by Martha Wells
Part of The Murderbot Diaries, book 5
First published 2021
Murderbot has had enough of people and just wants to watch its shows in peace. The sentient security unit, part machine and part organic components, prefers solitude to social interaction. But when its human clients get captured and someone from Murderbot's past sends an urgent distress call, isolation becomes impossible. The artificial construct must abandon its comfortable routine and take drastic action to mount a rescue. Murderbot admits that most of its problems exist inside its own head, where it spends ninety percent of its time alone with its thoughts. Now external threats force the reluctant hero into space battles and dangerous situations it would rather avoid. The choice between inertia and action becomes unavoidable when people who matter to Murderbot face mortal danger.
Genres: science-fiction, adventure, action, artificial-intelligence
Vibes: fast-paced, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, reluctant-hero
352 pages · Paperback · Tor Books