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Booklist: This mind-bending sequel focuses on Harrow, the leader and last child of the Ninth House, who became a Lyctor at great cost in Gideon the Ninth (2019). But the course of Lyctorhood does not run smoothly for Harrow, who often hallucinates and remembers the events of Gideon much differently than the reader will; also, she may be haunted. Meanwhile, learning to use her new, almost unlimited necromantic power proves difficult given her mental instability, the unwillingness of her near-immortal tutors to impart their wisdom, and the imminent destruction of the Empire by vengeful, ghostly forces. Secreted on an isolated space station waiting for their doom to arrive, Harrow’s frenemy and fellow new Lyctor Ianthe offers precious little in the way of support, while the Emperor cuts a disturbingly paternal figure. Muir presents a series of enigmas and revels in gory detail before bringing everything to a riveting, no-holds-barred conclusion that will leave readers both satisfied and gnashing their teeth for the finale. Fans of a blend of horror, mystery, dark humor, and the uncanny found in books like Daniel O’Malley’s The Rook (2012) will want to start with the first Ninth House book, then devour this one.

NPR: If the first books were episodes in a four-part TV miniseries, then Network Effect is the feature-length movie with the bigger budget and scope, and it is no less enjoyable….with a little more room to breathe, Wells draws out all of those elements in a way that extends the enjoyable experience of the novellas, yet doesn’t drag.

One of the consistent strengths and joys of the series is Murderbot’s internal dialogue. It catalogues the world with files and backups and keyword tagging that are both technical and humorous. It also has a childlike way of narrating through problems, of chiding itself for its failures and cheering on its own successes in a way that is hard not to find endearing.

Wells is also adept at taking action that occurs in seconds, or even fractions of seconds because that is the speed of a computer, and slowing it all down for us simple humans to understand. And when Murderbot needs to live up to the name and get its hands dirty, Wells can also ratchet things up to John Wick-ian levels of visceral action.

And that’s the hallmark of any good series — it leaves you wanting more. Murderbot and the world it inhabits constantly leave you wanting more, in the best possible way.