This was a fun filler book, with a certain charm to it of an emotionally grey main character and a contained, stand-alone adventure.

I had heard a lot of praise about this character and series going into it, and I will admit that I think my expectations probably coloured the true appeal of this book.
I'd almost gone into it hoping for something a bit deeper, leaning into the thriller or unsettling side, or at least accompanied by some pretty good worldbuilding and a good character arc. While we did see some development from Murderbot as a character, ultimately, they didn't change or grow enough for their motivations to have truly shone through during the conflict or for us to get a good grasp on them as a character. They were an entertaining MC with some very good moments and an incredible narrator, however!

As an adventure, it was really fun. Murderous rogue SecUnits trying to kill an entire team of scientists is absolutely the type of action I was hoping for in the book. But in such a short book, it wasn't expanded on much. They found the problem, solved the problem, and got out of there. While I had a good time, it didn't exactly captivate me. And I will admit that the ending was disappointing: it felt a bit rushed, and unfulfilling.

Overall, for a short novella, I think it did what it set out to do, which was to provide an entertaining, easy read. And I did really like the book! It was easy to get sucked into, and easy to find yourself laughing and invested in the moments that Murderbot had with all their unlikely human companions. But it's not a series that I personally am itching to continue. 

ReRead: I am glad that I continued this series for sure, but I still stand by my rating of this; it's the weakest of the series and (for me) not a great introduction to MurderBot. Rereading it gave me a lot more context of the character & the wider story, so I am definitely glad I re-read it, even if I still think it's not the best first book.