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The Murderbot Diaries #6
Fugitive Telemetry
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Best Science Fiction (2021)No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall. When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people ? who knew?) Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans! Again!
4 pages, Audiobook
First published April 27, 2021
About the author
Martha Wells
95 books20k followersMartha Wells has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, the Ile-Rien series, The Murderbot Diaries series, and other fantasy novels, most recently Witch King (Tordotcom, 2023). She has also written media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, Locus Awards, and a Dragon Award, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the British Science Fiction Association Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, the Sunday Times Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. She is a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have been published in twenty-five languages.
She is also a consulting producer on The Murderbot Diaries series for Apple TV+.
She is also a consulting producer on The Murderbot Diaries series for Apple TV+.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 6,955 reviews
October 22, 2023
2021 is looking to be a pretty special year. No, I don’t mean the vaccine, although that’s pretty amazing. No, I mean Murderbot is back in a solid novella. While I’m contractually bound to not repeat the approximately 80 highlights I made while reading, I can assure you that it is filled with ‘Bot’s trademark sarcastic thoughts on humans, slow thought processes, and complicated facial expressions.
"Oh good, maybe the security level would go from barely adequate to mostly adequate. I didn't make an expression because I knew Indah would be more annoyed by me not reacting than by me reacting."
In Fugitive Telemetry, ‘Bot is on Preservation Station and has recently discovered a dead–cough, deceased–human. This is odd, because they appear murdered on a station with a threat assessment of 7% “(to make it drop lower than that we’d have to be on an uninhabited planet.)” ‘Bot jumps right into the investigation, spurred on by concern that GrayCris might be involved. In this case, it’s somewhat constrained from using full capabilities due to general unfriendliness of the human Station Security team and its honor system. It has some new humans to work with, although a few of our familiar friends make an appearance. In timeline terms, it takes place before Network Effect.
I received notice of my ARC approval after a marathon day vaccinating people (10 stations, 573 people, thank you all very much for getting shots), and while fulfilled, was quite exhausted. I waged a brief debate with myself: do I crash in bed? Do I save it as a reward after I write my two other reviews and finish my two other less-interesting books? Or do I go for it?
I think you know what I did.
While I read, my day fell away, page by page, replaced by sarcastic observations and extremely dry wit. ‘Bot, how I’ve missed you.
“I hadn’t had as much relevant experience in that time. But what I did have were thousands of hours of category mystery media, so I had a lot of theoretical knowledge that was possibly anywhere from 60 to 70 percent inaccurate shit.”
The only real question was how long until I re-read all the novellas?
Endless thanks to Netgalley and Tor/Forge Books for an ebook ARC. All thoughts are mine (although if you like, we can have a philosophical debate on that one) and all quotes are subject to change.
Re-read 10/23 with Nataliya: this is such a tight little tale. Definitely the adolescence of 'Bot's development.
****************
Love the 'Bot and want to join a re/read? Discuss the upcoming release? Nataliya and I lead a group:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
"Oh good, maybe the security level would go from barely adequate to mostly adequate. I didn't make an expression because I knew Indah would be more annoyed by me not reacting than by me reacting."
In Fugitive Telemetry, ‘Bot is on Preservation Station and has recently discovered a dead–cough, deceased–human. This is odd, because they appear murdered on a station with a threat assessment of 7% “(to make it drop lower than that we’d have to be on an uninhabited planet.)” ‘Bot jumps right into the investigation, spurred on by concern that GrayCris might be involved. In this case, it’s somewhat constrained from using full capabilities due to general unfriendliness of the human Station Security team and its honor system. It has some new humans to work with, although a few of our familiar friends make an appearance. In timeline terms, it takes place before Network Effect.
I received notice of my ARC approval after a marathon day vaccinating people (10 stations, 573 people, thank you all very much for getting shots), and while fulfilled, was quite exhausted. I waged a brief debate with myself: do I crash in bed? Do I save it as a reward after I write my two other reviews and finish my two other less-interesting books? Or do I go for it?
I think you know what I did.
While I read, my day fell away, page by page, replaced by sarcastic observations and extremely dry wit. ‘Bot, how I’ve missed you.
“I hadn’t had as much relevant experience in that time. But what I did have were thousands of hours of category mystery media, so I had a lot of theoretical knowledge that was possibly anywhere from 60 to 70 percent inaccurate shit.”
The only real question was how long until I re-read all the novellas?
Endless thanks to Netgalley and Tor/Forge Books for an ebook ARC. All thoughts are mine (although if you like, we can have a philosophical debate on that one) and all quotes are subject to change.
Re-read 10/23 with Nataliya: this is such a tight little tale. Definitely the adolescence of 'Bot's development.
****************
Love the 'Bot and want to join a re/read? Discuss the upcoming release? Nataliya and I lead a group:
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...
October 21, 2023
This was exactly what I needed just now to set my life right. I mean, who knew that a pessimistic and grumpy android would end up being such a ray of sunshine that restores my belief in humanity? (Kidding, of course I knew.) (That’s why it seems that every other sentence out of my mouth for the last year somehow included the word “Murderbot” in it.)
As I said before, M-Bot is my soul-sibling.
And this novella did not disappoint, solid and snappy and wonderful. It’s a lockedroom space station mystery solved by Murderbot. (Which is simply logical.)
Fugitive Telemetry is chronologically set right after the events of the four original novellas and before the events of Network Effect. In it, our favorite pessimistically misanthropic grumpy SecUnit - “a construct made of cloned human tissue, augments, anxiety, depression, and unfocused rage, a killing machine for whichever humans rented me, until I made a mistake and got my brain destroyed by my governor module” - is on the Preservation Station now, the home of Mensah and the rest of the Preservation survey gang. But although it left Corporate Rim - where, true to the name, corporations rule everything - and is in the place where technically it’s not property, it’s still faced with prejudice, fear and mistrust, as it’s still viewed by most as a murderous tool to be avoided and feared.
And then Station Security happens across a dead human - an unusual occurrence in a place where your chances of being murdered are on par with those on an uninhabited planet.
And M-Bot finds itself smack in the middle of murder investigation — and that’s quite good as without our Bot I’d be amazed if any humans managed to survive unscathed even for the time it takes to watch a single episode of Sanctuary Moon.
We have been following Murderbot ever since its escape from corporate slavery, and in this novella we get to see yet another glimpse of this abhorrent practice, as the murder and corporate slavery are very much entangled here. And what I love is that Martha Wells never gets didactic in getting her point across, but knows how to use subtlety and good storytelling to achieve the necessary emotional (ick) response.
As usual in her Murderbot novellas, Wells gets the pacing just right. It’s fast when it needs to be, slows down when we need to be treated to longer bits of priceless wry inner monologue, and has action scenes that make perfect sense. Seriously, I’ve read plenty of stories where my eyes just glaze over any time an action scene is on page as descriptions of those can range from dull to incomprehensible — but Wells does those right, easy to follow and actually interesting. And her worldbuilding is excellent — she deliberately gives us what we need to feel comfortable in this world without divulging too much, never overpowering or showing off.
(Oh, and did I mention how much I love all the parenthetical asides?) If seeing endless parenthetical asides gets you irritated, you should step away from this book quite quickly. Me - I love them, and paragraphs like this one make me feel all full of warm fluffy feelings (double ick):
What I found very well-done is that even seemingly idyllic Preservation society is not an easy place for Murderbot. Yes, Bot is no longer property — but even there humans are conditioned to see it not as a person but a feared murder-machine. And Murderbot by now is really starting to chafe against that because it finally is learning to view itself as a person instead of a disposable feared tool. Nonhuman and dehumanized by societal perceptions — but a person nevertheless. The prejudices it encounters are quite painful, and it keeps coating its pain in sarcastic annoyance — and all together it makes for a pretty powerful and serious effect even when hidden in snarky comebacks.
Oh yeah, and if you ever wondered if Murderbot hangs out with Ratthi — yeah, they juuuust may watch some musical theater together. Which made me grin so happily. Ah Murderbot, you made some friends even if you don’t quite use that word. Friends who see you as a person, respect you, give you space when you need it and help you work through the layers of emotional trauma that your whole existence had been until the events of All Systems Red. And it’s simply wonderful, the found family that it did not even realize it needed.
I really hope that Wells keeps writing these, as together they form a wonderful series of episodes of Murderbot Diaries — which I’m as addicted to as M-Bot is to Sanctuary Moon. I need these for my inner balance and reminders of the goodness, integrity and hope that exist in the world. Dear Martha Wells, please never stop adding to this series.
5 stars. Obviously.
————
2023 reread: I can’t believe I’ve read this book only once until now. It’s really nicely plotted and funny, and shows Murderbot as even snarkier know-it-all than usually — and I love it.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
As I said before, M-Bot is my soul-sibling.
“All I wanted to do was watch media and not exist.”
And this novella did not disappoint, solid and snappy and wonderful. It’s a locked
“I had archives of everything that had happened since I hacked my governor module, but I hadn’t had as much relevant experience in that time. But what I did have were thousands of hours of category mystery media, so I had a lot of theoretical knowledge that was possibly anywhere from 60 to 70 percent inaccurate shit.”
