Despite having heard good things about Martha Wells’ award-winning Murderbot Diaries, I had never managed to pick up one of the books. Then Alexander Skarsgard decided to star as the aforementioned killer robot for the Apple TV show based on the series, and while desperately waiting each week for a new episode to drop decided I had to spoil myself a bit and read the first book.
Oh. My. God. What a delightfully unhinged little story this was! SecUnit is a company-issued security robot that is accompanying a group of scientists on their research mission to protect the corporation’s investment. But unbeknownst to aforementioned corporation (or PreservationAux,the scientists that SecUnit is supposed to protect) our robot protagonist has hacked its own governor module and therefore has free will and full self-control. Which it uses to think sarcastic thoughts and watch endless episodes of the soap opera Sanctuary Moon. Shortly after saving one of the scientists from a giant aggressive native species, SecUnit and the research team realize that there are things about the planet and information they’ve been given that just don’t add up. When the other research team on the planet goes radio silent, PreservationAux decides to investigate. They discover the other research team has been murdered, and two of their three SecUnits disabled. When the third SecUnit appears and attacks them, along with two more unknown units, they realize that there is someone else on this planet trying to sabotage them.
I don’t want to go into more detail, because the mystery of the book is a fun ride and I don’t want to spoil it for you. But the story is fun and fast-paced, the relationship between Murderbot and Dr. Mensah is so lovely, and I was basically laughing and kicking my feet throughout the entire book. There are a bunch more novellas and one full-length novel in the Murderbot Diaries series, and I’m looking forward to reading every one!