“I hate having emotions about real humans instead of fake ones, it just leads to stupid moments like this.”

I have many grudges against the New York Times, dating back many years (even while acknowledging the amazing work its staffers can do), but I think the Times review of Exit Strategy almost perfectly describes who and what Murderbot is, “”a beautiful blend of exhausted cynicism and deep, helpless love”, because while Murderbot hates having feelings and would likely try to argue that it can’t love, it is the only explanation for the choices it makes throughout this book.  

In Rogue Protocol Murderbot goes after information it thinks will help Mensah’s case, but the fallout of that information gathering in Exit Strategy is that Mensah is being held captive by GrayCris and Murderbot’s feelings for Mensah and knowledge of how corporate entities like GrayCris work means that it knows that it is her only real hope of getting out of there alive. This fourth novella is all action as we follow Murderbot to TranRollinHyfa where it must convince Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin that it is here to help, find and rescue Mensah, and then get them off TranRollinHyfa without being caught and destroyed.  

But the heart of this book, what really pulls it all together and would have made it a place where Wells could have stopped (and I’m so glad she didn’t) is the final section of the novella when Murderbot has to rebuild its memory after the rescue attempt goes haywire for the third or fourth time and it collapses. As its neural pathways come back online all the growth of the previous books is coalescing (including my favorite part when Murderbot’s internal memory denotes Ratthi as friend and as it repairs it can’t quite square how that would be possible). Murderbot is still hesitant to align itself with Preservation and whatever that is going to mean in the long run, but it also doesn’t want to leave, although it doesn’t know that for sure until after it doesn’t take the shuttle it booked.  

Bingo Square: Bananas. This book is full of bananas action and also banana republics.  

Bingo #3: Bananas, Disco, Part 1, Dun-Dun, Liberate 

Bingo #4: Bananas, Détente, Dreams, Liberate, Rings 

Sweet 16 Books: Binge