Fugitive Telemetry is chronologically set right after the events of the four original novellas and before the events of Network Effect. In it, our favorite pessimistically misanthropic grumpy SecUnit - “a construct made of cloned human tissue, augments, anxiety, depression, and unfocused rage, a killing machine for whichever humans rented me, until I made a mistake and got my brain destroyed by my governor module” - is on the Preservation Station now, the home of Mensah and the rest of the Preservation survey gang. But although it left Corporate Rim - where, true to the name, corporations rule everything - and is in the place where technically it’s not property, it’s still faced with prejudice, fear and mistrust, as it’s still viewed by most as a murderous tool to be avoided and feared.
“There was a big huge deal about it, and Security was all “but what if it takes over the station’s systems and kills everybody” and Pin-Lee told them “if it wanted to do that it would have done it by now,” which in hindsight was probably not the best response.”
And then Station Security happens across a dead human - an unusual occurrence in a place where your chances of being murdered are on par with those on an uninhabited planet.
And M-Bot finds itself smack in the middle of murder investigation — and that’s quite good as without our Bot I’d be amazed if any humans managed to survive unscathed even for the time it takes to watch a single episode of Sanctuary Moon.
“Oh good, maybe the security level would go from barely adequate to mostly adequate. I didn't make an expression because I knew Indah would be more annoyed by me not reacting than by me reacting.”
We have been following Murderbot ever since its escape from corporate slavery, and in this novella we get to see yet another glimpse of this abhorrent practice, as the murder and corporate slavery are very much entangled here. And what I love is that Martha Wells never gets didactic in getting her point across, but knows how to use subtlety and good storytelling to achieve the necessary emotional (ick) response.
As usual in her Murderbot novellas, Wells gets the pacing just right. It’s fast when it needs to be, slows down when we need to be treated to longer bits of priceless wry inner monologue, and has action scenes that make perfect sense. Seriously, I’ve read plenty of stories where my eyes just glaze over any time an action scene is on page as descriptions of those can range from dull to incomprehensible — but Wells does those right, easy to follow and actually interesting. And her worldbuilding is excellent — she deliberately gives us what we need to feel comfortable in this world without divulging too much, never overpowering or showing off.
(Oh, and did I mention how much I love all the parenthetical asides?) If seeing endless parenthetical asides gets you irritated, you should step away from this book quite quickly. Me - I love them, and paragraphs like this one make me feel all full of warm fluffy feelings (double ick):
“The weapons scanner (which I was not allowed to hack, and which I wasn’t hacking) alerted on me, but it had my body scan ID on the weapons-allowed list so it didn’t set off an alarm. (I have energy weapons in my arms and it’s not like I can leave them behind in the hotel room.) (I mean, my arms are detachable so theoretically I could leave them behind if I had a little help but as a longterm solution it was really inconvenient.)”
What I found very well-done is that even seemingly idyllic Preservation society is not an easy place for Murderbot. Yes, Bot is no longer property — but even there humans are conditioned to see it not as a person but a feared murder-machine. And Murderbot by now is really starting to chafe against that because it finally is learning to view itself as a person instead of a disposable feared tool. Nonhuman and dehumanized by societal perceptions — but a person nevertheless. The prejudices it encounters are quite painful, and it keeps coating its pain in sarcastic annoyance — and all together it makes for a pretty powerful and serious effect even when hidden in snarky comebacks.
“Aylen looked me over again in that way humans do when they’re trying to intimidate you and they fail to understand you’ve spent the entire length of your previous existence being treated like a thing and so one more impersonal once-over is not exactly going to impress you.”
Oh yeah, and if you ever wondered if Murderbot hangs out with Ratthi — yeah, they juuuust may watch some musical theater together. Which made me grin so happily. Ah Murderbot, you made some friends even if you don’t quite use that word. Friends who see you as a person, respect you, give you space when you need it and help you work through the layers of emotional trauma that your whole existence had been until the events of All Systems Red. And it’s simply wonderful, the found family that it did not even realize it needed.
Eyeing me, Indah said, “How would you dispose of a body so it wouldn’t be found?”
I’m not the public library feed, Senior Officer, go do your own research. I said, “If I told you, then you might find all the bodies I’ve already disposed of.”
“It’s joking.” Ratthi managed to sound like he completely believed that. “That’s how it looks when it’s joking.” He sent me on the feed, Stop joking.”
I really hope that Wells keeps writing these, as together they form a wonderful series of episodes of Murderbot Diaries — which I’m as addicted to as M-Bot is to Sanctuary Moon. I need these for my inner balance and reminders of the goodness, integrity and hope that exist in the world. Dear Martha Wells, please never stop adding to this series.
“I know a ‘fuck off’ when I hear one. So, I fucked off.”
5 stars. Obviously.
————
2023 reread: I can’t believe I’ve read this book only once until now. It’s really nicely plotted and funny, and shows Murderbot as even snarkier know-it-all than usually — and I love it.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
November 15, 2023
Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries #6)
by Martha Wells, Kevin R. Free (Narrator)
This Murderbot Diary story takes us to a time before the previous book, when Murderbot is providing protection for Dr. Mensah, despite the reservations of some who are aware that it was a rogue Sec Unit. A body has been found on Preservation Station and the person has been murdered. Rarely are there murders on this station and Preservation's station security needs all the help they can get, despite their reluctance to admit it. So MB is back to having to appease suspicious, unfriendly (but who needs friends), non really up to the task of investigating murders security team.
As usual, MB is snarky, funny, and more sympathetic than it'd ever want to admit. Its disdain for all the food crumbs that humans leave in their wake is evident every time it enters a place that humans have been. How is MB going to solve this crime with all the restrictions that humans put on it? Sure, it can get around them but it's made a promise to humans and MB always (maybe, kinda, sorta) keeps its promises.
Pub April 27, 2021
In the comments, someone asked about when the stories take place so I'm adding a link here to a page that lists the chronological order of the series.
https://murderbot.fandom.com/wiki/Cat...
Chronological Order
The series was released out of order compared to its in-universe chronology. The chronological order is:
Compulsory
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Fugitive Telemetry
Network Effect
The first four Novellas have been re-released for a timed and limited edition called The Murderbot Diaries.
by Martha Wells, Kevin R. Free (Narrator)
This Murderbot Diary story takes us to a time before the previous book, when Murderbot is providing protection for Dr. Mensah, despite the reservations of some who are aware that it was a rogue Sec Unit. A body has been found on Preservation Station and the person has been murdered. Rarely are there murders on this station and Preservation's station security needs all the help they can get, despite their reluctance to admit it. So MB is back to having to appease suspicious, unfriendly (but who needs friends), non really up to the task of investigating murders security team.
As usual, MB is snarky, funny, and more sympathetic than it'd ever want to admit. Its disdain for all the food crumbs that humans leave in their wake is evident every time it enters a place that humans have been. How is MB going to solve this crime with all the restrictions that humans put on it? Sure, it can get around them but it's made a promise to humans and MB always (maybe, kinda, sorta) keeps its promises.
Pub April 27, 2021
In the comments, someone asked about when the stories take place so I'm adding a link here to a page that lists the chronological order of the series.
https://murderbot.fandom.com/wiki/Cat...
Chronological Order
The series was released out of order compared to its in-universe chronology. The chronological order is:
Compulsory
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Fugitive Telemetry
Network Effect
The first four Novellas have been re-released for a timed and limited edition called The Murderbot Diaries.
April 29, 2021
Murder on the Preservation Express
New Murderbot novella, now on sale! And good news: Martha Wells has signed a contract with Tor to write three more! Final review, first posted on FantasyLiterature.com (along with my co-reviewer Jana's excellent review):
Martha Wells continues her popular and highly-acclaimed MURDERBOT DIARIES series with another novella, Fugitive Telemetry, which actually takes place before the only novel in the series so far, Network Effect. (So you could read this one before that novel, but you do need to read books 1-4 first.) At this point in time Murderbot, the introverted and snarky cyborg who is the narrator and the heart of this series, is a fairly new resident on Preservation, a planet outside of the callously capitalistic Corporate Rim. Murderbot is a companion to and protector of Dr. Mensah, one of the few humans Murderbot has gradually learned to trust. Although Preservation society isn’t entirely accepting of security bots (especially rogue ones like Murderbot that aren’t subject to human controls), it’s generally a very peaceful and progressive place.
So it’s a shock to everyone when the body of an unknown person is found in an isolated passageway of Preservation Station, the space station above the planet, clearly murdered. Station Security is charged with the investigation, with Senior Officer Indah in charge, but Mensah prevails on them to let Murderbot help, since it knows a lot more about murder than the local security force, and they want to make sure that GrayCris isn’t involved. Indah is annoyed (“but then she always looked like that when I was around”) and distrustful of working with a SecUnit. But when things get complicated, Murderbot is undeniably useful to have around.
