Hardcover, 168 pages
English language
Published April 26, 2021 by Tor.com.
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!
This series is so cozy to my brain. I enjoy following this artificial construct thought process. And this one has a murder mystery. How not to love?
4.25 Not quite as good as the last volume, but still pretty damn good. The only real complaint I have is that the reader sees the solution quite a bit before Murderbot does. It's interesting to see Murderbot interact with a bunch of people it doesn't really like much, but can't just ignore or fight. The old crew are there only at the margins and it's nice to see Murderbot being capable of something between cold distance and (not-so-)secret caring.
In general I am not so happy about going back to novella-length. It's closer to Exit Strategy than All Systems Red and while I didn't get the "why's-the-book-over-already?" feeling, I still think it could have benefitted from another twenty or thirty pages with an additional twist or at least more interaction between the characters appearing later in the narrative. It was still quite satisfying, but I read it one chapter …
4.25 Not quite as good as the last volume, but still pretty damn good. The only real complaint I have is that the reader sees the solution quite a bit before Murderbot does. It's interesting to see Murderbot interact with a bunch of people it doesn't really like much, but can't just ignore or fight. The old crew are there only at the margins and it's nice to see Murderbot being capable of something between cold distance and (not-so-)secret caring.
In general I am not so happy about going back to novella-length. It's closer to Exit Strategy than All Systems Red and while I didn't get the "why's-the-book-over-already?" feeling, I still think it could have benefitted from another twenty or thirty pages with an additional twist or at least more interaction between the characters appearing later in the narrative. It was still quite satisfying, but I read it one chapter at a time, so your mileage may vary there. Also there's the price for a physical copy...
A fun story, where Murderbot gets to play a detective to solve a murder mystery on Preservation Station. The investigation would involve determining if the murder was part of an attempt on its client's life by the company, GrayCris, that Murderbot and its client royally screwed in the previous Murderbot stories.
Also involved in the investigation would be Station Security, who are reluctant to work with a rogue SecUnit (aka Murderbot) who they think would murder them all in an instant (and they wouldn't be wrong). To allay their fears, Murderbot had earlier promise not to hack their security system, which limits what kinds of data Murderbot can access, which makes it very unhappy (it needs all the info to make sure the case wasn't part of a GrayCris plot).
Eventually, Murderbot works it all out and determines not just why the murder occurred, but also the method and who …
A fun story, where Murderbot gets to play a detective to solve a murder mystery on Preservation Station. The investigation would involve determining if the murder was part of an attempt on its client's life by the company, GrayCris, that Murderbot and its client royally screwed in the previous Murderbot stories.
Also involved in the investigation would be Station Security, who are reluctant to work with a rogue SecUnit (aka Murderbot) who they think would murder them all in an instant (and they wouldn't be wrong). To allay their fears, Murderbot had earlier promise not to hack their security system, which limits what kinds of data Murderbot can access, which makes it very unhappy (it needs all the info to make sure the case wasn't part of a GrayCris plot).
Eventually, Murderbot works it all out and determines not just why the murder occurred, but also the method and who did it. And now it and Station Security have a better working relationship.
Written from Murderbot's point of view, the story features a lot of internal monologues and Murderbot's opinions about humans on the station (mostly sarcastic and funny), which adds a lot of laughs to the situation. Of course, there are moments of sheer violence, but Murderbot keeps the enemy body count low compared to previous stories.
I found it interesting how this book brought in some contemporary-world themes around refugees and their abusers, but that's not explored particularly deeply, it's just one more reason to cheer on Murderbot as it does its thing. Really this is just one more Murderbot instalment, and I am so very here for that.
Been waiting for this. Totally worth the wait.
A new setting, a new arc, and a new mystery! This was the first book thus far that I feel made real advancements into Murderbot's more permanent shift towards trusting humans, and it was done in a novel way compared to the previous installations. While the other books frequently swung between action and planning, this felt solidly murder mystery, which I really enjoyed. After 5 books, the standard format did become a bit predictable, and while there were certainly predictable elements in this story, I found the change of pace refreshing.
