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Murderbot, she wrote

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Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#21

Post by inanutshellus »

romanows wrote: post #14
inanutshellus wrote: post #10

I haven't read the stories for many years now but for some reason both I and my wife assumed the bot would look female, and both of us were independently surprised to learn that the protagonist was cast as male in the upcoming series.

I think Murderbot doesn't have a gender, so it'll probably be a pretty androgynous look anyway. I listened to Kevin R Free's fantastic narration, so maybe I would have expected a male actor, except that I do the aphantasia thing and never visualize anything from books to begin with!

Yes, the robot is not described with a gender and it needn't have a gender -- or even the semblance of one -- but for whatever reason my wife and I both ignored that and assigned it as female, and were really really surprised many years later by the casting of a dude. We didn't even talk about it when reading the books. Just came up when we were both surprised by the casting.

Kinda cool when your book-made vision shifts like that. It's one of the funnest parts of reading a book before the movie comes out... that sensation of /mental annexation/ that happens.

Excited to see the show!

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#22

Post by ghaff »

dageshi wrote: post #20

I'm a bit mystified by the hype for murderbot. I read it and thought it was OK but a lot of people rave about it. Still not every book is for every person, it didn't connect with me but it very obviously has its fans.

I felt similarly. Read what I think was the first book. Enjoyed it well enough. But also didn't feel a burning need to snag further books.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#23

Post by em-bee »

imzadi wrote: post #16
Blackthorn wrote: post #4

If you like Murderbot, you owe yourself to check out her other series, The Cloud Roads. Absolutely fantastic.

Another good one is Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky Also, I feel like if I am recommending something I have to recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is my current obsession. I've read all the books multiple times in multiple formats, but it's not much like Murderbot.

i am reading service model right now with our scifi book club. this book needs a trigger warning for programmers. reading it feels like work because i am constantly analyzing what coding faults lead to the choices the robots are making.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#24

Post by VyseofArcadia »

dageshi wrote: post #20

I'm a bit mystified by the hype for murderbot. I read it and thought it was OK but a lot of people rave about it. Still not every book is for every person, it didn't connect with me but it very obviously has its fans.

I enjoyed the novella but also didn't feel like it did anything particularly new or interesting. I think a lot of people just relate to a snarky unwilling protagonist who would rather be watching TV.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#25

Post by blacksmith_tb »

Blackthorn wrote: post #4

If you like Murderbot, you owe yourself to check out her other series, The Cloud Roads. Absolutely fantastic.

I found the Ile-Rien books more fun, esp. Death of the Necromancer, a nice Francophile steampunk vibe.

I like Murderbot ok, though it's beginning to feel a little like a shaggy dog joke at this point.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#26

Post by joshkel »

inanutshellus wrote: post #10

I haven't read the stories for many years now but for some reason both I and my wife assumed the bot would look female, and both of us were independently surprised to learn that the protagonist was cast as male in the upcoming series.

For what it's worth, Murderbot's "Security Consultant Rin" human disguise is apparently female.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#27

Post by georgeecollins »

dageshi wrote: post #20

I'm a bit mystified by the hype for murderbot. I read it and thought it was OK but a lot of people rave about it. Still not every book is for every person, it didn't connect with me but it very obviously has its fans.

It's the kind of book(s) that are better if they sneak up on you. The whole point is that murderbot wants to be left alone (to watch soap operas!) but keeps having to wrestle with being a person in often particularly difficult and confusing circumstances. The delight is that it can be wry and insightful.

If someone tells you it is going to have big messages I could see how it would be disappointing.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#28

Post by georgeecollins »

VyseofArcadia wrote: post #24
dageshi wrote: post #20

I'm a bit mystified by the hype for murderbot. I read it and thought it was OK but a lot of people rave about it. Still not every book is for every person, it didn't connect with me but it very obviously has its fans.

I enjoyed the novella but also didn't feel like it did anything particularly new or interesting. I think a lot of people just relate to a snarky unwilling protagonist who would rather be watching TV.

>> a lot of people just relate to a snarky unwilling protagonist who would rather be watching TV.

You put that beautifully! That is what I enjoyed about it.

Re: Murderbot, she wrote

#30

Post by georgeecollins »

imzadi wrote: post #16
Blackthorn wrote: post #4

If you like Murderbot, you owe yourself to check out her other series, The Cloud Roads. Absolutely fantastic.

Another good one is Service Model by Adrian Tchaikovsky Also, I feel like if I am recommending something I have to recommend Dungeon Crawler Carl, which is my current obsession. I've read all the books multiple times in multiple formats, but it's not much like Murderbot.

Children of Time by Adrian Tchaikovsky is also very good imo.
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