Fugitive Telemetry is an engaging and enjoyable entry in the MURDERBOT DIARIES series, with a plot that stirs a murder mystery in with the regular science fiction adventure plot. As always, Murderbot’s snarky narration (liberally scattered with parenthetical remarks, which I love because I’m—obviously—partial to them myself) is one of the highlights. Sometimes there are even parentheses inside of parentheses:
Fugitive Telemetry doesn’t really move the overall story arc forward in the way that most of the other books have, partly because it’s a prequel to the preceding novel and partly because Murderbot’s interactions with the initially hostile Indah have a been-there-done-that kind of feel. These are relatively minor complaints, though. Murderbot, though still a media-watching introvert, has come a long way from the SecUnit that had near-crippling social anxiety in All Systems Red. It interacts much better with humans now and even finds itself (somewhat begrudgingly) appreciative of its relationships with them, though its eye-rolling at humans’ logical inadequacies will probably never disappear … and that’s a good thing. We all could use a Murderbot in our lives to remind us of our shortcomings and protect us against corporate evils and other threats. Any new MURDERBOT DIARIES book shoots immediately to the top of my reading list — and it should yours as well!
Update #3: So my brother, another Murderbot fan, was coming into town about a week ago and let me know that he was VERY anxious to read Murderbot's next adventure. I thought, well, I can reread my ARC of Fugitive Telemetry and write my review for it and then loan him the book. Excellent plan! I'm on it!
The rereading part went great. The actual writing of the review ... not so much. So my brother left town, sadly, without the book, which is still sitting here on my coffee table.
Update #2: I just finished! Another fun Murderbot adventure! Review to come!
Update #1: AAAHHH, the ARC of this book just landed on my doorstep! I am SO EXCITED for a new Murderbot adventure!!
Initial post: More Murderbot coming! How awesome is that? Can we make 2021 come any sooner? I think we're all over and done with 2020 anyway...
New Murderbot novella, now on sale! And good news: Martha Wells has signed a contract with Tor to write three more! Final review, first posted on FantasyLiterature.com (along with my co-reviewer Jana's excellent review):
Martha Wells continues her popular and highly-acclaimed MURDERBOT DIARIES series with another novella, Fugitive Telemetry, which actually takes place before the only novel in the series so far, Network Effect. (So you could read this one before that novel, but you do need to read books 1-4 first.) At this point in time Murderbot, the introverted and snarky cyborg who is the narrator and the heart of this series, is a fairly new resident on Preservation, a planet outside of the callously capitalistic Corporate Rim. Murderbot is a companion to and protector of Dr. Mensah, one of the few humans Murderbot has gradually learned to trust. Although Preservation society isn’t entirely accepting of security bots (especially rogue ones like Murderbot that aren’t subject to human controls), it’s generally a very peaceful and progressive place.
So it’s a shock to everyone when the body of an unknown person is found in an isolated passageway of Preservation Station, the space station above the planet, clearly murdered. Station Security is charged with the investigation, with Senior Officer Indah in charge, but Mensah prevails on them to let Murderbot help, since it knows a lot more about murder than the local security force, and they want to make sure that GrayCris isn’t involved. Indah is annoyed (“but then she always looked like that when I was around”) and distrustful of working with a SecUnit. But when things get complicated, Murderbot is undeniably useful to have around.
Fugitive Telemetry is an engaging and enjoyable entry in the MURDERBOT DIARIES series, with a plot that stirs a murder mystery in with the regular science fiction adventure plot. As always, Murderbot’s snarky narration (liberally scattered with parenthetical remarks, which I love because I’m—obviously—partial to them myself) is one of the highlights. Sometimes there are even parentheses inside of parentheses:
(When we had first discussed the idea of me getting jobs as a way to encourage the Preservation Council to grant me permanent refugee status, I didn’t know very much about the kind of contract in which I was actually an active participant. (My previous contracts were rental contracts with the company, where I was just a piece of equipment.) Pin-Lee had promised, “Don’t worry, I’ll preserve your right to wander off like an asshole anytime you like.”)I won’t say more about the mystery that drives the story, to avoid spoilers, but it’s a solid one, with a resolution that was both logical and a complete surprise, at least to me.
(I said, “It takes one to know one.”)
Fugitive Telemetry doesn’t really move the overall story arc forward in the way that most of the other books have, partly because it’s a prequel to the preceding novel and partly because Murderbot’s interactions with the initially hostile Indah have a been-there-done-that kind of feel. These are relatively minor complaints, though. Murderbot, though still a media-watching introvert, has come a long way from the SecUnit that had near-crippling social anxiety in All Systems Red. It interacts much better with humans now and even finds itself (somewhat begrudgingly) appreciative of its relationships with them, though its eye-rolling at humans’ logical inadequacies will probably never disappear … and that’s a good thing. We all could use a Murderbot in our lives to remind us of our shortcomings and protect us against corporate evils and other threats. Any new MURDERBOT DIARIES book shoots immediately to the top of my reading list — and it should yours as well!
Update #3: So my brother, another Murderbot fan, was coming into town about a week ago and let me know that he was VERY anxious to read Murderbot's next adventure. I thought, well, I can reread my ARC of Fugitive Telemetry and write my review for it and then loan him the book. Excellent plan! I'm on it!
The rereading part went great. The actual writing of the review ... not so much. So my brother left town, sadly, without the book, which is still sitting here on my coffee table.
Update #2: I just finished! Another fun Murderbot adventure! Review to come!
Update #1: AAAHHH, the ARC of this book just landed on my doorstep! I am SO EXCITED for a new Murderbot adventure!!
Initial post: More Murderbot coming! How awesome is that? Can we make 2021 come any sooner? I think we're all over and done with 2020 anyway...
July 17, 2022
Check out my YouTube channel where I show my instant reactions upon finishing reading fantasy books.
The exact same formula as the previous books, but much more bland
Unpopular opinion time! By the time readers have made it to this book, they have either dropped off due to not liking it, or loved it and continued this far. But I decided to power through even though this series lost it's magic for me a few books ago. Unfortunately, this book was a noticeable step down from previous books, and as such I couldn't bring myself to even finish it.
The plot was dull from the get-go, and while that's usually the case for these books, it just never picked up steam like previous ones did. There was no rich emotional journey, there was no developing of these characters, it just felt like the exact same formula but less inspired.
Quite honestly, this book is just a run of the mill mystery story that involves Murderbot - while lacking the fun interaction between characters and the bonding that occurs between Murderbot and his supporting cast. It also didn't advance the overall story at all - if you were wondering what is going on with GreyCris, what happened with SecUnit 3, what happened with ART, you are going to have to keep on wondering because absolutely none of that is touched upon. This book is just a boring side quest.
I'm also disappointed that Murderbot has developed over the past couple books into a character that is trying to be "too cool". Apparently it's his new thing to say "fuck" every other sentence and feel superior to everyone. I miss the kinder, shyer murderbot who had his insecurities from the earlier books.
I'm not going to completely give up on this series, as I quite liked the previous entry which was the first full length novel. But I am probably going to give up reading any future novellas.
The exact same formula as the previous books, but much more bland
Unpopular opinion time! By the time readers have made it to this book, they have either dropped off due to not liking it, or loved it and continued this far. But I decided to power through even though this series lost it's magic for me a few books ago. Unfortunately, this book was a noticeable step down from previous books, and as such I couldn't bring myself to even finish it.
The plot was dull from the get-go, and while that's usually the case for these books, it just never picked up steam like previous ones did. There was no rich emotional journey, there was no developing of these characters, it just felt like the exact same formula but less inspired.
Quite honestly, this book is just a run of the mill mystery story that involves Murderbot - while lacking the fun interaction between characters and the bonding that occurs between Murderbot and his supporting cast. It also didn't advance the overall story at all - if you were wondering what is going on with GreyCris, what happened with SecUnit 3, what happened with ART, you are going to have to keep on wondering because absolutely none of that is touched upon. This book is just a boring side quest.
I'm also disappointed that Murderbot has developed over the past couple books into a character that is trying to be "too cool". Apparently it's his new thing to say "fuck" every other sentence and feel superior to everyone. I miss the kinder, shyer murderbot who had his insecurities from the earlier books.
I'm not going to completely give up on this series, as I quite liked the previous entry which was the first full length novel. But I am probably going to give up reading any future novellas.
August 31, 2024
Dealing with humans is exhausting.
I was sort of surprised to find out that this one takes place before Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5), making this a prequel of sorts.
And while it was a oh! that's different! in a good way sort of surprise, I was a tad let down that I wasn't getting an ART and Murderbot adventure.
Alright, so this one shows what happened right after MB decided to hang around on Preservation Station after the end Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4). It should be a peaceful kind of life for them from here on out, but humans are going to human, so naturally, one of the damn things turns up dead.
And not from natural causes.
So this is the story of Murderbot solving a murder.
And of course, he's got to win the trust of the human security officers who don't trust our SecUnit not to start rampaging all over the place.