So erholsam. Diesmal als locked room mystery und ich habe sogar mittelgroße Teile des Plots verstanden. Auch gut: Preservation als utopische Gegend, die sich nicht durch besonders große Schlumpfigkeit auszeichnet (wie bei N.K. Jemisin), sondern einfach nur okaye Gesetze hat, die auch eingehalten werden.
Murderbot conducts a murder investigation.
Constrained from using it's full hacking kit, our sec unit meats a worthy adversary and has to sweat a bit.
I prefer these later installments in the series where murderbot isn't all powerful.
Oh no! This is Murderbot Diaries #6? I wanted to read #4.5. I mixed up the books. And I didn't even notice! So maybe nothing happens in #4.5 and #5? I'll find out soon.
Anyway, it was a nice read. A detective story, with a bit less action than the first four books. It still has its charm, particularly in how Murderbot interacts with a bit larger and less morally black and white cast.
The description of scenes and technologies was sometimes a bit too detailed to keep me interested. Okay, there's all that stuff there, but why do I have to know all this? Will any of this help me find the killer?
In the end I didn't find the killer. It can be totally my fault, but I naturally feel like the book failed at foreshadowing and leaving clues.
I see a missed world-building opportunity on the political …
Oh no! This is Murderbot Diaries #6? I wanted to read #4.5. I mixed up the books. And I didn't even notice! So maybe nothing happens in #4.5 and #5? I'll find out soon.
Anyway, it was a nice read. A detective story, with a bit less action than the first four books. It still has its charm, particularly in how Murderbot interacts with a bit larger and less morally black and white cast.
The description of scenes and technologies was sometimes a bit too detailed to keep me interested. Okay, there's all that stuff there, but why do I have to know all this? Will any of this help me find the killer?
In the end I didn't find the killer. It can be totally my fault, but I naturally feel like the book failed at foreshadowing and leaving clues.
I see a missed world-building opportunity on the political side too. Will the slaver corporation be okay with Preservation supporting escaped slaves? Will Preservation be okay with the slavers assassinating people on their station? Where do we go from here?
A fine follow up in the Murderbot series. Murderbot themselves has become one of my favorite ongoing SF characters, and an excellent commentator on the humans around them.
I just cannot get enough Murderbot. Great detective story, with the signature self-deprecating self-loathing we've come to expect. Still nameless, but getting more human with each story, I hope Wells has many more tales in this series.
I am a big fan of murderbot in general, and this is really a classical expression of the form Martha Wells has honed to an art: a compelling mystery that also reveals the inner thoughts of Murderbot to itself and to us and causes it to grow as a person, er, bot, while also developing the relationships among Murderbot and the people it's come to care about. It's fun, it's got some depth to it in terms of personal development and exploration of the universe.
The "but" here is that, unlike most murderbot fans, my favorite book in the series was [b:Network Effect|52381770|Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568667704l/52381770.SX50_SY75.jpg|63614271], the full length novel. I'm just not really a novella person and the return to novella format solidified that for me -- it's a little shorter and a little shallower than my preference (and having it placed as a …
I am a big fan of murderbot in general, and this is really a classical expression of the form Martha Wells has honed to an art: a compelling mystery that also reveals the inner thoughts of Murderbot to itself and to us and causes it to grow as a person, er, bot, while also developing the relationships among Murderbot and the people it's come to care about. It's fun, it's got some depth to it in terms of personal development and exploration of the universe.
The "but" here is that, unlike most murderbot fans, my favorite book in the series was [b:Network Effect|52381770|Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1568667704l/52381770.SX50_SY75.jpg|63614271], the full length novel. I'm just not really a novella person and the return to novella format solidified that for me -- it's a little shorter and a little shallower than my preference (and having it placed as a prequel to Network Effect also threw me).
So Murderbot. It's great. More novels, please.
A murder (mystery) bot story!
Good:
Return to short form.
It was nice to see Senior Indah start off skeptical and gradually warm up to Murderbot.
Murder mystery format is a good fit for Murderbot's narrative style.
Preservation was a nice change of setting from previous stories.
Bad:
Confusing chronologically (it's set before Network Effect).
I'm more interested in Murderbot's adventures with ART.
Murderbot Murder Mystery!
