Fugitive Telemetry
Murderbot Diaries Book 6.0
ISBN 9781250765376
eISBN 9781250765383
ASIN B088H926KF
I have been working my way through this series. It has only been a few weeks since I read book 5, and a few months before that book 4 and 3, but it had been almost 2 years between it and each earlier volume. The series came highly recommended from an author I love. I read this volume over a single day. It was so hard to put down. To quote C.S. Lewis
“No tea cup is big enough nor book long enough for me to be satisfied.”
The earlier stories in this series were novellas then a full length novel and now back in the long novella range for this one. But weather you classify it as a short novel or long novella it is an excellent read. All of the stories in this series are excellent reads. Prior to reading that first book I had never heard of Martha Wells, but author Arthur Slade mentioned his on social media. And specifically, he mentioned that first book, which he had just finished. I have read a few books over the years that Art has plugged and have never been disappointed. And that was the case that time as well.
I bought and read book 1 while sitting in PICU after my son had spinal surgery. When I picked it up, I did not realize that it was part of a series. Let alone this long, a series, but it gives me several more books to look forward to that year, or at least that was the plan. It is in many ways a classic science fiction tale. It reminds me of stories I read a lot of in my youth but only pick up from time to time now. The description of this sixth instalment is:
“A standalone adventure in the New York Times and USA Today-bestselling, Hugo and Nebula Award-winning series!
The security droid with a heart (though it wouldn't admit it!) is back in Fugitive Telemetry!
Having captured the hearts of readers across the globe (Annalee Newitz says it's "one of the most humane portraits of a nonhuman I've ever read") Murderbot has also established Martha Wells as one of the great SF writers of today.
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?)”
Our hero or anti-hero depending on your perspective was formerly property. But it has ties to certain humans. This volume takes places some time after the previous story. We are not given the time gap, but long enough there is no direct reference to recent events. A dead human is found on the station, and Murderbot is insistent he did not do it. He ends up being contracted to help with the investigation. But as we have all experienced when we make assumptions we often make an ass out of ourselves. Unfortunately that happens with both the head of security and even Murderbot in this story. Whet the investigation does stumble upon is a much bigger case than just a dead body. And I can’t help but wonder if it will come into play in future stories.
There is far less action than the other stories in this series, and since Murderbot has learned and grown a lot since hacking it’s governor module. This is more of a gumshoe story with Murderbot playing the lead investigator, or PI working alongside security to figure it out.
I said it before but this book and series remind me of James Bolivar diGriz, Slippery Jim aka The Stainless Steel Rat. And as you can tell from the first, it is a thinking book. Not just fluff to entertain. That feeling was even stronger with each offering in the series. I especially love Murderbot’s conversations with another Sec Unit, with a cloned killware version of himself, and with a particular youth.
The story in some ways reminds me of the Stainless Steel Rat Series by Harry Harrison. And in other ways it reminds me of Starship Troopers by Heinlein. The action and mystery reminds me of the Rat. And the deep reflective internal dialogue of Rico. Another great read in an excellent series. I can easily recommend this book and series.
Books by Martha Wells:
The Murderbot Diaries:
0.1 Obsolescence
0.5 Compulsory
1.0 All Systems Red
3.0 Rogue Protocol
4.0 Exit Strategy
5.0 Network Effect
7.0 System Collapse
8.0 Platform Decay
...
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