Signal Boost: The Murderbot Diaries

The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

There are currently five entries in this highly entertaining science fiction series from Martha Wells. The first four - All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy - are all novellas. The most recent entry, Network Effect, is the first full length novel featuring Murderbot, aka SecUnit, the security construct (part robot, part human tissue) that is the main character of the series and who serves as our guide. I have thoroughly enjoyed this series, devouring the novellas once I became aware of them, and I've just started the fifth book, which was released in May. The stories all take place in a far future where corporations control space exploration/colonization, and teams that go out on these hazardous missions must take a company-owned security unit (SecUnit) with them for protection. The SecUnit of this series has just managed to hack its own control system when we first meet up with it. But rather than go on a rampage or take off on its own, it mainly wants to consume as much media as it can - essentially, it wants to binge Netflix.

With SecUnit, Wells has created an intriguing AI character, one unlike any I've encountered before. SecUnit is humanoid, with a personality and emotions, but it is not human, nor does it have any desire to be. It is in the way it interacts with humans, and the ways it rigorously avoids interacting with humans, that it shows how different it really is. One might interpret SecUnit's behavior any number of ways; it could be seen as an analogy for the awkwardness of adolescence, as a painfully introverted individual, or perhaps as a person on the autism spectrum. But there is something very vulnerable and appealing about this grumpy android super-soldier.

For those who like action, you'll get your share in these books. SecUnit has a multitude of adventures out on the edge of civilized space, and it has to think and fight its way out of all sorts of scraps. Wells ably describes these scenes and creates memorable visuals. It would make a great movie or TV show and I'd be surprised if it is not in talks already. There's some world building here, and we get a little bit more with each book. Wells is in no hurry to peel the onion, and that's fine. The focus is truly on the character of SecUnit, and you either find it compelling or you don't. For me, it's been a fun and intriguing journey so far, and I think there's plenty of life in the concept. Her next book in the series, Fugitive Telemetry (I love these titles), is scheduled to be released in April 2021.