Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for sending me a free ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.

Martha Wells’ Murderbot series is one of my all-time favorites, so it should be no surprise that I really enjoyed this next installment. In Fugitive Telemetry we’re back to the novella format (a bit sad after how much I enjoyed the full-length novel for book 5) with some new faces and some old favorites. Murderbot remains as snarky as ever with a sense of humor I never get tired of.

Fugitive Telemetry is more of a standalone than books 2-5, and it’s a bit ambiguous on when it takes place in relation to events in the other books (it might even fit better between Exit Strategy and Network Effect instead of after Network Effect as it currently appears). However, I would still recommend reading the entire series before diving into this one to fully understand what’s going on (and also to fall in love with the series as much as I have).

I do wish there was a bit more connection between Fugitive Telemetry and Network Effect, since the previous book ended with a good set up for a new story line. Perhaps, though, this is just an interlude and things will take off in the next book, or maybe everything will connect going forward in ways I can’t imagine. Whatever the case, Fugitive Telemetry also introduced several new story possibilities and, of course, I want to read all of them and can’t wait for the next book.

Thank you again to NetGalley and Macmillan-Tor/Forge for the privilege of reviewing an ARC.

There is no character I'd rather spend a couple of hours with than Murderbot! This outing is fast-paced, well-plotted, and full of snark and character. The reader meets other free bots as well, and discovers more about how Preservation Station works.

The central narrative is a murder mystery - an unknown man turns up murdered on Preservation Station, and Murderbot is seconded to Station Security to track the culprit down. This is absolutely one of my favorites from the series.

This sixth entry in the quite original and engaging MurderBot Diaries series is somewhat more of a standalone entry in which our intrepid MurderBot is called upon to assist in a murder investigation by applying it's unique skill set to help the human station security personnel. While familiar characters from earlier books are also present here, the focus is really on how MurderBot begrudgingly interacts with the human security team, especially the person in charge, who is none to happy with having MurderBot around period, much less being a part of the investigation. I think the feeling is mutual. All in all a fun and enjoyable read.

Interesting novella - first I have read of the Murderbot series besides possible a short story in an anthology someplace. Murderbot gets roped into helping the Presevationist's security to solve a murder. An interesting, almost noir mystery that allows Murderbot to prove its worth! Now I need to start at the top and work my way through this series!

I don't know how Martha Wells does it, but every Murderbot book makes me laugh and also experience all of the feels for an actual murdering robot. I could read so many more of these and never get bored.

Often when I make my way through books in a series, I get afraid that the author will lose his or her mojo and let me down. No need to worry with Martha Wells! Her books in this series have been uniformly delightful.

The protagonist, who is part robot with organic parts, calls itself Murderbot, because of an incident in its past for which it wasn’t guilty, but the appellation stuck. In any event, Murderbot is a security robot, or SecUnit, designed to protect its clients - who are humans - from any threats. But Murderbot has gone “rogue,” having hacked its controlling module so that it now has free will. Murderbot would like nothing better than to spend its time watching all the space adventure series it has downloaded, but still can’t resist the pull to rescue humans from all the scrapes they continually get themselves into.

In this installment, Murderbot is on Preservation Station protecting Dr. Mensah, a former client whom Murderbot came to like and respect. Murderbot made friends too with Dr. Mensah’s colleagues, also in that location.

As the story begins, a dead human is found on the station, which is quite unusual - as Murderbot wryly notes, to have a lower threat assessment “we’d have to be on an uninhabited planet. I’ve never been on a contract on an uninhabited planet because if I was on the planet on a contract then we’d be inhabiting it.” Generally, Murderbot observed, Preservation was “a very non-murdery station.”

Dr. Mensah calls in Station Security, headed by Senior Officer Indah and asks Murderbot to work with them, pointing out it would be advantageous for Murderbot to gain their trust.

Murderbot, going just by the name “SecUnit” so as not to alarm the humans on Preservation Station, immediately has suspicions:

“It turns out the big danger to humans on any isolated corporate project, whether it’s mining or - okay, it’s mostly mining. Whatever - the big danger to humans is not raiders, angry human-eating fauna, or rogue SecUnits; it’s other humans.”

