The Sword and Laser discussion

The novellas all crack on with the story at a rapid pace (I guess in a novella there’s no space to do anything else) but I’ve found the pacing of the novel a bit uneven. The first half goes along at a fair clip, then once (view spoiler)[ ART comes back online (hide spoiler)] things seem to get bogged down in a lot of talking and exposition. Chapter 10 (of 20) is very long (an hour and fifteen minutes in the audiobook) and nothing much seems to happen in it, or in Chapter 11. I’m now just about to start listening to Chapter 12 and I’m hoping that the last 40% or so of the book ratchets up the pace again and all the slow stuff in the middle was just getting the pieces in place for an exciting final act.
What does everyone else think of the pacing?

Soooo many books have a "muddle in the middle" that I come to expect it. I'm reading a book right now that's a Hugo winner and comes with what I refer to as "overly detailed" sections. A novel is a dance between needed plot and the risk of making some portions overlong. What works for some readers doesn't work for others.

So yes, Network Effect is a novel. It has sections I found dragged a bit. I found it dragged a lot less than some other novels I otherwise enjoyed even with the "muddle in the middle."

For my money, Network Effects ends very well. Plenty of action, good use of characterization, some really surprising plot points. I enjoyed the hell out of it. Setting that up does take a bit of a slog.

I had the same thought the first time I read this, right when it came out. Perhaps I'd remembered the novellas as non-stop action and found the period of calm in the middle a bit surprising. I just reread the whole series, however, and didn't notice it as much this time around. Maybe I was expecting it, or maybe I was just ready to take a breath after four novellas of action. Either way, I agree with John's assessment of the end, things pick back up again in the final third.

I finished the book last month. I really enjoyed it but I remember thinking that it should have been a novella. It dragged in certain chapters. I hope the author returns to the novella format in the future. Otherwise, it was a very entertaining read.

^ Fugitive Telemetry is out and is listed as 176 pages in hardcover. In my early SF days that would be considered a short book. Now it's likely a novella. That's the same page length as Exit Strategy and about 20 pages longer than the previous two.

I re-read Network Effect and it's a bit slow there but I noticed it less, likely because I was re-reading and knew what was coming.

Audio will exacerbate this, too, since a given chapter takes longer in that format than regular reading (assuming one reads at normal-isn speed) and so the 'get to the point' feeling lasts even longer.

Ruth wrote: "The novellas all crack on with the story at a rapid pace (I guess in a novella there’s no space to do anything else) but I’ve found the pacing of the novel a bit uneven. The first half goes along a..."

I agree. I re-listened to the novellas before rereading Network Effect and I found myself wishing NE moved a bit quicker. The difference in the pacing between novellas and novel was more evident since I consumed them one right after another. The first time around there was a year and a half wait between the fourth novella and Exit Strategy and I was just so exited to have more Murderbot that I didn't notice the slower pace of the novel. With that said, I still really like Network Effect.

Even a saggy Murderbot is better than a taut, lithe anyone else.
😍🤖

I definitely thought this one bogged down a bit compared to the novellas. Still a good read though.

As to 'saggy middle' .. looking at you Wheel of Time.

John (Taloni) wrote: "Soooo many books have a "muddle in the middle" that I come to expect it."

I've come to expect it but am never happy with it. This is probably not the thread to hash this out, but I wonder when 300 pages became "a short novel."

Finished Network Effect today and I did enjoy the last few chapters, which were packed with action and great character moments (I loved the image of Murderbot settling in to watch media with (view spoiler)[ Asshole Research Transport (hide spoiler)]).

However, things did get a bit bogged down in the middle of the book and I can’t help but wonder if this would have been better in a trimmed-down version as another novella rather than a novel.