168 pages
English language
Published April 27, 2021
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!
Another good read in the murderbot series, not much story arch but a good story.
A little murder mystery on a space station, always nice (with plenty of sarcasm).
I realize I might be a bit of an outlier with this one, but I felt this was a decidedly mixed experience. I loved "All Systems Red", and thought Murderbot was probably the most relatable character I'd come across in fiction, but the subsequent novellas were rather less satisfying and I'm afraid this one is no exception. There's still a little of the charm of the first book, but it does rather feel submerged in exposition and parenthetical asides.
This is a bit of a 'flashback' novella set when Murderbot's first few weeks in Preservation. It was a neat chance to see more of how Preservation works in comparison to the Corporate Rim. As for the investigation itself, I had an inkling as to who the culprit was, but not the motive or the how and regardless it was still enjoyable.
This series is so cozy to my brain. I enjoy following this artificial construct thought process. And this one has a murder mystery. How not to love?
I found it interesting how this book brought in some contemporary-world themes around refugees and their abusers, but that's not explored particularly deeply, it's just one more reason to cheer on Murderbot as it does its thing. Really this is just one more Murderbot instalment, and I am so very here for that.
Way too short, and the story is realtime rather than an extended timeframe. Unfortunately because it was so short it was quickly obvious who the hidden murderer was (otherwise, why spend time with that individual?) Yeah, I like Murderbot a lot, but there was a lot less of the Murderbot media consumption and other aspects of the personality. If it wasn't Murderbot it would be 3 stars at best. Martha Wells is riding her success and not giving a good effort. I heard she had a new contract for more Murderbot novels. Hopefully she won't run this into the ground.
A murder (mystery) bot story!
Good:
Return to short form.
It was nice to see Senior Indah start off skeptical and gradually warm up to Murderbot.
Murder mystery format is a good fit for Murderbot's narrative style.
Preservation was a nice change of setting from previous stories.
Bad:
Confusing chronologically (it's set before Network Effect).
I'm more interested in Murderbot's adventures with ART.