As far as the mystery goes, there were enough clues sprinkled in to let me guess whodunnit, but the why remained a mystery for me till the big reveal at the end.
Overall, another fun installment.
Recommended!
I was sort of surprised to find out that this one takes place before Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5), making this a prequel of sorts.
And while it was a oh! that's different! in a good way sort of surprise, I was a tad let down that I wasn't getting an ART and Murderbot adventure.
Alright, so this one shows what happened right after MB decided to hang around on Preservation Station after the end Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4). It should be a peaceful kind of life for them from here on out, but humans are going to human, so naturally, one of the damn things turns up dead.
And not from natural causes.
So this is the story of Murderbot solving a murder.
And of course, he's got to win the trust of the human security officers who don't trust our SecUnit not to start rampaging all over the place.
As far as the mystery goes, there were enough clues sprinkled in to let me guess whodunnit, but the why remained a mystery for me till the big reveal at the end.
Overall, another fun installment.
Recommended!
December 1, 2021
oooh, goodreads choice awards finalist for best science fiction 2021! WHAT WILL HAPPEN LET’S FIND OUT!
All I wanted to do was watch media and not exist.
murderbot always hits the spot. i was cranky and depressed, staring at my bookshelves for something to entertain me out of my mood, when it hit me—you know who else is cranky and depressed and uses entertainment as self-care? MURRRRDERRRRBOOOOOT!
this one's maybe not my favorite in the series; my flawed brain had to blah-blah a lot of the logistics and tech-stuff, but murderbot + locked-room mystery is the french fry in my frosty, so there's a lot to love here.
as always, a tight plot that resolves itself in a satisfying and unexpected way, with plenty of m-bot's signature wry commentary on the proceedings as they endure the suspicion and prejudice that comes with being a rogue secunit amongst humans.
this time, murderbot overcomes their antipathy towards these human skeptics and becomes a reluctant hero...JK that's what murderbot ALWAYS does, but it never gets old, because their (figurative) eye-rolling disgust and sleuthing ingenuity is such a BALM to my SOUL, as is their learning curve when it comes to "trying not to freak out the humans it's meant to be helping."
murderbot—winning hearts and minds and complaining about it all the way...
thank you for your service. i would hug you if you'd let me.
****************************************
i was told by the murderbotters among you to read book 6 BEFORE book 5 and, like murderbot, i am learning how to trust humans, so i hope i don’t regret this crazy backwards-seeming choice and end up having to launch a drone into anyone’s face (okay, so i MAY have read the first few pages of Network Effect before giving in to murderbot-fan advice and saw the part about launching drones into annoying human faces)
fingers crossed! for the sake of your collective faces.
come to my blog!
All I wanted to do was watch media and not exist.
murderbot always hits the spot. i was cranky and depressed, staring at my bookshelves for something to entertain me out of my mood, when it hit me—you know who else is cranky and depressed and uses entertainment as self-care? MURRRRDERRRRBOOOOOT!
this one's maybe not my favorite in the series; my flawed brain had to blah-blah a lot of the logistics and tech-stuff, but murderbot + locked-room mystery is the french fry in my frosty, so there's a lot to love here.
as always, a tight plot that resolves itself in a satisfying and unexpected way, with plenty of m-bot's signature wry commentary on the proceedings as they endure the suspicion and prejudice that comes with being a rogue secunit amongst humans.
Aylen looked me over again in that way humans do when they're trying to intimidate you and they fail to understand you've spent the entire length of your previous existence being treated like a thing and so one more impersonal once-over is not exactly going to impress you.
this time, murderbot overcomes their antipathy towards these human skeptics and becomes a reluctant hero...JK that's what murderbot ALWAYS does, but it never gets old, because their (figurative) eye-rolling disgust and sleuthing ingenuity is such a BALM to my SOUL, as is their learning curve when it comes to "trying not to freak out the humans it's meant to be helping."
Aylen was watching me intently. "I don't like having private security with its own agenda aboard this station."
Oh wait, she thought it was GrayCris. That maybe I had found out Lutran was a GrayCris agent and killed him, and now I was trying to lead the investigation along a specific path, using my two oblivious human friends as cover.
So, the problem was, that wasn't an unlikely idea at all. It was something I might have to do if I did find a GrayCris operative on the station. which meant I had to answer very carefully.
There were a lot of humans lying to each other on The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, and I knew outright angry denials tended to sound incredibly guilty, even though they were often an innocent human's first impulse. You wouldn't think lying would be a problem for me, after 35,000 plus hours lying about not being a rogue SecUnit while on company contracts, then the whole lying about not being an augmented human and lying about being a non-rogue SecUnit with a fake human supervisor. But the last two hadn't exactly been failure-free; what worked best was misdirection and not letting myself get caught in the wrong place at the right time, and making sure no humans ever thought about asking the wrong questions.
Misdirection, let's try that. "I would have either disposed of the body so it was never found, or made it look like an accident."
Indah frowned, and Aylen's brow creased, and they exchanged a look. Eyeing me, Indah said, "How would you dispose of a body so it wouldn't be found?"
I'm not the public library feed, Senior Officer, go do your own research. I said, "If I told you, then you might find all the bodies I've already disposed of."
"It's joking." Ratthi managed to sound like he completely believed that. "That's how it looks when it's joking."
He sent me on the feed, Stop joking.
Gurathin sighed and rubbed his face and looked off into the distance, like he regretted all his life choices that had led to him standing here right now. On our private feed connection, he sent, Or you could just show them where you were when this person was being killed.
(Yeah, on reflection I think I misdirected in the wrong direction. It was the kind of thing a human or augmented human could get away with saying, not a rogue SecUnit. Even if they knew I was just being an asshole, I'd made them wonder, I'd put the idea in their heads.)
(And now if I did have to kill some GrayCris agents, I'd have to be really careful about what I did with the bodies.)
(It was probably better to make it look like an accident.)
murderbot—winning hearts and minds and complaining about it all the way...
thank you for your service. i would hug you if you'd let me.
****************************************
i was told by the murderbotters among you to read book 6 BEFORE book 5 and, like murderbot, i am learning how to trust humans, so i hope i don’t regret this crazy backwards-seeming choice and end up having to launch a drone into anyone’s face (okay, so i MAY have read the first few pages of Network Effect before giving in to murderbot-fan advice and saw the part about launching drones into annoying human faces)
fingers crossed! for the sake of your collective faces.
come to my blog!
June 11, 2023
‘All I wanted to do was watch media and not exist,’ Murderbot tells us in Fugitive Telemetry, but unfortunately for everyone there is a dead body of someone who has ceased to exist getting in the way. This is especially unfortunate for the body, as he entered a room alone and wound up dead without any evidence of anyone else following him. Buckle up, fellow Space nerds because these books rule and this thrilling installment of the Murderbot Diaries (the 6th book in the series but 5th in the timeline) becomes a whodunit detective tale with a locked room mystery to crack. It is chock full of snarky fun to be had because Murderbot must actually communicate with the humans on Preservation Station who not only don’t trust them but have limited their ability to hack systems and roam free. Just because robots are considered people here doesn’t mean there isn’t prejudice, and also doesn’t mean our charmingly pessimistic narrator wants to be treated like a human. Martha Wells never fails at bringing pure joy, comedy and plenty of high-tension, sci-fi ass kicking and Fugitive Telemetry is another exciting and unstoppably lovable edition to the series.
‘Trying to get humans not to touch dangerous things was a full-time job.’
I love these stories. I enjoy how this episode sort of zooms in and gives us what seems a lower-stakes, small scale adventure, brought to life in uproarious fashion with Murderbot having to play detective around a bunch of humans who initially hate them. But don’t worry, Murderbot hates them too but will play nice enough so that Dr. Mensah doesn’t get in trouble. We are treated to a lot of chuckles with situation ending such as ‘I know a “fuck off” when I hear one. So I fucked off,’ and awkward accusations against Murderbot for just…being good at what they go. ‘Don’t look at me like that’s my fault. I’m just telling you shit I know.’ As one would expect (and hope) shit eventually hits the fan, tensions get high and there is only one hero to save them all (insert bugle-horns): MURDERBOT blasting through to victory leaving a pile of dead assholes behind them (applause applause!) No but for real, Wells writes action scenes so visually and enthusiastically it might as well be a big blockbuster with a budget larger than most city governments exploding and entertaining you on a theater screen. And I LOVE IT.
‘Sometimes you have to look into every possibility, even the dumb ones.’
But also PI Murderbot is such a fun trope to play with. It makes perfect sense for what they do anyways and gives a great opportunity for some fantastically curmudgeonly lines and interactions. Fugitive Telemetry also tackles ideas of building trust and earning respect from people who wanted to hate you for who (well, more like “what”) you are. Murderbot does so by being perfect and proving them wrong and not rubbing it in too much, and its all so fun and I was cheering and clapping and dancing and loving the whole damn thing. Seriously, how are these so fun?
‘It had been such a stupid question, I had forgotten not to have an expression.’
