With the evidence it gathered in hand, Murderbot heads back to help the one human who treated it with respect, just as she is taken hostage
Back to the humans who matter
Murderbot has the evidence against GrayCris that it risked everything to collect. But when it learns that Dr. Mensah, the leader of the survey team it once protected, has been detained by the corporation, it realises that it cannot simply hand the data over and walk away. It heads straight into enemy territory, a sprawling transit station full of security systems, to get her out.
Who will enjoy it
Readers who have followed the first three novellas, fans of action with heart, and anyone who loves a reluctant hero.
What you will get
The fourth Murderbot novella, a tense rescue mission that brings the first story arc to a satisfying close and reunites the android with the humans it cares about.
Exit Strategy Facts: Pages, Genre and Setting
Genre
Science Fiction · Murderbot · Rescue mission · Novella
Length
176 pages · ≈ 5 h
More about this book
This is the payoff the series has been building towards. Murderbot finally faces Mensah and her team again, and its awkwardness at being seen, thanked and cared for is both funny and touching. Meanwhile the action is relentless: hacked cameras, combat drones, a hostage exchange and a final battle that pushes Murderbot to its limits.
Wells keeps the deadpan humour going even in the tensest moments, and the relationships between Murderbot and the humans of Preservation feel earned after three books of distance. The question of what Murderbot wants for its own future becomes central, setting up the novels that follow.
It depends heavily on the earlier books and is not a good starting point. Some readers may wish for a little more breathing room between action sequences. As a conclusion to the first four novellas, it is deeply satisfying. Small moments, such as Murderbot's reluctant reactions to being hugged or praised, are some of the most memorable in the whole series, and they balance the explosions nicely. It is a quick read that most fans finish in a single sitting. About 176 pages in the Tordotcom hardcover.
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