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[the-perihelion]

The Murderbot Diaries so far

You know that feeling when you’re at work, and you’ve had enough of people, and then the boss walks in with yet another job that needs to be done right this second or the world will end, but all you want to do is go home and binge your favorite shows? And you're a sentient murder machine programmed for destruction? Congratulations, you're Murderbot. Come for the pew-pew space battles, stay for the most relatable A.I. you’ll read this century.

—Tordotcom

As we approach the release date of Systems Collapse, the much-anticipated newest entry to the series, new readers might wonder: where should I get started?

Here's an overview of books in the series so far, which are available in paperback, hardcover, and ebook. The series is snappily written and easy to blow through: the majority of the series is novellas, with two free supplementary short stories, one full-length novel, and another novel to come. Links to retailers can be found on each page, courtesy of TorDotCom.

The novella quartet:

#1. All Systems Red, published May 2017.

I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don’t know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure. On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

#2. Artificial Condition, published May 2018.

It has a dark past—one in which a number of humans were killed. [...] But Murderbot has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more. Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.

#3. Rogue Protcol, published August 2018.

The reason I was wandering free and Dr. Mensah was on the news was because GrayCris had been willing to kill a whole bunch of helpless human researchers for exclusive access to alien remnants... If Dr. Mensah had proof of that, the investigation against GrayCris would get a lot more interesting. Maybe so interesting that the journalists would forget all about that stray SecUnit. Getting proof wouldn’t be hard, I thought. Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas? Sci-fi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is back on a mission.

#4. Exit Strategy, published October 2018.

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right? Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit. But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue? And what will become of it when it’s caught?

The full-length novel sequel:

Spoilers, but the PUOMANT registered ship Perihelion is in this one. 🚀 Icon by ChimaeraKitten.

#5. Network Effect, published May 2020.

I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90 plus percent of my problems are. When Murderbot's human associates (not friends, never friends) are captured and another not-friend from its past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action. Drastic action it is, then.

The stand-alone novella, set prior to Network Effect:

#6. Fugitive Telemetry, published April 2021.

Murderbot simply wants to binge-watch its favorite soap operas and protect its friends from being killed by the powerful and nefarious corporation they've angered. But then a human corpse turns up on Preservation Station, and Murderbot leaps to action with security forces to help to solve the murder. "There's a scene in "Network Effect" where Murderbot shows Thiago a video clip of an incident when it stopped an assassination attempt on Dr. Mensah, with the help of Preservation Station Security. In the clip, Murderbot has a good working relationship with the Station Security people.  So I wanted to go back in the timeline a little and show how Murderbot's relationship with those characters developed, the rocky start when Murderbot was still getting acclimated to the station, and how the people on the station got acclimated to Murderbot. And I've always loved murder mysteries, so that seemed a fun way to do it." —Martha Wells, interview with Space.com

AND COMING SOON:

#7. System Collapse, release date November 2023.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize. But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast!

THE SHORT STORIES

There are two short stories officially connected to the Murderbot Diaries universe, both of which can be found for free online.

Compulsory — published 2018, by Wired.com as part of "The Future of Work" collection. Takes place prior to All Systems Red, sometime after Murderbot has hacked its governor module.

Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory — originally given free with preorders of Network Effect. Takes place after Exit Strategy, from Mensah's point of view, as she grapples with post-traumatic stress and Murderbot's refugee status on Preservation.

There's some debate on whether book 6 should be read in publication order or chronological order, but where to start the series is easy: start with All Systems Red and continue with the novella quartet, and if the adventures of the sarcastic, anxious, hypercompetent Murderbot capture your imagination, this post can help you decide where to go from there.