This story is much more standalone than the rest (which are fairly stand-alone still) and without seeming like it is advancing the overall narrative arch I could see arguments that it feels slightly filler-ish. But nah. It’s too fun and good and who cares, its a great ride. This is another stunner and I’m starting to panic that I only have one book left (well two, when the new one comes out in November). May Wells keep writing these forever. Cue that clip from The Sandlot: FOR EEEV ERRRRRR.
4.5/5
‘Trying to get humans not to touch dangerous things was a full-time job.’
I love these stories. I enjoy how this episode sort of zooms in and gives us what seems a lower-stakes, small scale adventure, brought to life in uproarious fashion with Murderbot having to play detective around a bunch of humans who initially hate them. But don’t worry, Murderbot hates them too but will play nice enough so that Dr. Mensah doesn’t get in trouble. We are treated to a lot of chuckles with situation ending such as ‘I know a “fuck off” when I hear one. So I fucked off,’ and awkward accusations against Murderbot for just…being good at what they go. ‘Don’t look at me like that’s my fault. I’m just telling you shit I know.’ As one would expect (and hope) shit eventually hits the fan, tensions get high and there is only one hero to save them all (insert bugle-horns): MURDERBOT blasting through to victory leaving a pile of dead assholes behind them (applause applause!) No but for real, Wells writes action scenes so visually and enthusiastically it might as well be a big blockbuster with a budget larger than most city governments exploding and entertaining you on a theater screen. And I LOVE IT.
‘Sometimes you have to look into every possibility, even the dumb ones.’
But also PI Murderbot is such a fun trope to play with. It makes perfect sense for what they do anyways and gives a great opportunity for some fantastically curmudgeonly lines and interactions. Fugitive Telemetry also tackles ideas of building trust and earning respect from people who wanted to hate you for who (well, more like “what”) you are. Murderbot does so by being perfect and proving them wrong and not rubbing it in too much, and its all so fun and I was cheering and clapping and dancing and loving the whole damn thing. Seriously, how are these so fun?
‘It had been such a stupid question, I had forgotten not to have an expression.’
This story is much more standalone than the rest (which are fairly stand-alone still) and without seeming like it is advancing the overall narrative arch I could see arguments that it feels slightly filler-ish. But nah. It’s too fun and good and who cares, its a great ride. This is another stunner and I’m starting to panic that I only have one book left (well two, when the new one comes out in November). May Wells keep writing these forever. Cue that clip from The Sandlot: FOR EEEV ERRRRRR.
4.5/5
May 10, 2021
I can’t wait to get the hardback for my collection. I love Murderbot and I always feel sorry for him/her. 😕. I wish MB was my real life friend 😫
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
Mel 🖤🐶🐺🐾
March 29, 2021
[4.5/5 stars] I’ll be the first to admit that I love Murderbot so much that anything published in the series immediately gets a baseline rating of three stars… anything I find particularly amusing above and beyond expectation launches it up from there. The full-length novel (book #5) had all the Murderbot attributes but, after some distance from my initial impressions (and review), I don’t think the extended plot did the story any favors. It was a bit repetitive and could’ve benefitted from a more generous edit. Coming home to another novella in Fugitive Telemetry was exactly what the series needed to refresh itself back absolutely superb rather than just merely awesome.
I loved this one. Probably my second favorite after Rogue Protocol. As always, Murderbot was a scream (the humor kind), but what struck me in this one was how much the character has grown. It’s definitely still an antisocial introvert, but you can now read between the lines to see that it actually is finding a bit of begrudging comfort out of its “relationships” and gets a little butt-hurt whenever someone snubs it over a prejudice. My favorite scenes here were the ones involving it trying to work with the humans on their very inefficient terms. Hysterical.
The mystery was very satisfying and the pacing was spot-on. I had to stop myself from devouring too fast because who knows when we’ll get another one. Martha Wells has truly created a unique voice that is as memorable as it is funny.
Recommendations: I’m a huge fan of everything about this series and plan to continue recommending it as often as I can. Murderbot is my spirit animal. I don’t care how much I read, I’ll never get tired of his sardonic nature. The series is especially recommendable because the installments are so short – they give people a chance to try them out without a huge time commitment. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was sold on the very first line of book 1…
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
I loved this one. Probably my second favorite after Rogue Protocol. As always, Murderbot was a scream (the humor kind), but what struck me in this one was how much the character has grown. It’s definitely still an antisocial introvert, but you can now read between the lines to see that it actually is finding a bit of begrudging comfort out of its “relationships” and gets a little butt-hurt whenever someone snubs it over a prejudice. My favorite scenes here were the ones involving it trying to work with the humans on their very inefficient terms. Hysterical.
The mystery was very satisfying and the pacing was spot-on. I had to stop myself from devouring too fast because who knows when we’ll get another one. Martha Wells has truly created a unique voice that is as memorable as it is funny.
Recommendations: I’m a huge fan of everything about this series and plan to continue recommending it as often as I can. Murderbot is my spirit animal. I don’t care how much I read, I’ll never get tired of his sardonic nature. The series is especially recommendable because the installments are so short – they give people a chance to try them out without a huge time commitment. I don’t know about everyone else, but I was sold on the very first line of book 1…
Via The Obsessive Bookseller at www.NikiHawkes.com
Other books you might like:
June 26, 2022
WINNER OF THE 2022 LOCUS AWARD—BEST NOVELLA! Watch the award ceremony here.
WINNER OF THE HUGO FOR BEST SERIES, 2021 WORLDCON: DisCon III!
#Murderbot fans! Does it get better than this? Knowing that we are mighty & got Author Wells onto the NYT Bestseller list...at #4...*happy dance* Go get one now!
Real Rating: 4.75* of five, rounded up in spite of the dull thud of a dropped plot-point that I needed more of
What Murderbot needed it got
This is a locked-room murder mystery with Twelve Years a Slave overtones. Much much good action and some serious character development. Don't start here, but don't let the door hit you standing around waiting for it to go on sale before reading it.
When we come onto Preservation Station, we're greeted by a world that...doesn't work like the one you and I are used to:
Thus Author Wells makes plain that Preservation Station and Alliance doesn't exist on the Corporate Rim's terms...it interfaces with them, but doesn't make their system its own. I'd wondered about that. I'm very grateful she took the time to say out loud (well, in parenthesis, where Murderbot says a lot of important stuff) what I'd been trying to figure out.
What isn't hard to figure out is what Murderbot's appeal is to us unaugmenteds:
There's nothing more fun than hearing your inner monologue made outer by a belovèd character speaking it in words. I, too, find the stupid soothing behaviors necessary to interact as frictionlessly as possible with people I don't like very irritating...especially when they get in the way of accomplishing stuff that needs doing, now.
What makes the series especially appealing to me, apart from Murderbot, is the grace notes that Author Wells give us. Murderbot came close to getting a sidekick bot this installment, and something suggests to me that it could still happen. A bot working in the hotel where Murderbot has traced our murder victim to is **eager** to help with the investigation. Murderbot isn't eager to be helped once it has what it needs. "(The bot’s name is Tellus. They name themselves and hearing about it is exhausting.)" thinks Murderbot of the poor basic bot. Now go look at the layers in this simple throw-away here. "Hearing about is exhausting" doesn't even *begin*, Murderbot! But what a lovely easter-egg for the restlessly curious.
Then there's Murderbot's ongoing quest to discover what its origins mean. The corporate entities out after Murderbot and its chosen family (Dr. Mensah and her folk) have occupied Murderbot's threat-assessment module and its tactical programs for so long that it hasn't seen how very human it's becoming:
Yes, Murderbot, we all know what you mean. It's the way many of us feel a lot of the time, too. You'd be amazed how human you really are.
And don't stalk off all offended. You're really the best of us, not just the rest of us. Not Festivus for you.
WINNER OF THE HUGO FOR BEST SERIES, 2021 WORLDCON: DisCon III!
#Murderbot fans! Does it get better than this? Knowing that we are mighty & got Author Wells onto the NYT Bestseller list...at #4...*happy dance* Go get one now!
Real Rating: 4.75* of five, rounded up in spite of the dull thud of a dropped plot-point that I needed more of
What Murderbot needed it got
This is a locked-room murder mystery with Twelve Years a Slave overtones. Much much good action and some serious character development. Don't start here, but don't let the door hit you standing around waiting for it to go on sale before reading it.
When we come onto Preservation Station, we're greeted by a world that...doesn't work like the one you and I are used to:
(Preservation had two economies, one a complicated barter system for planetary residents and one currency-based for visitors and for dealing with other polities. Most of the humans here didn’t really understand how important hard currency was in the Corporation Rim but the council did, and Mensah said the port took in enough in various fees to keep the station from being a drain on the planet’s resources.)
Thus Author Wells makes plain that Preservation Station and Alliance doesn't exist on the Corporate Rim's terms...it interfaces with them, but doesn't make their system its own. I'd wondered about that. I'm very grateful she took the time to say out loud (well, in parenthesis, where Murderbot says a lot of important stuff) what I'd been trying to figure out.
