Author: Zaheerah

A twenty-something reader. Slowly making her way through the endless pit that is her TBR pile.
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Review: Rogue Protocol

by Zaheerah1 Comment on Review: Rogue Protocol
Review: Rogue Protocol

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Martha Wells continues her thrilling journey of the highly entertaining and most complex AI around. (Sorry, ChatGPT, take a seat this time) In Rogue Protocol, Murderbot finds itself on a new task, seeking evidence against the sinister corporation GrayCris.

The story picks up with Murderbot on its way to a transit station, almost forgotten in a hyper-connected society, hoping to find evidence against GrayCris and help Doctor Mensah (who we first meet in All Systems Red) in her case against the entity for its safety violations. 

Rogue Protocol might just be my favourite out of the novellas in this series. While I prefer the previous novellas’ quieter introspection, Murderbot is pushed to the limits in this one as it’s a lot more action-packed and adventurous. As usual, Murderbot navigates the complexities of human emotions while dealing with its growing anxieties, but this time with the ever-increasing threat of GrayCris hovering closer in their mind, as it notes that people have begun to question its disappearance from the public eye.

After adopting its human persona again, Murderbot’s cover is almost completely ruined when it realises another research group has their own security bot called Miki, who can detect Murderbot’s presence if they’re not careful. So, it convinces Miki that it is a hired help to ensure Miki’s group’s survival.

In Artificial Conditions, we see how Murderbot understands its fellow AI counterparts, understanding its different needs and expectation from their contractors, but Miki is different. Miki is treated as part of the team, even referring to them as her friends. For once, Murderbot can almost wonder what life could be like if they didn’t see it as a mass murderer.

Wells continues to develop and improve upon Murderbot as an engaging and hilarious character, its thought processes dive deeper into its struggle with identity and relationships. Overall, Rogue Protocol is incredibly engaging and another captivating instalment in the adventures of Murderbot. As we step closer to the dangerous reach of GrayCris, you can’t help but root for the snarky SecUnit who can’t seem to catch a break.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Review: Artificial Conditions

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Review: Artificial Conditions

Rating: 5 out of 5.

With only the vaguest memories of its past, Murderbot departs from its former crew and teams up with a Research Transport vessel named ART to undercover its history of a former mining facility.

We return to our beloved SecUnit, now disguised as a security consultant, who embarks on a journey to remember its past, once swiped from its memory. How can it convince anyone it must make its way to a derelict facility that shouldn’t exist anymore? So, they hitch a ride with an empty cargo, trading its precious hours of media, and take a job as a security guard for a group of researchers planning to find their stolen work in the same area.

Wells excels in her portrayal of both complex and memorable characters. Artificial Conditions focuses mainly on Murderbot and their newest (and biggest headache) companion, ART. Murderbot is, as always, sarcastic and endearing. The dynamic between Murderbot and ART is surprisingly fascinating. While All Systems Red touches upon the existence of other bots, Artificial Conditions introduces them to the forefront. I enjoyed how Murderbot’s characterisation of their robot peers is extremely endearing and incredibly humanised.

Artificial Conditions is an exciting departure from the first story, as Murderbot hacks its way through systems to find out what caused its malfunction, resulting in the deaths of over 50 people. Wells expands her universe into a rich world with a brilliant blend of futuristic technology and complex, grounded characters. Continuing its witty quips with an even more engaging story, Artificial Conditions is an entertaining addition to the series.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Review: All Systems Red

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Review: All Systems Red

Rating: 4 out of 5.

In a space-faring and corporate-domineering future, a company-supplied android must accompany research missions to other planets. (SecUnit for short) But what happens when a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own module finds itself in the middle of a mission that has compromised its researchers?

The Murderbot Diaries is a series I’ve heard through the grapevines for so long. A bot on Twitter that tweets random lines from the series has been living in my algorithm for years. I cannot believe it took me this long to pick up this series.

“I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites.”

That is how we first meet the SecUnit, who prefers to be called Murderbot, as they ponder on the next episode of their favourite show, Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon.

