Caffeinated Reviewer | Platform Decay by Martha Wells
14th May
Narrated by Kevin R. Free, Platform Decay by Martha Wells delivered the newest installment with my favorite SecUnit, Murderbot. Murderbot is on a rescue mission, and there may be feelings involved!
Platform Decay
by Martha Wells
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #8
Narrator: Kevin R. Free
Length: 5 hours and 45 minutes
Source: Purchase
Purchase*: Amazon | Audible | Libro.fm *affiliate
Rating: 
Narration: 5 cups Speed: 1.25x
Everyone’s favorite lethal SecUnit is back in the next installment of Martha Wells’ bestselling and award-winning Murderbot Diaries series.
Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.
After volunteering to run a rescue mission, Murderbot realizes 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 check: Oh, for f—)
Platform Decay is the eighth audiobook in the Murderbot Diaries and a series that I recommend be listened to in the order of their release. Our SecUnit evolves, as do his relationships with the humans he interacts with.
Our Murderbot is totally out of his comfort zone as he goes on a rescue mission in the dangerous Corporation Rim. He is concerned that Barish-Estranza, the evil megacorp, is still a threat to him and the humans. He has a plan to rescue members of Dr. Mensah’s family, but of course, there are complications. The tale that unfolded was fantastic, addictive, and left me wanting more of this world and our bot.
I was worried that the emotions program our SecUnit installed was causing a systems collapse and relieved it was not; it is changing Murderbot, not that he would admit it, and its stats had me grinning. The rescue was long and complicated as we navigated the rim. It kept Murderbot busy, and our poor SecUnit could barely decompress and tune into any of his favorite programs.
I loved seeing Murderbot in charge, but also relying on others. The story is told completely from his point of view, and I absolutely loved seeing him realize that maybe, just maybe, he needs these humans as much as they need him. Brilliant.
Kevin R. Free narrates and is the voice of our SecUnit. His performance makes listening a must. Free captures the humor, tension, and tone of the story perfectly. Each of the audiobooks runs under six hours and is perfect for road trips. Fans of science fiction fantasies will love these diaries, but so will a broader audience.
About Martha Wells
Martha Wells has written many fantasy novels, including The Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads), the Ile-Rien series (including The Death of the Necromancer) as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, media tie-ins (for Star Wars and Stargate: Atlantis), and non-fiction. Her most recent fantasy novel is The Harbors of the Sun in 2017, the final novel in The Books of the Raksura series. She has a new series of SF novellas, The Murderbot Diaries, published by Tor.com in 2017 and 2018. She was also the lead writer for the story team of Magic: the Gathering’s Dominaria expansion in 2018. She has won a Nebula Award, an ALA/YALSA Alex Award, a Locus Award, and her work has appeared on the Hugo, Nebula, and Philip K. Dick Award ballots, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been published in eleven languages.
About Kevin R. Free
Kevin R. Free is an actor, writer, director, and producer whose work has been developed both regionally and in NYC. He is an accomplished voice actor, having created voices for commercials and, most notably, the voice of Kevin for the popular podcast Welcome to Night Vale. He is proud of his 20 years as an audiobook narrator whose work spans many genres.
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About Kimberly
Kimberly is a coffee loving book addict who reads and listens to fictional stories in all genres. Whovian, Ravenclaw, Howler and proud Nonna. She owns and manages Caffeinated PR. The coffee is always on and she is ready to chat.