What isn't hard to figure out is what Murderbot's appeal is to us unaugmenteds:
...the humans on the Station wouldn’t have to think about what I was, a construct made of cloned human tissue, augments, anxiety, depression, and unfocused rage, a killing machine for whichever humans rented me, until I made a mistake and got my brain destroyed by my governor module.
–and–
(I don’t know why bot behaviors that are useless except to comfort humans annoy me so much.) (Okay, maybe I do. They built us, right? So didn’t they know how this type of bot took in visual data? It’s not like sensors and scanners just popped up randomly on its body without humans putting them there.)
There's nothing more fun than hearing your inner monologue made outer by a belovèd character speaking it in words. I, too, find the stupid soothing behaviors necessary to interact as frictionlessly as possible with people I don't like very irritating...especially when they get in the way of accomplishing stuff that needs doing, now.
What makes the series especially appealing to me, apart from Murderbot, is the grace notes that Author Wells give us. Murderbot came close to getting a sidekick bot this installment, and something suggests to me that it could still happen. A bot working in the hotel where Murderbot has traced our murder victim to is **eager** to help with the investigation. Murderbot isn't eager to be helped once it has what it needs. "(The bot’s name is Tellus. They name themselves and hearing about it is exhausting.)" thinks Murderbot of the poor basic bot. Now go look at the layers in this simple throw-away here. "Hearing about is exhausting" doesn't even *begin*, Murderbot! But what a lovely easter-egg for the restlessly curious.
Then there's Murderbot's ongoing quest to discover what its origins mean. The corporate entities out after Murderbot and its chosen family (Dr. Mensah and her folk) have occupied Murderbot's threat-assessment module and its tactical programs for so long that it hasn't seen how very human it's becoming:
Maybe I’d been waiting too long for GrayCris to show up and try to kill us all. I was thinking like a CombatUnit, or, for fuck’s sake, like a CombatBot.
–and–
I pulled the schematic from the instructions and found the transponder was buried in the sealed drive unit.
Oh, you have to be kidding me. I’d be pissed off at the humans but I had brought this thing up here without checking.
–and–
This meant no bot pilot that I could get information from. That was depressing. I had no idea what else I was supposed to do as a member of this group and just following humans around listening to them talk felt a lot like just being a SecUnit again. I mean, I am a SecUnit, but … You know what I mean.
Yes, Murderbot, we all know what you mean. It's the way many of us feel a lot of the time, too. You'd be amazed how human you really are.
And don't stalk off all offended. You're really the best of us, not just the rest of us. Not Festivus for you.
April 12, 2021
Socially distancing Muderbot? Check
Despairing about other's security systems? Check
Murder?
Oh, wait, our murder bot is SOLVING A MURDER that she didn't actually commit. Ah. Check.
This novella is quite in line with the previous ones. Light loner humor, mystery, and comp-talk. This is definitely for fans of the rest of the series, but I should mention that there's nothing really new about it. I admit I liked the full-length novel more, (and the timeline suggests that this novella comes before that).
Despairing about other's security systems? Check
Murder?
Oh, wait, our murder bot is SOLVING A MURDER that she didn't actually commit. Ah. Check.
This novella is quite in line with the previous ones. Light loner humor, mystery, and comp-talk. This is definitely for fans of the rest of the series, but I should mention that there's nothing really new about it. I admit I liked the full-length novel more, (and the timeline suggests that this novella comes before that).
Read
May 2, 2021Murderbot, enough said. Delightful as ever.
May 4, 2021
Murderbot is back and lands right in the middle of what amounts to a locked room mystery, but on a space station. If it's Murderbot, I'm in!
Preservation Station becomes the scene of a crime and our favorite SecUnit is hired on as a consultant to station security to help solve it. Between trying to overcome flat out racism, (or er, SecUnitism), trying to protect its charges on the station and trying to solve the mystery of a dead traveler, Murderbot has its hands full and would rather just relax and watch more episodes of Sanctuary Moon. Will Murderbot be able to solve the mystery and go back to watching its feeds? You'll have to read this to find out!
I admit to being a bit confused at first because last I knew Murderbot was supposed to be working with ART. Because of that it took me a little while to get into this story, and to be honest, this felt more like an earlier Murderbot tale, now being told out of place.
Even though I enjoyed this entry in the series, it felt more like filler than the previous books. I was looking forward to the relationship between ART and our SecUnit being filled out more, but here if felt like we were looking back instead.
Even so, this was an entertaining read, because Murderbot is full of sarcasm and wit, and seems more and more human every time I read more about it. I'll be continuing the series, but I just didn't come out of this read as excited as I was going into it.
*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this novella in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
Preservation Station becomes the scene of a crime and our favorite SecUnit is hired on as a consultant to station security to help solve it. Between trying to overcome flat out racism, (or er, SecUnitism), trying to protect its charges on the station and trying to solve the mystery of a dead traveler, Murderbot has its hands full and would rather just relax and watch more episodes of Sanctuary Moon. Will Murderbot be able to solve the mystery and go back to watching its feeds? You'll have to read this to find out!
I admit to being a bit confused at first because last I knew Murderbot was supposed to be working with ART. Because of that it took me a little while to get into this story, and to be honest, this felt more like an earlier Murderbot tale, now being told out of place.
Even though I enjoyed this entry in the series, it felt more like filler than the previous books. I was looking forward to the relationship between ART and our SecUnit being filled out more, but here if felt like we were looking back instead.
Even so, this was an entertaining read, because Murderbot is full of sarcasm and wit, and seems more and more human every time I read more about it. I'll be continuing the series, but I just didn't come out of this read as excited as I was going into it.
*Thank you to Tor and NetGalley for the e-ARC of this novella in exchange for my honest feedback. This is it!*
June 23, 2024
Dear Murderbot,
You are going to freak out when I say this out loud, but I WANT TO HUG YOU!
O-KAY. That went as well as expected. :)
So how about watching all episodes of "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon" together, with EMOTIONS on our faces, but no hugs? Sounds better?
Anyway, there's only one more thing to add: I loved Fugitive Telemetry and will be back for more books and attempt some more hugging.
yours,
Melinda
You are going to freak out when I say this out loud, but I WANT TO HUG YOU!
O-KAY. That went as well as expected. :)
So how about watching all episodes of "The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon" together, with EMOTIONS on our faces, but no hugs? Sounds better?
Anyway, there's only one more thing to add: I loved Fugitive Telemetry and will be back for more books and attempt some more hugging.
yours,
Melinda
December 11, 2021
“Yeah, good luck with that. Trying to get humans not to touch dangerous things was a full-time job.”
When I picked up Martha Wells' Fugitive Telemetry (Muderbot #6), I hadn't realized I had skipped Murderbot #5. It didn't matter as Fugitive Telemetry is a very satisfying standalone murder mystery. Don't get me wrong. Having read the first four installments in the Murderbot Series let me appreciate the context of this case playing out on Preservation Station as well as the humor and personality of Murderbot. As an added bonus, I get to go back and read Network Effect (Murderbot #5). 4.25 stars
“All I wanted to do was watch media and not exist. I said, You know I don’t like fun.”
“(I guess the feed isn’t adequate for all forms of communication, particularly those that involve a lot of glaring.)”
When I picked up Martha Wells' Fugitive Telemetry (Muderbot #6), I hadn't realized I had skipped Murderbot #5. It didn't matter as Fugitive Telemetry is a very satisfying standalone murder mystery. Don't get me wrong. Having read the first four installments in the Murderbot Series let me appreciate the context of this case playing out on Preservation Station as well as the humor and personality of Murderbot. As an added bonus, I get to go back and read Network Effect (Murderbot #5). 4.25 stars
“All I wanted to do was watch media and not exist. I said, You know I don’t like fun.”
“(I guess the feed isn’t adequate for all forms of communication, particularly those that involve a lot of glaring.)”
May 18, 2024
Reread May 2024: this remains probably my least favorite entry in the series but it was a MUCH better experience this time reading it before Network Effect
———
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 for goodreads. While this was probably my least favorite entry, I’m absolutely obsessed with this series and DEVASTATED that I’m caught up now and have to wait until next year for the next book 😭
———
3.5 ⭐️ rounded up to 4 for goodreads. While this was probably my least favorite entry, I’m absolutely obsessed with this series and DEVASTATED that I’m caught up now and have to wait until next year for the next book 😭
June 26, 2021
In which Murderbot discovers a dead body and has to assist security personnel in discovering the murderer. A sci fi murder mystery with Murderbot in it. Bliss!
If like me you are a Murderbot tragic then you already know how it will go. Lots of sarky comments about humans in general, plenty of humorous moments and some dangerous ones too where Murderbot fights its way out of tight corners. I loved the way it constantly talked itself into how to deal with the people it was working with. There are some big personality changes since the first books.
This book is short and concise with plenty of action. Martha Wells has developed the perfect anti hero in this character. Long may she keep writing this series!