Murderbot is a surprisingly delightful protagonist with a sarcastic bite. Designed for security with the capability for murder, no one expects a standard unit to spend their days downloading television. Despite being a robot, Murderbot holds its footing amongst even the most human protagonists. Their struggle to understand human emotions and autonomy made this an incredibly compelling story.

Wells has created an enthralling, unique universe within the first novella alone. All Systems Red unfolds on a distant planet as Murderbot joins a group of scientists on an expedition. But when the excursions turn sour, Murderbot takes it upon itself to protect its human charges and surprisingly finds its place within the group. While having the respect of the lead researchers, not everyone is quite comfortable with its capabilities. Wells’ writing is concise and solid; Murderbot’s so-called lack of emotions makes for some hilarious moments within some intense scenes. (I, too, like Murderbot, would prefer to watch my favourite shows on repeat rather than deal with the situations at hand) While All Systems Red can be read as a self-contained story, even the end leaves you wanting more. A complex lead, a crew of great characters, and the depth within these short pages made me realise why so many people adore this series. (I might just be chastising myself for days for taking this long to read it)

Overall, what an exceptional start to a series. All Systems Red is a fantastic sci-fi novella that begins what I anticipated to be a unique series. A perfect blend of action and suspense. (And also, humour, to my surprise!)

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Review: Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out

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Review: Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out

Rating: 3 out of 5.

*I received a copy from the publisher via Netgalley in return for an honest review. This in no way affected my opinion of the book.*

When Arthur Edwards decides to come out to his family, he is unprepared for the bombshell it brings to his family and community. His grandson, Teddy, yearns to come out but, after seeing the reaction to his grandfather, finds himself stepping back into his shell as he struggles to juggle his internship and his growing feelings for his colleague, Ben.

After almost 80 years of being in the closet, Arthur decides he can no longer keep his sexuality a secret and decides to confide in his children, which causes a dramatic effect on his community, especially his grandson, who is also contemplating the same thing. I adored Arthur and Teddy’s bond throughout the story. Both grappling with the same feelings and emotions in different life stages made this a rather emotional read. In alternating narratives, Arthur comes to terms with his past, while Teddy works to understand his future, both striving to find peace in their lives. This book’s promotions emphasise the feel-good humour, which hit the feel-good spot, but I don’t think the comedic aspects hit the correct mark.

Honestly, Arthur’s story was the better half of this tale. I enjoyed the back and forth between grandfather and grandson, as the story highlights how coming out is never a definitive time; it can and should be done when the person feels most comfortable doing so. Teddy’s entire narrative was sort of soiled when I realised his story is mainly him complaining about being a nepo baby and being upset when people rightfully call him out on it. I had anticipated a moment where he acknowledges it and grows from that oddly selfish attitude, but he spends most of that time being coddled by his friends and then being harsh to Ben for no reason, even when they start dating. Ben does go on to do something horrible, but it’s all for the plot’s sake because there is no way anyone would be rooting for Teddy until then. Also, Elizabeth, Arthur’s daughter and Teddy’s mother acted so appalling towards her father and son that I was surprised that the story allows her to be forgiven so easily, which I assumed was for a more wholesome ending.  

Overall, Arthur and Teddy Are Coming Out was a delightful story with a lovely premise, but I did have mixed feelings about Teddy, which soured his half of the story. Nonetheless, it is a story of finding oneself regardless of the life stage I believe will find its place in other people’s hearts.

GOODREADS | AMAZON | AUTHOR

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Monthly Rewind: April 2023

by Zaheerah3 Comments on Monthly Rewind: April 2023
Monthly Rewind: April 2023

B O O K S

For April, I ended up reading 4 novellas. I’ve mentioned multiple times before how finding a full-time job has been my priority for the last few months, which has left my blog quite lacking in content. (As you can see, my last post was my Monthly Rewind for March) I have quite a packed Netgalley TBR, and a few ARCs I had requested still need to be read and reviewed, so it made me really overwhelmed. Back when my blog was at its most active, I was actually working part-time, attending university, and blogging altogether. I thought with all this free time, I would be able to catch up, but it’s quite hard at the moment because I do this blog stuff as a side-project for fun; I’ve somehow internally convinced myself that I can’t do any “fun” stuff until I’ve got a steady job which has turned into this messy, horrible book slump right now. I’m trying really hard to get through this slump, but unemployment is beating my ass right now. So I thought reading Novellas would be a great way to ease myself back into the comfort of reading and blogging. And it’s kind of working? I’ve adored each and every book I’ve read this month.

