“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.” Well isn’t that the truth? Couldn’t we all do unexpected things if we just stopped watching Netflix? Probably, but I’m still waiting on that next season of Lupin so I’ll just kill some time until then.

Murderbot is a SecUnit that has been rented out to a science team exploring an unfamiliar planet. Like all good robots it has updates and directives that should make it the perfect security unit to protect the team. The only issue is it hacked it’s systems and when it isn’t working with the science team it hides in its compartment to binge watch hours of the latest dramas. The goal is to not let on it has control of its systems and also avoid the humans whenever possible. Murderbot is not a fan of the humans looking at it and prefers to wear the heavy armor and opaqued face shield to prevent them from seeing the terror on its face when the humans attempt to talk to it. 

I don’t think I’ve ever connected with a character so much. I will gladly do whatever you ask me to. Need protection from a giant unidentified life form that might rip half my body to shreds? Got it. Need help figuring out why all the equipment is failing? Done. Need help preventing the death of every person on the team from an unknown entity bent on making you disappear? No problem. Having a conversation about anything other than the weather? No thank you friend. I’ll just stand really still, pretend I didn’t hear you, avoid eye contact, and hope you give it up. If I’m really lucky I can scuttle off to my compartment and binge watch shows until the anxiety and terror of conversations has abated. Yeah, Murderbot and I definitely have some common ground. 

This novella is everything I love. Its fast paced with lots of action, but still explores characters and the inner dialogue is fantastic. Bonus points for the physical book being small enough to fit in my purse so I can avoid terrifying human interactions in the real world if necessary. We all have our coping mechanisms.