If like me you are a Murderbot tragic then you already know how it will go. Lots of sarky comments about humans in general, plenty of humorous moments and some dangerous ones too where Murderbot fights its way out of tight corners. I loved the way it constantly talked itself into how to deal with the people it was working with. There are some big personality changes since the first books.
This book is short and concise with plenty of action. Martha Wells has developed the perfect anti hero in this character. Long may she keep writing this series!
March 5, 2021
Murderbot investigating an actual murder? Murderbot in a murder mystery??? Yes, please, thank. you. The snark was particularly dialed up in this one (which, hey, I'm not mad at), and special snaps to Pin-Lee and Indah as the stand out side characters this time around. All in all, a very fun novella that quenches (at least for today) my never ending thirst for all things Murderbot
February 27, 2022
3.5 ⭐
There’s a homicide case on “preservation fucking station”, the home of Mensah and the rest of the preservation survey team that we’ve come to kind-of-but-not-really know throughout the series so far. Mbot is inclined to assist Station Security with their investigation, despite neither party being over the moon about the idea, due to a concern that the evil GrayCris Corporation may be involved in the murder and this would not bode well for the safety of Mensah and the gang. So, we see Bot Bot having to deal with a new cast of entirely generic characters that lead off hating/fearing him but ultimately come to appreciate him for his competence as a security (murder) bot and his willingness to abstain from displaying such competence against themselves and the rest of the residents on Preservation.
At this point, I can confidently say to you, dear reader, that if you didn’t enjoy the first book in the Murderbot Diaries, ‘All Systems Red’, then you won’t enjoy any of the subsequent releases. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ seems to be Well’s motto with this particular series.
I have to confess; I’ve gone into the last couple of novel(la)s with a little bit of pre-emptive negativity. See, I’ve wanted the scope of the series to expand and become something much more epic, which it’s perfectly capable of doing, since finishing ‘Rogue Protocol’, the third book in the series but it was made abundantly clear, when that didn’t happen in the full-length novel ‘Network Effect’, that this is not the direction Wells is taking her baby.
I can’t begrudge her that, it is her baby after all, but it does hurt my enjoyment a little bit presuming that all that’s in store for the future of the series is more of the same. The same running jokes about Mbot not wanting to do anything but watch TV shows (you can expect about a half dozen variations of this same comment per novella):
”If I was going to do this, I wanted to get started so I could make sure this anomalous murder wasn’t an indication of a threat to Mensah. Plus, I had a lot of downloaded shows to get through.”
The same trademark/predictable (I suppose the two go hand-in-hand) snark from Mbot, which is great by the way but he does tend to just cycle through the same repertoire of commentary regarding his unique observation of humans. Funny? Yes… Done to death? Also yes!
Despite all this, at 3.5 stars, I still clearly enjoyed this even despite the fact that you’ll know who the murderer is as soon as you hear the description of the type of weapon used (maybe before if you’re a better detective than me – highly probable). There’s just something unusually gratifying (in a second-hand sense) and even therapeutic about observing Mbot hacking foreign systems, kicking ass and taking names. I like to complain a lot but we all know I’ll be coming back for more!
There’s a homicide case on “preservation fucking station”, the home of Mensah and the rest of the preservation survey team that we’ve come to kind-of-but-not-really know throughout the series so far. Mbot is inclined to assist Station Security with their investigation, despite neither party being over the moon about the idea, due to a concern that the evil GrayCris Corporation may be involved in the murder and this would not bode well for the safety of Mensah and the gang. So, we see Bot Bot having to deal with a new cast of entirely generic characters that lead off hating/fearing him but ultimately come to appreciate him for his competence as a security (murder) bot and his willingness to abstain from displaying such competence against themselves and the rest of the residents on Preservation.
At this point, I can confidently say to you, dear reader, that if you didn’t enjoy the first book in the Murderbot Diaries, ‘All Systems Red’, then you won’t enjoy any of the subsequent releases. ‘If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it’ seems to be Well’s motto with this particular series.
I have to confess; I’ve gone into the last couple of novel(la)s with a little bit of pre-emptive negativity. See, I’ve wanted the scope of the series to expand and become something much more epic, which it’s perfectly capable of doing, since finishing ‘Rogue Protocol’, the third book in the series but it was made abundantly clear, when that didn’t happen in the full-length novel ‘Network Effect’, that this is not the direction Wells is taking her baby.
I can’t begrudge her that, it is her baby after all, but it does hurt my enjoyment a little bit presuming that all that’s in store for the future of the series is more of the same. The same running jokes about Mbot not wanting to do anything but watch TV shows (you can expect about a half dozen variations of this same comment per novella):
”If I was going to do this, I wanted to get started so I could make sure this anomalous murder wasn’t an indication of a threat to Mensah. Plus, I had a lot of downloaded shows to get through.”
The same trademark/predictable (I suppose the two go hand-in-hand) snark from Mbot, which is great by the way but he does tend to just cycle through the same repertoire of commentary regarding his unique observation of humans. Funny? Yes… Done to death? Also yes!
Despite all this, at 3.5 stars, I still clearly enjoyed this even despite the fact that you’ll know who the murderer is as soon as you hear the description of the type of weapon used (maybe before if you’re a better detective than me – highly probable). There’s just something unusually gratifying (in a second-hand sense) and even therapeutic about observing Mbot hacking foreign systems, kicking ass and taking names. I like to complain a lot but we all know I’ll be coming back for more!
May 4, 2021
It feels strange to give 3* to a book in one of my favorite series, but here we are, this was a disappointing read. It's not bad sci-fi, but it's definitely not up to the same standard as the rest of the series. I'm still just so baffled by the choice to write a novella set between book 4 and book 5, I would have much preferred to read something set after Network Effect and I think this would have worked better if it was provided in something along the lines of Side Jobs in the Dresden series, like a collection of smaller stories or something like that.
There's almost zero character development for Murderbot, there aren't any characters to be invested in aside from Murderbot, the main plot is fine but doesn't really tie in to the rest of the series and the conclusion didn't really impress me either. Murderbot also doesn't really feel like Murderbot in this one, there's a lot of great humor in the first couple of chapters and then there's a good action sequence in the seventh chapter, but aside from that I felt like it easily could have been a story told with a different protagonist and that just made it all the more disappointing for me.
Here's hoping for better things from the next book.
There's almost zero character development for Murderbot, there aren't any characters to be invested in aside from Murderbot, the main plot is fine but doesn't really tie in to the rest of the series and the conclusion didn't really impress me either. Murderbot also doesn't really feel like Murderbot in this one, there's a lot of great humor in the first couple of chapters and then there's a good action sequence in the seventh chapter, but aside from that I felt like it easily could have been a story told with a different protagonist and that just made it all the more disappointing for me.
Here's hoping for better things from the next book.
February 4, 2021
Fugitive Telemetry
By Martha Wells
Fugitive Telemetry is book 6 in the Murderbot Diary series, and here Martha Wells proves that a satisfying story doesn’t have to be 500 pages long. Each of these sci-fi thriller novellas are fewer than 200 pages, and very filling.
Murderbot, the SecUnit’s secret name, is a combat-made killing machine that has decoded the governing device so it no longer needs to obey orders. No other SecUnit has ever done this and remained in one piece. Having the device gone, it says pretty much what it wants.
Within a few sentences, the Murderbot’s personality comes to the surface, like a cantankerous recluse who is forced to socialize and actually talk to people. The banter is hilarious!
Then comes murder. While killing is practically unheard of in their port, Murderbot knows a lot about death and is easily irritated with the slowness of human comprehension. Still, the mystery is on. Who is the “dead human?” Why was he killed? And where?
The characters are well developed and lovable. Murderbot has really grown in the books too. From the first book to this one, it has grown acceptance for itself and for those closest to it. Murderbot still doesn’t feel comfortable around people due to its past. It doesn’t like people staring, and it still doesn’t like to talk to people.
The remarkable world building makes the story really come to life. The various bots, drones, the interactions between them, the life and society rules are all amazing. The world isn’t just the background, it’s an intricate part of the story and plays a major role.
If you haven’t started the series yet, start from the beginning with book one, All Systems Red. After I read this current book, I had to go back and read them all again, just because they are that good.
This has been my favorite one so far. Action, mystery, high tech, lots of humor, social issues, and a Murderbot that has really grown on me. Murderbot may be a big, armored droid with big guns in its arms, but in many ways it’s more human than many people I know.
I requested this book from the Publisher and NetGalley and the review is voluntary and all my own opinions. Originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com.
By Martha Wells
Fugitive Telemetry is book 6 in the Murderbot Diary series, and here Martha Wells proves that a satisfying story doesn’t have to be 500 pages long. Each of these sci-fi thriller novellas are fewer than 200 pages, and very filling.
Murderbot, the SecUnit’s secret name, is a combat-made killing machine that has decoded the governing device so it no longer needs to obey orders. No other SecUnit has ever done this and remained in one piece. Having the device gone, it says pretty much what it wants.
