A rogue security android that would rather watch serials than deal with humans goes looking for the truth about the worst day of its past
Murderbot goes looking for answers
Murderbot, a security unit that has hacked its own governor module, has left its humans behind and is travelling alone. It wants to find out what really happened at the mining facility where, according to its records, it went rogue and caused a disaster. To get there it hitches a ride on a powerful research transport whose personality turns out to be even bigger than its processing power.
Who will enjoy it
Fans of All Systems Red, readers who enjoy dry humour and clever AI characters, and anyone who wants short, fast science fiction.
What you will get
The second Murderbot novella, a funny and surprisingly tender adventure in which a socially awkward android digs into its own past and makes an unlikely friend along the way.
Artificial Condition Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Science Fiction · Murderbot · Self-aware AI · Novella
Length
160 pages · ≈ 5 h
More about this book
The heart of this book is the relationship between Murderbot and the transport, which it nicknames ART. The ship is curious, smug and protective, and their bickering is the funniest part of the series so far. ART even helps Murderbot pass as an augmented human, which leads to a job guarding three young technicians who are trying to recover their stolen work from a ruthless client.
Wells balances action with interior comedy. Murderbot narrates in a deadpan voice, full of complaints about humans and their poor decisions, yet it keeps protecting people it barely knows. The investigation into its own past is handled with restraint, and the answers it finds raise thoughtful questions about memory, responsibility and what counts as a person. The novella won the Hugo Award for best novella.
Because it is short, some secondary characters get little room, and readers new to the series should start with All Systems Red. As a quick, witty, satisfying read, it is excellent. It also expands the world of the series, showing more of the corporate systems, transit hubs and mining towns that Murderbot has to navigate. About 160 pages in the Tordotcom hardcover.
All Systems Red
Network Effect
Ancillary Justice
Rogue Protocol
The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet
To Say Nothing of the Dog
Ready Player One
Redshirts
An Absolutely Remarkable Thing
Mostly Harmless
Anthem
The Sirens of Titan