Summary: SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.
And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.
Review: I’m rereading my way through the Murderbot series so I can finally get caught up and read the last two- which have been sadly languishing on my to-read shelf. Rogue Protocol is book #3 in this novella series. Short summary is that Murderbot is a security unit robot that hacked its governor chip (which is what made sure it had to follow human commands). Theoretically it could go on a murder spree, but all Murderbot really wants to do is be left alone so it can watch its soaps.
The series follows Murderbot as it tries to evade notice, gets involved in some corporate conspiracies, begrudgingly admits that not ALL humans are THAT bad, and finds new shows to watch. The books are primarily narrated through Murderbot’s internal monologue, which is frankly hilarious, especially when he’s interacting with other bots.
If you like John Scalzi or Mary Robinette Kowal’s Lady Astronaut series, you’ll probably enjoy this sci fi entry by Martha Wells. Murderbot actually won a Hugo this year! It was well-deserved. For all that it’s a series narrated by a robot that named itself “Murderbot” on account of all the murdering it has done in its life, the series is a commentary on humanity that still manages not to take itself too seriously. Each book is an entertaining, fast read that leaves you wanting more.