Within a few sentences, the Murderbot’s personality comes to the surface, like a cantankerous recluse who is forced to socialize and actually talk to people. The banter is hilarious!
Then comes murder. While killing is practically unheard of in their port, Murderbot knows a lot about death and is easily irritated with the slowness of human comprehension. Still, the mystery is on. Who is the “dead human?” Why was he killed? And where?
The characters are well developed and lovable. Murderbot has really grown in the books too. From the first book to this one, it has grown acceptance for itself and for those closest to it. Murderbot still doesn’t feel comfortable around people due to its past. It doesn’t like people staring, and it still doesn’t like to talk to people.
The remarkable world building makes the story really come to life. The various bots, drones, the interactions between them, the life and society rules are all amazing. The world isn’t just the background, it’s an intricate part of the story and plays a major role.
If you haven’t started the series yet, start from the beginning with book one, All Systems Red. After I read this current book, I had to go back and read them all again, just because they are that good.
This has been my favorite one so far. Action, mystery, high tech, lots of humor, social issues, and a Murderbot that has really grown on me. Murderbot may be a big, armored droid with big guns in its arms, but in many ways it’s more human than many people I know.
I requested this book from the Publisher and NetGalley and the review is voluntary and all my own opinions. Originally posted at mysteryandsuspense.com.
June 11, 2021
Five stars of course! This is a stellar addition to the Murderbot story. It is a locked room murder mystery, in that the murderer can't get off the planet. Everything is shut down until he or she or they is found. Murderbot is asked to help find the assassin by Mensah who knows how thorough and efficient the SecUnit is. The human head of security for Preservation is not thrilled to have this "violent" robot as a helper.
June 12, 2021
i really enjoyed this sci-fi murder mystery especially seeing murderbot becoming more “human”
July 6, 2022
reread: july 5, 2022
original review: april 27, 2021
A MURDERBOT MURDER MYSTERY.
I COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR MORE.
original review: april 27, 2021
A MURDERBOT MURDER MYSTERY.
I COULDN’T HAVE ASKED FOR MORE.
December 15, 2023
[May 5, 202] I love Murderbot so much. And this is Murderbot solving a mystery, so, like, what more could I want? My opinion of each novella holds steady: fun, readable, easy to lose track of side characters because there are so many, but rescued by Murderbot and their AI pals. I picked up this series this year and now live in a perpetual state of wanting to reread them and needing more. Inject it straight into my veins, Wells. THANKS.
[December 11, 2023] The above excitement is really hilarious because I have no reread them and Fugitive Telemetry is indeed my least favorite. I mean, it's still Murderbot, but I think this is the weakes tof the batch.
[December 11, 2023] The above excitement is really hilarious because I have no reread them and Fugitive Telemetry is indeed my least favorite. I mean, it's still Murderbot, but I think this is the weakes tof the batch.
February 15, 2024
Dr. Mensah effectively bullies Murderbot and the head of Preservation Station's Security into giving the former a consulting job in a murder investigation. Not only are the two participants woefully reluctant to work together, but the police force as a whole seems rather reluctant in accepting that a murder even took place. After all Preservation Station is such a peaceful society.
Luckily, everyone's favorite SecUnit isparanoid enough more than happy to go looking for loopholes around the restrictions imposed on it.
After the absolute amazingness of Network Effect, the 6th instalment in the Murderbot Diaries saga, was kind of a let down. Oh, it still exudes all the passive-aggressive humour we've been accustomed to from the lovable SecUnit. And Murderbot's actual investigative antics are not half bad.
The character development however was... kind of a let down. I so enjoyed seeing Murderbot strike up reluctant friendships with secondary/episodic characters in the previous books, that the lack of any memorable side character here was rather jarring. I suppose that some of the other bots were meant to provide the fodder for possible future friendships, or even a sad ending for one... unfortunately there's so little screen time for either of them, that I never got the time to form any significant attachments.
Score: 4/5 stars
I realise that this whole review makes the book sound dismal, when in fact I all but devoured it... but that's only in comparison to the prequel. Alternately, I'm just impossible to please, and should thus be awarded some sort of "chief nagger" title and be done with it all.
=============
Review of book 1: All Systems Red
Review of book 2: Artificial Condition
Review of book 3: Rogue Protocol
Review of book 4: Exit Strategy
Review of book 0.5: Compulsory
Review of book 4.5: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Review of book 5: Network Effect
Review of book 7: System Collapse
Luckily, everyone's favorite SecUnit is
After the absolute amazingness of Network Effect, the 6th instalment in the Murderbot Diaries saga, was kind of a let down. Oh, it still exudes all the passive-aggressive humour we've been accustomed to from the lovable SecUnit. And Murderbot's actual investigative antics are not half bad.
I just realized I don’t like the phrase “as far as I knew” because it implies how much you actually don’t know. I’m not going to stop using it, but I don’t like it as much anymore.
She was listed as a Special Investigator. I didn’t know what that meant, but it was a good job title and honestly it made me a little jealous.
The character development however was... kind of a let down. I so enjoyed seeing Murderbot strike up reluctant friendships with secondary/episodic characters in the previous books, that the lack of any memorable side character here was rather jarring. I suppose that some of the other bots were meant to provide the fodder for possible future friendships, or even a sad ending for one... unfortunately there's so little screen time for either of them, that I never got the time to form any significant attachments.
Score: 4/5 stars
I realise that this whole review makes the book sound dismal, when in fact I all but devoured it... but that's only in comparison to the prequel. Alternately, I'm just impossible to please, and should thus be awarded some sort of "chief nagger" title and be done with it all.
I don’t know what I’m trying to get at with this. I’d make a better corporate spy? Probably? Except not being a corporate spy left a lot more time for media so that was just never going to be an option.
=============
Review of book 1: All Systems Red
Review of book 2: Artificial Condition
Review of book 3: Rogue Protocol
Review of book 4: Exit Strategy
Review of book 0.5: Compulsory
Review of book 4.5: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Review of book 5: Network Effect
Review of book 7: System Collapse
November 19, 2023
Just before I get started on a review for this absolutely amazing novella, let me take a page out of Murderbot's playbook and parentheses at you just a little bit.
(So the title fits right into the "Future's...made of...virtual insanityFugitive Telemetry" part of this Jamiroquai song, and it's the only part of the song I know, so it's been on a 10 second loop in my head this whole time. This note is not even slightly relevant to the book, I just had to share the 90's earworm love.)
Parentheses over with, this is one of my favourite Murderbot installments yet, though if pushed, I'm relatively sure they're all my favourite. Still, this one really does stand out by way of being a locked-room (station?) mystery that fits plot to beloved characters so perfectly.
The full station threat assessment for murder was sitting at a baseline 8 percent. (To make it drop lower than that we'd have to be on an uninhabited planet.) (I've never been on a contract on an uninhabited planet because if I was on the planet on a contract then we'd be inhabiting it.)
Prequelling the novel, this would make an excellent entry point into the series for new readers. There's no prior knowledge of the series needed, and Murderbot is on full snarky, secretly-caring form. Preservation and their policies, as ever, feel like the imaginary home away from home I've been missing, and we even get to be in on the inside bot jokes.
Well, like the 90's earworms, one is never enough. Time for a series reread?
(So the title fits right into the "Future's...made of...
Parentheses over with, this is one of my favourite Murderbot installments yet, though if pushed, I'm relatively sure they're all my favourite. Still, this one really does stand out by way of being a locked-room (station?) mystery that fits plot to beloved characters so perfectly.
The full station threat assessment for murder was sitting at a baseline 8 percent. (To make it drop lower than that we'd have to be on an uninhabited planet.) (I've never been on a contract on an uninhabited planet because if I was on the planet on a contract then we'd be inhabiting it.)
Prequelling the novel, this would make an excellent entry point into the series for new readers. There's no prior knowledge of the series needed, and Murderbot is on full snarky, secretly-caring form. Preservation and their policies, as ever, feel like the imaginary home away from home I've been missing, and we even get to be in on the inside bot jokes.
Well, like the 90's earworms, one is never enough. Time for a series reread?
November 23, 2023
A 4.5 stars because I was really hoping for a sequel to the Network Effect. This is chronologically set between Exit Strategy and Network Effect.
What we have here is a space-sci-fi-murder-mystery. Never thought I’d say that in a single sentence.
Oh it felt so good to read Murderbot’s pov! I really missed it.
”The only thing worse than humans infantilizing bots was bots infantilizing themselves”
A pretty short novella which covers a murder investigation on the Preservation Station and our favourite Murderbot being a classic Murderbot.
Total time spent: 3h 47min.
What we have here is a space-sci-fi-murder-mystery. Never thought I’d say that in a single sentence.
Oh it felt so good to read Murderbot’s pov! I really missed it.
”The only thing worse than humans infantilizing bots was bots infantilizing themselves”
A pretty short novella which covers a murder investigation on the Preservation Station and our favourite Murderbot being a classic Murderbot.
Total time spent: 3h 47min.
February 10, 2023
hope this series goes on forever. i love murderbot 🥺
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