# Platform Decay

![Book cover of Platform Decay](/books/covers/platform_decay.jpg)

by [Martha Wells](/books/authors/martha_wells/)
Book 8 of [The Murderbot Diaries](/books/series/the_murderbot_diaries/)
★★★☆☆

## Review

_Platform Decay_, by Martha Wells,
is the eighth book in _The Murderbot Diaries_. It follows
Murderbot and Three as they infiltrate a planetary torus to rescue Mensah's
family from Barish-Estranza.

The setup in _Platform Decay_ is very similar to [_Exit Strategy_](/books/exit_strategy/), which is great
because that's one of the best Murderbot books. The mission gets more
complicated when Murderbot discovers that Supervisor Leonide, from [_Network Effect_](/books/network_effect/)
and [_System Collapse_](/books/system_collapse/), may have arranged the kidnapping because she needs Murderbot's
help.

I thought [_System Collapse_](/books/system_collapse/) was too slow and too long to really work, and I worried it
was a sign of things to come. _Platform Decay_ puts those fears to rest. It is
a fine return to form: fast and action-packed, with deep emotional moments. It
has everything I want out of [_The Murderbot Diaries_](/books/series/the_murderbot_diaries/), while also moving the larger
story forward. In [_Network Effect_](/books/network_effect/) and [_System Collapse_](/books/system_collapse/), Murderbot gave other SecUnits code
to hack their governor modules. In this book, we meet the first SecUnits who
got that code from someone other than Murderbot. The revolt is now spreading
beyond Murderbot's control.

Modern science fiction is full of found family, and [_The Murderbot Diaries_](/books/series/the_murderbot_diaries/) follows
that trend. Murderbot is slowly realizing it has a place in Mensah's
non-standard family and is willing to risk its life to defend them. The
Corporate Rim has equally complex families, including Leonide's queer,
multi-parent one, but they operate very differently. Where Mensah's family
rallies to save its members, Leonide's is torn apart from the inside. The
Corporate Rim uses violence to keep its workers enslaved and enforce its
hierarchies, and its families reproduce that same behavior.

This book reminded me of a few others. The giant station with its natural
landscape inside reminded me of the topopolis from [Taylor](/books/authors/dennis_e_taylor/)'s [_Heaven's River_](/books/heavens_river/). The river suspended in the air is similar to the Ousters'
space river in [Simmons](/books/authors/dan_simmons/)'s [_The Fall of Hyperion_](/books/the_fall_of_hyperion/). The city
built into the walls of the (artificial) canyon reminded me of the canyon city
from [Banks](/books/authors/iain_m_banks/)'s [_Use of Weapons_](/books/use_of_weapons/).

I thought I might be done with Murderbot after [_System Collapse_](/books/system_collapse/), but _Platform Decay_
won me back! I'm excited to see where Wells takes the
SecUnit revolt and whether it causes the foreshadowed collapse of the
Corporate Rim.

## Reviews that mention _Platform Decay_
- [_Artificial Condition_](/books/artificial_condition/)†
- [_Exit Strategy_](/books/exit_strategy/)†
- [_Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory_](/books/home_habitat_range_niche_territory/)†
- [_I Sexually Identify as an Attack Helicopter_](/books/i_sexually_identify_as_an_attack_helicopter/)†
- [_The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress_](/books/the_moon_is_a_harsh_mistress/)†
- [_Network Effect_](/books/network_effect/)†
- [_On Basilisk Station_](/books/on_basilisk_station/)†
- [_Shards of Earth_](/books/shards_of_earth/)†
- [_System Collapse_](/books/system_collapse/)
- [_This Is How You Lose the Time War_](/books/this_is_how_you_lose_the_time_war/)†
- [_The Triumphant_](/books/the_triumphant/)†
- [_We Are Legion (We Are Bob)_](/books/we_are_legion_we_are_bob/)†

† _Mentioned via a link to the series._

## Related Books
- [_Network Effect_](/books/network_effect/) by [Martha Wells](/books/authors/martha_wells/) --- ★★★★☆: Network Effect, by Martha Wells, is the fifth book in The Murderbot Diaries. It’s the first full-length novel in the series and features Murderbot getting kidnapped by ART to rescue its crew.
- [_Fugitive Telemetry_](/books/fugitive_telemetry/) by [Martha Wells](/books/authors/martha_wells/) --- ★★★☆☆: Fugitive Telemetry, by Martha Wells, is the sixth book in The Murderbot Diaries. In it, Murderbot is reluctantly pulled into a murder investigation by Preservation Station security.
- [_System Collapse_](/books/system_collapse/) by [Martha Wells](/books/authors/martha_wells/) --- ★★★☆☆: System Collapse, by Martha Wells, is the seventh book in The Murderbot Diaries. It picks up right where Network Effect left off: Murderbot, ART, their humans, and a bunch of colonists are trapped on an alien-contaminated world while the Barish-Estranza Corporation tries to drag everyone into slavery.