This is the fourth novella in the series titled The Murderbot Diaries. It was released 2 October 2018 by Tor. This has been a highly successful series, including the Hugo and Nebula winner All Systems Red, followed by Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol. A full length novel continuing the story is scheduled for release in 2020. This review contains massive spoilers.
At the end of Rogue Protocol, Murderbot has safely escaped Milu on Ship. Since Ship isn’t all that bright, it monitors Ship’s inputs as they approach HaveRatton Station. When Ship is directed to divert from its usual dock by Port Authority, Murderbot uses an evac suit to leave through the cargo module airlock and enters the station through another docked ship. The diversion turns out to be about a large security force waiting for some rogue SecUnit. Hm. Safely on its way, Murderbot checks the newsfeeds and finds that GrayCris has charged its owner Dr. Mensah with corporate espionage and that she is now missing. Intensive research suggests this is about the data Murderbot collected on Milu, and that she’s being held on TranRollinHyfa Station where GrayCris has its corporate headquarters. Murderbot uses an ID chip and a hard currency card it took from hired killers Gerth and Wilken and catches a fast passenger transport for TRH. Once there, it identifies a bond company gunship sitting off the station. Pulling a status report, it finds the ship has been refused dockage by the station, but a shuttle from the ship has docked. Drs. Pin Lee, Ratthi and Gurathin are on the station attempting to negotiate Mensah’s release. Can Murderbot get her out of GrayCris’clutches without getting caught itself? If so, then what?
This continues the story arc with the same great features of the other novellas. The world building is notably excellent, as are the characters. Because it’s written in first person, we have the advantage of Murderbot’s wonderfully entertaining viewpoint. Not only is it getting much better at impersonating a human, but I’m suspecting that “comm interface” component ART made up for it provides a lot of extra processing power. We’re also finally seeing why rogue SecUnits really are dangerous, as Murderbot casually hacks its way through the station’s protected systems while simultaneously outwitting GrayCris’ security force and carrying on an apparent love affair with Dr. Mensah (just like on the media shows). Once it’s trapped, the violence escalates, and it doesn’t want to shut the aggression down. Only Mensah’s tenuous hold on it keeps things together. There’s been a rising action line through the whole series, and this caps it off nicely.
On the not so great side, I’ve got some nits to pick with the whole story arc at this point. I suspect the series was written fairly quickly, as Wells has said it’s a short story that got out of control, and after the huge success of the first novella, she quickly got in gear to produce the rest. Tor was also in a hurry to follow up on the initial success, and went light on the editing. That means there are some inconsistencies in the content. 1) ART’s modifications included reducing Murderbot’s height by either one or two centimeters; we’re not sure which. 2) The sampling device that tried to capture Don Abene in Rogue Protocol snatched her helmet away, but later she has it again. 3) In Exit Strategy, the Preservation group plans not to mention Murderbot is a SecUnit so there will be no questions about citizenship, but somehow Mensah’s daughter knows. Also, the plan to produce a documentary (presumably what this series is) will also reveal this issue. Hello? 4) At the end of Exit Strategy, what happened to Murderbot’s projectile weapon? I can’t believe it left that behind, but it just sort of disappears. 5) At the end of Exit Strategy, was it struck by shrapnel or a projectile? It says both in different places. 6) In Exit Strategy, I didn’t quite believe the scenario that led to system failure. It seems like a processing overload would have just led to burnt out capacitors. Extending into a different system should be done with copied code, right? Like a virus? And that shouldn’t jumble up the original code, right? Somebody who knows about AI architecture help me out on this one.
Highly recommended. Five stars.
Lela E. Buis 
Oct 06, 2018 @ 00:41:02
I just finished this yesterday. I agree that it’s terrific. It’s my favorite installment since book 1.
I did want to respond to your nitpicks just a bit:
“1) ART’s modifications included reducing Murderbot’s height by either one or two centimeters; we’re not sure which.”
— I noticed this, but there’s no actual inconsistency. Murderbot is vague on the number, saying one or two in the same sentence rather than saying one at one point and two at another point. I agree, though, that such vagueness in a bot seemed odd.
“2) The sampling device that tried to capture Don Abene in Rogue Protocol snatched her helmet away, but later she has it again.”
— Dang, I don’t have the text (I listened to the audio), so I can’t check this. But I would bet that it’s a different helmet.
“3) In Exit Strategy, the Preservation group plans not to mention Murderbot is a SecUnit so there will be no questions about citizenship, but it tells Mensah’s daughter that’s what it is. Also, the plan to produce a documentary (presumably what this series is) will also reveal this issue. Hello?”
