I love the Murderbot Diaries, I find them entertaining, fun, and funny as hell. Martha Wells has created a character and universe that I love revisiting. And with the size of the diary entries, none of the books so far have been much longer than a novella.

This story circles back to check in on the characters from the first story. Murderbot is still in possession of the files from the GrayCris mining installation that proves they’re dealing in alien remnants, illegally.

So GrayCris goes after Dr. Mensah and her team. They were featured in the first story, and Mensah is the one that got Murderbot his freedom. And then he up and went off to explore the universe.

Learning that Mensah and her team are in trouble, Murderbot heads off to help, and you can be sure that both violence and hilarity will ensue.

Wells keeps the story rocketing along, and Murderbot finds it very unusual that he’s determined to help Mensah and the others, when all he really wants is to watch his media. Murderbot knows that GrayCris can’t be trusted, and they’re in a tough situation with their stock and reputation bottoming out because of Murderbot’s efforts.

Could Mensah be part of a trap?

Things happen pretty quickly and GrayCris is ready to do all they can to stop Murderbot and Mensah, including dispatching SecUnits to come after them.

It’s fun seeing Murderbot reconnect with the characters from the first book. It ties the universe together nicely, and as the tale ends, sets up some new possibilities for the characters.

I am loving these stories. They are filled with great moments and each story expands the story and fills out the characters and universe all the more. One could argue that these stories are too short, but they are just quick adventures, recorded as diary entries, something that gets touched on toward’s this instalments end.

Next time, the story gets bigger with Network Effect, a full novel. I’ll be curious to see if Wells can maintain the humor and action through a bigger story. I have no doubt that she can, but I’m looking forward to see where the story takes Murderbot and the humans he associates with.

These books are wonderfully entertaining, and they are a great ride. I can’t recommend them enough to anyone looking for something fun. Great action, big ideas, and fun characters. Check them out, get hooked and join Murderbot on his journey.