An enjoyable follow-up, and what I'd almost label a "part two" for "Rogue Protocol," the third book in the Murderbot series.

Overall, I'd call "Exit Strategy" a fun, quick read that ties up and entertainingly refers back to a lot of elements from the first three books in the saga. It's definitely not a standalone and would likely be at least somewhat nonsensical to any reader not already familiar with the previous books, so be sure to start with those.

My only real complaint about this one is that things often get a little too "hand wavy" and almost magical in terms of Murderbot's capabilities and ability to solve problems or eliminate threats on the fly for the sake of keeping the story relentlessly and briskly moving forward. It largely works here because of the established whimsical and carefree tone of the series but this book in particular had a pretty obvious "okay, let's wrap all this up as quickly and conveniently as possible" vibe to it that made the stakes feel very low and inconsequential for the most part. Book three had a similar issue but managed to play off that in an interesting way, which wouldn't have worked a second time, so I was glad it wasn't attempted here but the effect, at least for me, was that "Exit Strategy" felt more like being on a theme park thrill ride, albeit a very fun and well-executed one, than being told a story where the outcome was at all uncertain or unexpected.

I'm looking forward to checking out the next book, "Network Effect," as it appears to be a bit meatier and take things in a somewhat different direction, which I'd definitely welcome, feeling as though the "formula" established in the first four books has served its purpose and run its course.

All that said, I'm continuing to enjoy the series and would still highly recommend it to any science fiction fan, and I'll take a satisfying if largely predictable conclusion to a story arc over a narrative being different and unpredictable just for the sake of being different and unpredictable any day.

Ultimately, I'd give "Exit Strategy" a big thumbs up and would absolutely encourage fans of the first three Murderbot books looking for some closure to give it a read.