Compulsory
Murderbot Diaries Book 0.5
I have read the first seven novels and novellas in this series. As I await the release of the eight I am going back and reading the 4 short stories. Two are prequels and two falls between other works. This one is a prequel and it really does come before the first novel. I am thankful I gave this series a try, it was highly recommended from an author I love. I read this volume and the other 4 shorter works on the same day.
The earlier stories in this series were novellas then a full length novel and now back in the novel range for book 7. All of the stories in this series are excellent reads. And I was excited find out after reading this that an eighth volume has been announced for release early in 2026.
The description of this instalment is:
“Murderbot—the sardonic, almost-homicidal, media-loving android created by Martha Wells—has proven to be one of the most popular characters in 21 st century science fiction. Everything that makes this protagonist (it would be wrong to call Murderbot a hero) beloved of fans is on display in Compulsory.
While trying to watch episode 44 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, Murderbot is—again, what is it with humans?—distracted by something that is technically outside its purview. A miner is suddenly in danger following a pointless (to Murderbot’s way of thinking) argument, and the choice is to risk discovery and leap into action, which would require hitting the pause button during a very exciting part of Sanctuary Moon, or to follow orders and stay still.
This is a tougher choice than it seems. But then, when has Murderbot ever been faced with an easy choice?
A shorter version of this story originally appeared in Wired magazine.”
This story was originally in a shorter form in Wired Magazine in December of 2018. This particular story is available online as an eBook I do not believe there is currently an audio book edition. Short fiction is a very different art form that writing novels and very short fiction like this is also a different skill. Wells is a master of all three, and has all three in the Murderbot Universe.
This is a great little story in this universe. We encounter Murderbot before the first novel, he is still working for the corporation. He is hacking other systems to cover his mistakes. And he is just as sarcastic. My favorite line from the story is:
“Since I hacked my governor module, it’s not like I haven’t thought about killing the humans. But once I started exploring the company servers and found hundreds of hours of downloadable entertainment media, I just thought, there’s no hurry. I can always kill the humans later, after the next series drops.”
It was interesting encountering Murderbot, this early in his freedom. It is a well written story. It adds some interesting information into the Murderbot Universe.
A great read I can easily recommend. For fans of the series or those just looking to give it a try. I am certain they will be hooked.
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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