. On the occasion I find myself interested in someone's take on an entire series before I commit, I'm often disappointed to not find a condensed review, so I though I'd try and provide that in the hope it helps someone.

I came to the series wanting more from the author, having finished The Adventures of Amina al-Sirafi. I was drawn to the strong female and queer representation in a time and place where this is uncommon.

This series was a rollercoaster, I went from hating it to loving it almost as much as I cycled between those feelings for every main character. It took me a long time to realize how masterful the writing was to be able to add such nuance to the characters, their flaws and virtues filling a vessel that is far more than the sum of its parts. It takes a complex web of political intrigue and injects compassion into the brutal reality and it brings light to those that suffer most from the squabbles of the powerful. There is no true villain or hero to this story, just people on various stages of their life's path, trying to dig themselves out from the oppressive weight of their positions, the social expectations, and their ancestral legacy.

The pacing was questionable based on my own preferences at times, yet with the context of the whole I think it was satisfying. The lulls served as vignettes to deepen and enrich the characters and the world. It provided a sense of place that would have been lost in a high octane page turner. Even the companion stories in the fourth book add significant depth, though many of them are skippable if the main books weren't a hit for you. The main exceptions being by the alternate prologue and last story of the collection, which I vastly preferred over the prologue in the final book.

I recommend the whole series to those that like fantasy mixed with political intrigue, especially with a strong female voice.

This book seriously started out as a 1 star for me that almost found itself in the did not finish pile. I find many of my perspectives amd unserstanding of the climate science to align with the author, so why was this almost a flop for me and what changed it?

Well to start with what didn't work, it really comes down to my expectations. I was expecting a journalistic approach of here's how we're all fucked and the inventive ways some revolutionary thinkers have devised to make a different inspire of everything. What ended up being presented was a multi-year process of churning breakdowns and rediscoveries that color the overarching narrative with a grasping for logic where there is none and a generous helping of turning away from reason because it doesn't match their personal worldview. So many contradictions abound, I felt very unsympathetic. I'm not a lifelong activist; I'm an introvert that does the best to manage my own impact and live up to my values to the best of my ability. So many of these appeals just fall entirely short for me. It was the interviews with some pretty extraordinary folks that kept me wngaged long enough for my opinion to gradually shift. I can appreciate the tone, and maybe it was more telegraphed than I was able to pick up on, this person has been on the front lines their whole life and this is something too large to fully come to terms with. Especially when it challenges everything they have lived and fought for their entire lives. This shift in my mind was enough to endear me to the more personal musings presented. I could have done with the gallows humor, I didn't find much of it funny or useful.

Many ideas within this book will stay with me for a long time and I have an expanded list of books to pursue based on the interviews. Many of the salient points for me touch on a more human approach: how to be kind and gentle to others in the face of large scale disaster, how to facilitate community that is resilient and kind, and how to change one's relationship to what is normal, what is comfortable, what is just. The interviews and discussions inspired by them made this book for me. I'm happy to have requested my library purchase a copy, and even happier to see there's a wait list for it. It's a book I'll be buying for others in my life as gifts. There are so many ideas in this book worth exploring as we all face a very uncertain future. Whether we look at it or not, great changes are coming and we have a chance to influence the outcome.

This book reaffirmed my suspicion that I enjoy abstract unimaginable prose to direct linear storytelling. If that's not something you're in for, we'll unfortunately you've made it this far in the Borne series.

I would say Borne is great as a standalone and doesn't need any of the other two books. Strange Bird adds a heart breaking and beautiful layer of nuance to the world and makes for a great Duology. Dead Astronauts does for me what Strange Bird did, yet I really can relate to why there are so many that this book didn't click for. I've never read something that required so much heavy lifting to really integrate and engage with, and that's with reading all three books back to back in a short period of time. The effort was well rewarded in my opinion, but I feel compelled to warn potential readers that enjoyment feels predicated on a willingness to dive in deep. I feel like a re-read of the whole series is still in order to make all of the connections, and for many that's not a proposition of a good time.

This feels especially true since the books progress in weirdness more rapidly than Vandermeers other series. Area X feels like a traditional slow burn of escalation, Ambergris felt like steady ratcheting with a sharp descent near the end, and Borne starts weirder and quickly ramps up with each book.

Hopefully this helps?