  • Artificial Condition/ Rogue Protocol/ Exit Strategy – I plan to write a more thorough review of myself gushing over the Murderbot Diaries because it’s so good. I did not think I would find myself relating to a hacked SecUnit, but here we are.
  • The Lies of the Ajungo – I found this one by being nosy on Twitter and saw a mutual request for recommendations, and someone else suggested this. I will have to scour through my feed to see if I can find it again, but perhaps it has been lost to the Musk void. In such a short number of pages, the world-building was amazing. I thought I won the jackpot when I thought the sequel (set 100 years later) was already released, but then I realised I looked at the number wrong, and it was, in fact, slated for a 2024 release. OTL.

A R T

Update from Twitch: I’ve reached affiliate status! If you’re not aware of Twitch, it’s a streaming site that I’ve been on for the last few months, streaming while I play games like Genshin Impact and Horizon Zero Dawn. More recently, I’ve been playing Celeste and Honkai: Star Rail! The main appeal of getting an affiliate role is, essentially, streamers can earn a share of the revenue generated from any video ads played on their channel. I personally wanted the interactive aspects of having affiliate status, which were channel points. I’ve mentioned before that I used a PNG model to stream, and I use Channel Points as a way to allow anyone who watched me to redeem points (earned by watching) to redeem different outfits I’ve made.

One of the major parts of Twitch Affiliate is emotes! Any affiliate or partner on Twitch can essentially have their own personalised emotes, which can be used for those who subscribed to the channel. At the moment, I’m not interested in asking people to sub the channel; while it’s appreciated, I don’t want anyone to feel like they should give some of their money to me. This is why you can redeem any of my emotes for 24-hour use using channel points. The redemption amount is lower than usual because I want everyone to be able to use them! I drew my emotes on stream and using an emote base pack by miffurin. I did design the whole pack, but they’ll just be sitting in my Twitch inventory until I can unlock the rest.

If you happen to be reading this post on the date of its release (May 2nd), I’m going to live today at around 9PM UK time (BST) playing Genshin Impact and pulling for one of my long-awaited characters, Baizhu. (almost three years of waiting is finally over omggg) Come follow me on Twitch for some bad gameplay and good times.

P O S T S

A feature section to highlight my favourite posts from my fellow bloggers that were posted this month. 

That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?

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Monthly Rewind: March 2023

by Zaheerah3 Comments on Monthly Rewind: March 2023
Monthly Rewind: March 2023

B O O K S

March was a busy month for me – turning 25, preparing for Ramadan, and the ever-so-tiring process of job hunting made it very difficult to really pick up many books this month. I managed to get 3 in and ended up enjoying all of them! Expect reviews for everything!

  • Arthur and Teddy are Coming Out – Super wholesome and super sweet. It is a tale about a grandfather and grandson coming out simultaneously and learning to deal with the reactions of their community. Teddy was kind of an arsehole for most of the story, but his grandfather Arthur’s story was so good.
  • All Systems Red – I looove finding books through my mutuals on Twitter, and the Murderbot Diaries just kept cropping up over the past few months, so I just knew I had to start this series. The hype was definitely worth it.
  • Infinity Gate – I requested this ARC a while ago and never found the time to finish it. This one certainly surprised me and had me gasping at many moments as well.

A R T

March is also my birthday month, and since last year, I’ve made it an art tradition to make a birthday art piece with myself and Kamisato Ayato (from Genshin Impact) – since we share the same birthday! I drew this live on Twitch – I like doing art streams occasionally when Im not playing games – come check it out! I did draw a lot more, but I haven’t finished them yet since I tend

P O S T S

A feature section to highlight my favourite posts from my fellow bloggers that were posted this month. 

That’s it for this month! Tell me what went on in YOUR life this month! What sort of things was important for you this month? New obsessions? New TV shows? Or book? Any new song recs (I’m always open to new music!)? Best books you read this month?

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