The Murderbot Diaries, by Martha Wells

The six book series has won various awards, including Nebula Award Winner for Best Novella and Hugo Award Winner for Best Novella. I fully expect to see a Netflix series or movie franchise one of these days.

The main character is a dry-toned cyborg with a penchant for trashy TV dramas who is afraid of nothing, except the possibility of close interpersonal relationships with humans. Built by a nefarious company to act as security detail for planetary exploration, a malfunction causes our protagonist to murder the team they are protecting. The self-titled ‘Murderbot’ then hacks their governor module to ensure they are no longer under external control, but with apparently nothing better to do, continues to perform their duties, all the while giving us the benefit of their eye-rolling narration. This is until the group of humans they are protecting get themselves into some serious trouble, and our ‘Murderbot’ is forced to confront their freedom, and make some choices about who they are and what it is they want out of life.

“…in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day.” All Systems Red

As the series continues, we are taken around the galaxy solving crimes and gathering evidence against the corporate giants that treat human, and other forms of life, so cheaply. I’m only three books in and I’m utterly sold. The world is great, the plots compelling, and the protagonist unfailingly charming. I flew through the first three books and have had to restrain myself from jumping straight into the next. If you like your sci-fi low on the sci, and heavy on the action (with a good dose of dry witticism), this series is for you. 

Have you read any of the Murderbot series? If so, let me know what you thought in the comments and don’t forget to sign up for future blog updates.

Buy Book One: All Systems Red on kindle £2.09

Paperback six book series from Blackwells £36.44

Follow the author at @marthawells1

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