I bought the four-book set for the October Murderbot CBR16 meetup. But when it came time, I had other library books to read, work stuff, travel, etc… Basically, life got in the way. I usually operate very well on deadlines but there was other stuff that was feeding my soul at the moment.
Even though I wasn’t ready for the meetup, I was ready to dive in on the back half of my Christmas holidays.
This series is such a delight. Suffering through insipid interactions with exhausting humans unites everyone (and everything).
All Systems Red
Five Stars
“I remember every word ever said to me.” That was a lie. Who would want that? Most of it I delete from permanent memory.
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red
SecUnit, which refers to itself as “Murderbot,” is a sentient and supremely disaffected security organic/robot soldier. Murderbot is owned and deployed as on-the-ground security to prevent short-sighted, fragile-bodied humans from being killed or from killing one another. When not watching humans do stupid, selfish things day in and day out, Murderbot just wants to sit alone and watch its favorite human-created serialized program. Murderbot hacked its governor module and constantly has to remind itself not to let its employers or its clients catch on that it is not actually compelled to follow orders.
While on a planetary survey with a small team of research scientists, weird things start to happen. Murderbot is forced to “come out” to its clients when they realize that it is not just a robot following orders.
The thing that makes this series so special is how relatable Murderbot is. Murderbot is OVER it. It does just the bare minimum of its job so that it does not get discovered as a free-thinking entity and so that its humans survive with most if not all of their soft, squishy, unprotected bodies intact. Murderbot’s reluctant, resentful inner dialogue is the gift that keeps on giving.
Artificial Condition
Five Stars
I liked humans, I liked watching them on the entertainment feed, where they couldn’t interact with me.
― Martha Wells, Artificial Condition
This is my favorite book out of the series so far, and that has everything to do with Murderbot’s helper, ART. ART is the AI for a research transit ship Murderbot boards. After a bit of posturing, Murderbot lets ART watch its entertainment programs and ART becomes Murderbot’s backend intelligence. Murderbot has to save a team of even more naive and unintentionally suicidal humans, all while dealing with ART’s snark. It is glorious. We also learn important info about Murderbot’s backstory that is chilling but adds more layers to an already fascinating protagonist.
Rogue Protocol
Three Stars
I was getting an idea. It was probably a bad idea. (When most of your training in tactical thinking comes from adventure shows, that does tend to happen.)
― Martha Wells, Rogue Protocol
This book is where some of the magic began to wane. Murderbot takes a few massive leaps of logic, convincing itself that to help the humans it ran away from, it needs to go undercover with the intention of gathering evidence to protect said humans. I realize that Murderbot going on this mission is a way for it to make up for past mistakes and pay back the humans who initially showed it kindness and respect.
My main complaint about this story is that there is so much going on logistically. Most of the action takes place on a space station, and keeping track of the pods, galleries, lifts, drones, feeds, and hacks was too much to care about. It’s as if the author was worried someone would draw out the schematic and poke holes in the feasibility of Murderbot’s plan. I’ll be honest, a schematic would have helped me understand what was going on. However, that is the benefit of these types of stories. I trust the author not to let me down. I was pleased with the story and the new characters, but the play-by-play of the battles and escapes made me want to skim forward to the action that moved the story forward.
Exit Strategy
Four Stars
Why is this ship so old and shitty?
― Martha Wells, Exit Strategy
This is a rescue mission. I won’t go into the details of what or how it happens, but Murderbot realizes that it probably (definitely) has something to do with a kidnapping. To prevent a potential assassination and coverup by GrayCris, it has to go deep into enemy territory.
I liked this book more than Rogue Protocol, mainly because Murderbot gets to spend time with some of its humans from other books. I also liked it because it was easier for me to follow than Rogue Protocol, especially the battle sequences.
This is the most heartwarming of the books and puts a temporary cap on Murderbot’s adventures for the time being. I’m eager to pick up the next book in the series, Network Effect, as soon as possible.