Indah was slow to trust a rogue SecUnit and, as Murderbot described it, “was all ‘but what if it takes over the station’s systems and kills everybody’”…. So Murderbot had to agree to two restrictions: not to access any non-public systems or hack any other bots or drones. It was, as Murderbot said, “an uneasy truce with Stations Security.”

Murderbot gradually figures out what happened - more slowly than usual because of the initial restrictions on hacking - and eventually reaches a rapprochement with Indah.

There is less non-stop violence, action, and adventure than in previous books, but the story line behind what happened is more developed, and quite interesting. All of it is filtered through Murderbot’s dry sense of humor, sardonic wit, and constant existential angst.

Favorite passage: Dr. Mensah asks Murderbot to come over and join her and their friends - “we’ll do something fun.” Murderbot replies, “You know I don’t like fun.”

<strong>Evaluation: </strong> The humans in Murderbot’s life can’t help but come to love and appreciate this very odd SecUnit. Moreover, the desire to make sacrifices to save the other becomes mutual. The books are endearing, very humorous, and diverting in the extreme.

A fun entry in the Murderbot series, this time with a murder mystery. The parenthetical asides were a little much; I don’t remember them being so frequent in earlier stories.

God I love Murderbot. It seems strange to say this about a series that is only 4 years old, but after the character growth and new horizons of the previous novel, this is a return to "classic" novella-length Murderbot stories. In a flashback to after the original four novellas, we get to see it play security-defense and detective against a threat against its new home on Preservation Station. As usual, Murderbot is making things up as it goes along and being snarky about stupid humans and their stupid habits and emotions (yet still making new friends and connections along the way), but it is just so darn talented (and secretly caring and emotional) that it makes for not just a satisfying character to spend time with but also for a ripping plot.

These stories are all around fun and human and humane. Super highly recommended!

This novella is set between Exit Strategy and Network Effect. (Also set after the short story "home: habitat, range, niche, territory"). There are no poor Murerbot Diary stories. They are all uniformly excellent and so is Fugitive Telemetry. Having said how great they are it is necessary to inform readers that, unlike many linked stories, the first four Murderbot Diaries really should be read in order. Beginning with All Systems Red.

Murderbot continues to be a blast to read. The only downside of the book is it doesn't explicitly state when it occurs. I assumed it took place after Network Effect but it seems to be before it. Other than that, *insert chef's kiss*.

Murderbot murder mystery! This is exactly the content I want/need! After the (excellent) full length novel featuring Murderbot, Wells gives us another novella. This time, back on Preservation Station, Murderbot is confronted by a corpse they are pretty sure they had nothing to do with. Concerned this is part of a plot by nefarious corporate actors, Murderbot is on the case in all of their hilarious, snarky glory.

Overall: +8/10

In a twist of irony, we get to see Murderbot investigating.....a murder! It's always such a pleasure to delve into the delightful world of Murderbot and this book continues the fun ride.

Like any good detective noir worth it's name, the book begins with a corpse. We then get treated to a brilliant whudunit plot. Murderbot becomes a attached to the investigation to help to PreservationAux security team and as usual it blends in with the subtlety of a jackhammer. The mystery is quite well done and suspense is maintained well till the climax. We are introduced to more characters in Preservation who I beleive may feature in subsequent books too.

It certainly stays true to it's soul and makes for one feel good read!

I can’t explain my level of excitement for this book. I’m absolutely rabid about this series, and have the release date for this book covered in hearts on my calendar... Martha Wells has officially created one of my favourite literary characters.

This next instalment of the series did not let me down. Reading about Murderbot’s newest adventure, and further foray into solving crime, was delightful. It’s been fun getting to read about their reluctant social interactions, and interpersonal relations over the last few books, and this newest instalment was no different! I was hoping we’d get to read more about the original Preservation team in this book, but did enjoy the slight change of pace.

I enthusiastically recommend this series to anyone who shows an inkling of interest into sci-fi, and the entirety of the book series is usually checked out of my library branch. The first novella is a wonderful introduction to the series, and is an easy book to foist off on more reluctant readers.

I can’t wait to read more Murderbot! I’m hoping for the reappearance of ART soon...

Special thanks to NetGalley for the ARC!

