Narrated by Kevin R. Free, Artificial Condition by Martha Wells has a runtime of 3 hrs 21 mins on Audible.
Publisher’s Summary
The follow-up to the hugely popular science fiction action-adventure All Systems Red
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.
Audiobook Details
- Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
- Length: 3 hrs 21 mins
- Publisher: Recorded Books
- Release year: 2018
- Audible category: Science Fiction & Fantasy / Science Fiction / Adventure
Listener Ratings
Artificial Condition holds an average listener rating of 4.7/5 from 12463 Audible ratings.
On Audible, ratings for this title break down into narration performance and story separately:
- Performance (narration): 4.7/5
- Story: 4.7/5
- 5-star ratings: 73% of all ratings
What Audible Listeners Are Saying
5/5 stars — “Great”
Concise, great writing. I don’t know why one is required to put fifteen words when three will do.— Silas, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Murderbot does not disappoint. “
Take an anxious cyborg with an addiction to streaming media, a board research ship with time on its hands, a group of human beings who don’t get the "Fool me once" rule, an angry sexbot and mix generously with a mysterious past, bad business practice and bursts of action and you have Martha Wells delightful Artificial Condition. The 2nd book of the Murderbot Dairies.If you haven’t read or listened to the first book, All Systems Red, do so at once. You don’t know what you’re missing. Then come back and read or listen to this one. You won’t regret it.
— Areader, Audible listener
5/5 stars — “Another Quickie But Enjoyed As Much As The 1st One”
Murderbot is intriguing and I loved this short story as much as the first one in the series. I purchased this story right after finishing All Systems Red and it did not disappoint at all. You certainly must start at the beginning.Here we have a SecUnit, self-named Murderbot due to a bad reputation of being responsible for his team’s deaths on an earlier planetary exploratory mission. So as not to give Secunits a bad name, his history and consciousness wete washed clean and he was sent out to continue his security work.
I had this story figured out before I even started it–I just knew where I’d find MB. Boy was I wrong. Of course he’d have his own ideas as to what came next, and it all makes perfect sense. This one was great too. Loved the relationship between him and Art!
As in my first review of Book (story) 1, I agree with others that the first 4 of this series are short stories and belong together. No worries, Martha heard our complaints and the last of the series is a full-fledged long-enough book. I can’t wait to finish the next two short stories and go on to the final one!
These are great entertainment, IMHO!
— Kathy in CA, Audible listener
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