The Murderbot Novels by Martha Wells:
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All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries. New York. 2017. Tor Publishing Group. 9780765397539. 153 pages. paperback. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence. “As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.” In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety. But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern. 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. But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
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Artificial Condition: The Murderbot Diaries. New York. 2018. Tor Publishing Group. 9781250186928. 159 pages. hardcover. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - It has a dark past―one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it 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. What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…
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Rogue Protocol: The Murderbot Diaries. New York. 2018. Tor Publishing Group. 9781250191786. 159 pages. hardcover. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - Starring a human-like android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk. 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. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is. And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good. "I love Murderbot!"--New York Times bestselling author Ann Leckie.
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Exit Strategy: The Murderbot Diaries. New York. 2018. Tor Publishing Group. 9781250191854. 172 pages. hardcover. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - 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?
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Network Effect: A Murderbot Novel. New York. 2020. Tor Publishing Group. 9781250229861. 351 pages. hardcover. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - 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. ‘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.
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Fugitive Telemetry: The Murderbot Diaries. New York. 2021. Tor Publishing Group. 9781250765376. 168 pages. hardcover. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - The security droid with a heart (though it wouldn't admit it!) is back in Fugitive Telemetry! Having captured the hearts of readers across the globe (Annalee Newitz says it's "one of the most humane portraits of a nonhuman I've ever read") Murderbot has also established Martha Wells as one of the great SF writers of today. No, I didn't kill the dead human. If I had, I wouldn't dump the body in the station mall. When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people―who knew?) Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans! Again!
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System Collapse: The Murderbot Diaries. New York. 2023. Tor Publishing Group. 9781250826978. 245 pages. hardcover. Jacket art by Jaime Jones. Jacket design by Christine Foltzer.
DESCRIPTION - 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!
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If you have not seen it, Murderbot on Apple TV is definitely worth watching!
Martha Wells (born September 1, 1964) is an American writer of speculative fiction. She has published a number of science fiction and fantasy novels, young adult novels, media tie-ins, short stories, and nonfiction essays on SF/F subjects; her novels have been translated into twelve languages. Wells is praised for the complex, realistically detailed societies she creates; this is often credited to her academic background in anthropology. She has won four Hugo Awards, two Nebula Awards and three Locus Awards for her science fiction series The Murderbot Diaries. Wells is also known for her fantasy series Ile-Rien and The Books of the Raksura.
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