— Agreed on this one, on the surface. OTOH: 1. they should be able to trust the daughter not to tell anyone; and 2. the documentary isn’t a real plan yet, just an offer, and probably something for a future time in which Murderbot is more comfortably/securely situated.
“4) In Exit Strategy, what happened to Murderbot’s projectile weapon? I can’t believe it left that behind, but it just sort of disappears.”
— It was in the duffel that Murderbot gave to Mensah when she was escaping. Remember, Murderbot specifically gave the bag to her to mislead her into thinking it was going to follow her.
“5) In Exit Strategy, I didn’t quite believe the scenario that led to system failure. It seems like a processing overload would have just led to burnt out capacitors.”
— It wasn’t a processing overload — it was spreading itself too thin throughout the system. Remember, it specifically talked about pulling itself back in from being extended out into all the systems.
“Extending into a different system should be done with copied code, right? Like a virus? And that shouldn’t jumble up the original code, right? Somebody who knows about AI architecture help me out on this one.”
— Nobody really knows about AI architecture, since there is no such thing as an AI. But I call this one a simple case of handwavium.
“Highly recommended. Five stars.”
I gave it five stars as well, and I hardly ever do that. I love the characterization, and the way Wells is able to expand on themes of consent and autonomy without pounding the ideas into us. And the way Murderbot keeps trying so desperately (and unsuccessfully) to deny/ignore its own humanity. And the way it keeps being dismayed when it experiences any strong emotion. 😉
“The bad thing about having emotions is, you know, OH SHIT WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO ME.”
LOL.
Too bad Phantom can never read it, since its predecessor won the Hugo and Phantom knows as a fact that everything favored by the Hugos must obviously be trash and completely worthless. ;-D
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 09:24:32
Thanks for the comments. I don’t know if Tor checks around for reviews, but if they issue an omnibus (likely) next year, it would be helpful to fix niggling little issues like these. Some readers might not notice detail differences over four books, but some of us are um, sort of OCD? This is what content editors are for.
>“2) The sampling device that tried to capture Don Abene in Rogue Protocol snatched her helmet away, but later she has it again.”
— Dang, I don’t have the text (I listened to the audio), so I can’t check this. But I would bet that it’s a different helmet.
Nope. Same one. Murderbot hit the release tab so it came off and the sampler got the helmet while Murderbot got the gal, right? The hatch closes, and the sampler would be gone with the helmet. Then later Abene is trying to put it on again, but the tab is broken so she abandons it. I know the helmet could have dropped out on her side, but with the sampler pulling on it, I can’t see that happening. It’s just an inconsistency.
>“3) In Exit Strategy, the Preservation group plans not to mention Murderbot is a SecUnit so there will be no questions about citizenship, but it tells Mensah’s daughter that’s what it is. Also, the plan to produce a documentary (presumably what this series is) will also reveal this issue. Hello?”
— Agreed on this one, on the surface. OTOH: 1. they should be able to trust the daughter not to tell anyone; and 2. the documentary isn’t a real plan yet, just an offer, and probably something for a future time in which Murderbot is more comfortably/securely situated.
Kids blab worse than anybody. Everybody at school knew it within a day.
>“4) In Exit Strategy, what happened to Murderbot’s projectile weapon? I can’t believe it left that behind, but it just sort of disappears.”
— It was in the duffel that Murderbot gave to Mensah when she was escaping. Remember, Murderbot specifically gave the bag to her to mislead her into thinking it was going to follow her.
Yeah, but it took the weapon out of the bag and loaded it up before it gave her the bag, filled its pockets with ammunition. It knocks out a couple of the SecUnits with it, and fires through the gate opening as it escapes to keep the Combat SecUnit from coming after it. Then the weapon magically disappears into thin air. Gurathin hides Mensah’s energy weapon in the shuttle’s emergency kit as they’re picked up, but the really dangerous armor-piercing (and likely illegal) weapon is nowhere to be found. Presumably it went back in the bag, but there’s no mention of it when Pin-Lee gets the bag out later to add currency cards. Another problem, where did Mensah get her energy weapon? It wouldn’t pass the scans. Did one of them have it hidden on the shuttle?
>“5) In Exit Strategy, I didn’t quite believe the scenario that led to system failure. It seems like a processing overload would have just led to burnt out capacitors.”
— It wasn’t a processing overload — it was spreading itself too thin throughout the system. Remember, it specifically talked about pulling itself back in from being extended out into all the systems.
>“Extending into a different system should be done with copied code, right? Like a virus? And that shouldn’t jumble up the original code, right? Somebody who knows about AI architecture help me out on this one.”
— Nobody really knows about AI architecture, since there is no such thing as an AI. But I call this one a simple case of handwavium.