Murderbot investigating an actual murder? Murderbot in a murder mystery??? Yes, please, thank. you. The snark was particularly dialed up in this one (which, hey, I'm not mad at), and special snaps to Pin-Lee and Indah as the stand out side characters this time around. All in all, a very fun novella that quenches (at least for today) my never ending thirst for all things Murderbot

I'll be honest - it would be hard for me to give a completely objective review of this novella, because basically Murderbot can do no wrong.

Important thing to note: I really don't think it's worth coming to this book as your first Murderbot experience. In the first place, reading all of Murderbot in chronological order is just such an enormously rewarding endeavour that why would you not? (I'm so embarrassed it took me until this year to tell my mother to read these stories.) Secondly, of course, this is the sixth book: there's so much character development, and narrative, that is alluded to here - you'd be doing yourself a complete disservice.

So. Read Murderbot. Of course.

This story actually isn't the the one I was expecting; I had thought we were getting Murderbot and ART hanging out being snarky. Not that I'm complaining! All Murderbot is good Murderbot. Instead, we've got Murderbot on Preservation Station, being Dr Mensah's protection, and kinda accidentally ending up as part of a murder investigation team (which it totally didn't do, and you know that's true because if it had, it would have done a way better job of hiding the evidence). As usual with a Murderbot story, we get a sometimes-hilarious look at a Security Unit's impression of human security measures (very poor), its intense dislike of human interactions, and a longing to just be left alone to (re)watch Sanctuary Moon (relatable). There's snark, and the figuring out of whodunnit, and some grudging personal reflection that Murderbot would honestly rather do without. Also the odd fight and some relationship-building that eventually works out okay.

Murderbot continues to be one of the great AIs of modern fiction. Its deep commitment to keeping up with its preferred media, its irritation at human foibles, and its exasperated habit of looking out for hapless humans make it deeply relatable in a way that it would surely find deeply offensive. I would read Murderbot's reviews of Sanctuary Moon, I would read Murderbot doing routine security patrols, and I would read Murderbot inter-bot snark until the cows come home.

Murderbot never disappoints. This novella snaps along with the same level of snark and self-deprecation we have come to expect from Wells, Though the ending is a bit abrupt, the story satisfies, and it is clear there will be more Murderbot in the future. Great fun. Plain and simple.

Following the adventures of the first four Murderbot stories, our favorite SecUnit is a free bot living on Preservation Station working doing security for its friends and hoping to get free time to watch more episodes of Sanctuary Moon. But that's not to be, because a "dead human" is found in a passageway, and Murderbot's friend, mentor, and station administrator Dr. Mensah wants him to look into it with station security. Senior officer Indah is still trying to get over the idea that a rogue SecUnit has free run of the station, and she's not a fan but since the homicide rate on Preservation is down in the statistical noise levels she knows they could use a hand. Also, it's very likely that the corporation that's been trying to kill Muderbot and his friends is behind it.

What follows is a whodunnit on a space station where the noirish PI works in an uneasy alliance (read does its own thing anyway) with the cops. Murderbot has better tools for the job, though it's hampered by a promise not to hack the station's security system because Indah's still worried about the whole rogue bot killing everyone thing, but really that happened a long time ago and wasn't its fault anyway.

Do you need to know more? Nope. You just need to go get your copy and enjoy it all. Unless, of course, you haven't read any Murderbot stories. If not, you could start here, but you might as well go back to All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) and start there. Just for the fun of it.

Murderbot is back and stealing my heart once again. In this novel, set between Exit Strategy and Network Effect, a murder on Preservation Station has our favorite SecUnit teaming up with the humans in Station Security to hunt down a new threat. Excellent from start to finish. If you love Murderbot, you're not going to want to miss this one.

So happy to have an opportunity to catch up with Murderbot! In Fugitive Telemetry, Murderbot gets to experience what it’s like to solve a murder mystery, much like one of their favorite soap operas. Gone is most of the self-doubt that they have previously shared internally in past books — this feels like a more self-assured Murderbot, who understands even more keenly how the rest of the universe sees and reacts to them.

While we get to see some old friends in this story, this book stands on it’s own in many ways — I’d very much like to continue reading about Murderbot’s adventures solving mysteries on Preservation Station or across the galaxy.