15 great fantasy and science fiction books from 2020 you may have missed

7. Network Effect by Martha Wells

Martha Wells, author of the incredibly well-received and successful Murderbot novellas, released her first full-length novel in that universe last year. If this is the first time you’re hearing about Murderbot…where have you been?! The four novellas that preceded Network Effect all followed the titular Murderbot, one of the most fun, hilariously well-realized science fiction characters of the past decade, a self-aware android who doesn’t particularly enjoy humans and just wants to be left alone. Or so it tells itself.

I can’t talk too much about the plot without spoiling any of the preceding works, so what I’m going to do instead is show you the back-of-book description for Network Effect, which gives an idea of the tone these fantastic works have:

"You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you’re a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you’re Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century. — I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are. When Murderbot’s human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action. Drastic action it is, then."

Network Effect won the Nebula award last year, and was nominated for a bunch of other accolades as well. If you haven’t gotten in on Murderbot yet, you’re missing out. There’s just…no other way to put it.