OCD. Inquiring minds want to know why it worked so easily for ART but not Murderbot. Presumably there’s some issue with reintegration that it will plan for next time it does something like this. I also bet it’s running some kind of analysis of Combat SecUnits in the background. It was not happy about that.
>Too bad Phantom can never read it, since its predecessor won the Hugo and Phantom knows as a fact that everything favored by the Hugos must obviously be trash and completely worthless. ;-D
I think Phantom is going to have to cave on this one. It’s the best thing I’ve read in a long time.
🙂
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 10:12:30
It’s times like this that I wish I had the text, so I could check these things out. I’ll eventually buy the text versions, but it’ll be a while!
As for why anything would work more easily for ART — it had a much more powerful brain than Murderbot, so that’s no surprise.
And yes, these are pretty great. I’m happy for Wells that she is getting more appreciation right now — I enjoyed her Raksura books, and eventually I’ll have to go back and read her earlier stuff as well.
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 12:03:16
Wait for the omnibus. I’m 95% sure it will come out in 2019.
Was the audiobook any cheaper than the ebook? I was pretty scandalized by the price, but I do want my own copy of this. I’m thinking of hunting it up in the library for my sister.
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Oct 07, 2018 @ 00:24:51
The only reason I’ve lisrened to them already is that I’m trying out Scribd, which has “unlimited” (definitely in quotes — they severely limit your choices after a few books) listening and reading for a flat fee of $8.99 per month. Through Audible, each novella would cost me $9.56 unless they go on sale.
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Oct 07, 2018 @ 00:30:54
About the same as ebooks, then. I’ll go with the ebooks. Never liked audio much.
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Oct 07, 2018 @ 02:08:28
Yes, Audible is typically as expensive as ebooks, or more, unless there are sales. I love audio, though, and since I can listen while I do tons of other things, I get double use of my time, which lets me “read” a heckuva lot more books than I would ever have time for otherwise.
You still might want to check out Scribd, though. They have ebooks as well as audio, and they have a month’s free trial. It’s a rent-type deal rather than a purchase, though, so keep that in mind as well.
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Oct 07, 2018 @ 07:08:34
Great, thanks. My sister likes audio books she can listen to in the car. I’ll tell her about it.
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 21:14:00
For point 6) I’ll say that it’s absurd in terms of today’s technologies, but there’s a bit of wiggle room if it uses something that’s heavily dependent on quantum effects, since that can produce systems where storage can only be copied destructively. Obviously that would be a huge drawback, but one could imagine it being used if it was the only way to get real AI.
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 22:17:15
Could you explain a bit more about quantum tech and destructive copying, Greg? This is billed as hard SF and it seems like Wells has worked hard to make it sound authentic (regardless of the minor consistency issues.)
I read back through the sequence, and it sounds like MB may have extended its original code into the ship’s hardware, then ran into trouble reintegrating. There’s a comment that the Attacker code is moving this same way, but it doesn’t have any hardware to return to. MB also comments on the error, “That was stupid. You almost deleted yourself, MB.” Still, nothing is really missing. It did manage to put things back together.
What you’re suggesting makes sense. It seems very risky to extend original code.
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 22:46:41
It’s called the No-Cloning Theorem. That means you can’t have a backup. You can move it, but you can’t make a copy of it.
The story implied that Murderbot had all the essential data in its organic parts, so it was eventually able to reestablish itself despite the loss of its non-organic data. That implies that the non-organic Murderbot should have been a reduced version of the real thing.
Note that Murderbot reconstituted itself after the Company wiped its non-organic memory, so this wasn’t a new ability sprung on us at the very end. This is also a capability that no one knew SecUnits could have, which is why software systems weren’t better protected.
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Oct 06, 2018 @ 23:28:10
I fixed the edit for you. 🙂
Thanks for the link. I like it. So the problem then is producing a backup copy of a quantum state? Wonder how ART gets around the issue?
Didn’t the story say MB had to rely on the organic parts to reorder the data? That suggests the code/data is there in the inorganic storage, just jumbled up. (BTW, aren’t its buffered responses hilarious?)
I’m not sure about the company’s memory wipe. Afterward MB couldn’t clearly remember what happened at Ganaka, and had to go back to look for records that showed it was a malware attack. The company seems to be very confident of the memory wipe’s ability to delete their proprietary data, as Pin Lee had to get a court order to block it when Mensah bought MB.
Incidentally, the memory rebuilding process could also be related to the regeneration capability that MB seems to have, though I’m not sure how that works for the inorganic parts. I think the governor module is what’s supposed to protect surrounding software systems from the average SecUnit AI. I’m wondering about that combat unit module, though, and how it changes things.
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Mar 17, 2022 @ 03:33:40
About the one or two centimeters- I think maybe it took one centimeter off each long bone, so a total of two per full limb.
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