Murderbot returns for a 3rd adventure!
Thank you, Tor Books, for the review copy of Rogue Protocol!
The Murderbot Diaries
Book #3 – Rogue Protocol
(160 pages, published August 7, 2018 by Tor)
SciFi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is again 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.
My thoughts:
What’s not to love about a cantankerous SecUnit who’d really rather just be left alone? Too bad for Murderbot that those darn softy, squishy humans keep getting in its way and requiring its protection. So what’s an exasperated AI to do? In Rogue Protocol, Murderbot once again sneaks its way onto a transport filled with humans on a secret mission, this time looking for evidence against the nefarious GrayCris Corporation. But of course, nothing goes as planned, since the humans involved end up needing looking after, even though they’re not technically Murderbot’s to worry about.
I’ll be honest and say that the action feels a little opaque to me. Lots of hatches and corridors and whatnot… lots of energy blasters and armor and drones… It’s all quite energetic and high-speed, but the technical mumbo-jumbo tends to make my eyes glaze over.
Still, what redeems these novellas for me is the fabulous voice of Murderbot itself, who is just as fed up as always. Why can’t the poor AI just enjoy its media feeds in peace?
I’ll leave you with a few choice snippets of Murderbot ruminations:
This was going to be even more annoying than I had anticipated, and I had anticipated a pretty high level of annoyance, maybe as high as 85 percent. Now I was looking at 90 percent, possibly 95 percent.
Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas.
(Yes, that was sarcasm.)
Right, so the only smart way out of this was to kill all of them. I was going to have to take the dumb way out of this.
If you’re a sci-fi fan and haven’t yet experienced Murderbot, definitely give these novellas a try! Now is a great time to jump in — the 4th (and final?) book is due out in October.
Bookshelf Fantasies 
I haven’t heard of this series. But the Murderbot character sounds fun.I do like stories with antisocial and fed up characters and I like the fact that this one isn’t totally real!
It’s definitely different! These are all novellas, so I’d say give the first one a try and see if it appeals at all. 🙂
I love Murderbot! Arrrr! And I love readin’ all the reviews of the novellas. Nice one matey. Particularly the quote choices.
x The Captain
Thanks! These books are just so much fun. 🙂