This short story is a fine prologue. The world-building was excellent and I enjoyed the cynical, realistic look at how corporations would behave in space. Cost cutting, reuse of old parts, general laziness... it's a very realistic view at the output of humans no matter what century it is. Unfortunately, the story is not particularly engaging.

For one thing, it'll take a while for the book to pick up pace and actually find the plot. And on the other... well, at its heart, it's the internal narration of Murderbot, a robot that is either sentient or on the verge of being sentient. We get small glimpses of how society treats these constructs as well as the varying different factions that make up humanity. But these are all far and few between, as the story focuses on a very, by-the-book mystery/thriller. You don't get emotionally invested, nor will you be surprised at any of the plot twists. You may chuckle here or there at Murderbot's highly practical view of life, but that's about it.

That said, I'm happy enough to read book 2 and think of this more like the first act of a larger novel. But since this is a standalone novella, I'm forced to rate it on its own merits, and it's... fine.