Sophia Rose Reviews - Platform Decay by Martha Wells, narrator Kevin R Free

 

Platform Decay by Martha Wells, narrator Kevin R Free

#8 Murderbot Diaries

Sci-Fi

Publisher:  Recorded Books

Published:  5.5.26

Time:  5 hours 45 minutes

Speed: 1.2x

Rating: 5 stars

Format: audio

Source:  Purchased

Sellers:  Amazon

ADD TO: Goodreads

Goodreads Synopsis:

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment in Martha Wells' bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.

Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.

Having volunteered to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realises that it will have to spend significant time with a bunch of humans it doesn't know.

Including human children. Ugh.

This may well call for... eye contact!

(Emotion Oh, for f—)

 

Sophia Rose's Review:

A rescue mission that takes Murderbot into the dangerous Corporation Rim is fraught with twists, turns, and wry quips of humor.  Martha Wells’ latest installment in the Murderbot Diaries was a highly anticipated read and I was not disappointed.

 

Platform Decay is the eighth installment in the Murderbot Diaries sci-fi series that works best when read or listened to in order.

 

Platform Decay begins some time after the events of System Collapse and opens with Murderbot and Three on a mission to a gigantic planetary ring space station deep in Corporation Rim territory.  The mission- well, it got Murderbot angry enough to melt its circuits and take out every combatant and corp exec between it and its rescue targets who happen to be vulnerable, peaceful human adults and children.

But it’s got an app for that.  A mental health app that does emotion checks when its body chemicals show a spike.

Is this a trap?  Sure, it is, but that doesn’t change the need for a Sec Unit stealth mission with a risk assessment off the charts.

 

Platform Decay was full of the endearing monologuing of SecUnit as it works the mission and its growing and maturing person-hood though it still has zero interest in being human. Though, it has come to be tolerant if not entirely comfortable around humans- even humans in trauma and needing to be touched and to touch.

Alongside the character development is the stellar sci-fi location rich in far-future diversity and the spots of pulse-pounding action or suspenseful surprises.

 

As an aside to other series fans, I was startled by the direction of the storyline having expected this to be a mission with ART and its crew.  That said, this unexpected mission was fantastic and I was there for it.

 

Kevin R Free dazzled me again with his fabulous narration work.  Honestly, even if I were reading this book, I’d hear his voice doing the characters- even the all-new characters.  He elevates this series to the next level with his ability to give personality to each character voice and draw the listener in to the world and scenes of the book with his storytelling talent.

 

Platform Decay was stellar and I will happily revisit it again as I (im)patiently wait for the next Murderbot Diaries installment.  If you haven’t picked these up and you adore light sci-fi you really must.

 

Author Bio:
Martha Wells has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, the Ile-Rien series, The Murderbot Diaries series, and other fantasy novels, most recently Witch King (Tordotcom, 2023). She has also written media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, Locus Awards, and a Dragon Award, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the British Science Fiction Association Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, the Sunday Times Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. She is a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have been published in twenty-five languages.

She is also a consulting producer on The Murderbot Diaries series for Apple TV+.

Sophia’s Bio:

Sophia is a quiet though curious gal who dabbles in cooking, book reviewing, piano-playing, and gardening. Road trips and campouts, museums and monuments, restaurants and theaters are her jam. Encouraged and supported by an incredible man and loving family. A Northern Californian transplant to the Great Lakes Region of the US. Lover of Jane Austen, Baseball, Cats, Scooby Doo, and Chocolate.

As a lifelong reader, it was inevitable that Sophia would discover book blogs and the joy of blog reviewing. Sophia is a prolific reader and audiobook listener which allows her to experience so many wonderful books, authors, and narrators. Few genres are outside her reading tastes, but her true love is fiction particularly history, mystery, sci-fi, and romance. Though, sorry, no horror or she will run like Shaggy and Scooby.

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GoodReads:  https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/13418187.Sophia_Rose