The first full-length novel in Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot Diaries series.
An Amazon's Best of the Year So Far Pick
Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Book Riot | Polygon
"I caught myself rereading my favorite parts... and I can’t recommend it enough." ― New York Times
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 …
WINNER of the 2021 Hugo, Nebula and Locus Awards!
The first full-length novel in Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot Diaries series.
An Amazon's Best of the Year So Far Pick
Named a Best of 2020 Pick for NPR | Book Riot | Polygon
"I caught myself rereading my favorite parts... and I can’t recommend it enough." ― New York Times
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.
The novella felt like the perfect length for a Murderbot episode so I wasn't sure it would work well in a full novel. Not to worry, Wells keeps it interesting and entertaining in the 5th installment and first novel.
The first few books of the Murderbot series were very short. This one is the first true novel-length installment and it features all the usual fun:
Murderbot is trying so much to read humans and understand their communication
Murderbot is learning to navigate its own emotions
Murderbot meets ART again, and they are both fond of each other, trying to learn to have a relationship from one bot to the other
And of course, all of it is very funny. Murderbot shut down its own governor module, which was installed to make sure it complies to human orders. Now, murderbot only complies to its own motivations and rules. But another task of the governor module seems to have been anger management, and without such module, murderbot is angry most of the time.
I really loved this book, the best so far. I'm ordering the next two installments now.
This series gets more addicting with each installment. The first four books were almost too short, and reading this one felt like I was finally really getting to dig in to the world of Murderbot. Consider me thoroughly hooked!
Hugo Best Novel 2021, and I can kind of see why. The Murderbot stories do not normally speak to me, but this one was actually gripping and had a bunch of interesting turns. The people still feel somehow wrong, but the scifi story here works.