E-Book, 156 Seiten
Sprache: English
Am 2. Mai 2017 von Tordotcom veröffentlicht.
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
I have not watched the TV show, but this first instance of this series of novellas was captivating fun. Looking forward to reading the other books.
Después de tres años lo he releído (a causa de que la serie de Apple TV+ basada en la novela va a salir en breves) y lo he entendido mucho mejor y me ha gustado muchísimo más. ¿Será cosa de que mi nivel de inglés ha subido o de que he entendido mejor de qué iba la vaina? Ni idea, pero el resultado es que esta novelita corta, entretenida y con une protagoniste más que especial se hace un huequecito.
Como siempre, la culpa de todo es del capitalismo. Incluso el del futuro.
Inhaltswarnung Plot spoilers
One of the things I like about recent sf is that it doesn’t feel the need to adhere to the old tropes. The protagonist’s secret comes out, and unlike in old sf where there would have been hand-wringing and ostracism, the allies accept the new information, accept the protagonist, and the story moves on. Old sf would definitely have killed off one of the protagonist’s group for shock value, but that isn’t a given nowadays. Old sf likes to explore the axis of the powerful against the underdog, but now the force driving the story is bureaucracy, opportunism, and selfishness. I like this first Murderbot story because it (the story, but also Murderbot) is relatable.
This book was just a simple joy to read, a lot like traditional first-person sci-fi from an intelligent robot's perspective. Of course, by the title of the series, you probably will figure out quickly that this robot is a murderbot, and he's having some emotions about things he's done in the past... and the story evolves quickly with the team he is contracted to work for, with a bit of a twist. Overall, this was a fun and interesting story. It evolved quickly and read like a simple first-person descriptive tale of the bot's experiences and thoughts, but it leaves me wanting just a little bit more. Of cousre, it's a series, so I'll read more and expect that desire will be satisfied as I learn more about Mr Murderbot. I recommend this book!
This book was just a simple joy to read, a lot like traditional first-person sci-fi from an intelligent robot's perspective. Of course, by the title of the series, you probably will figure out quickly that this robot is a murderbot, and he's having some emotions about things he's done in the past... and the story evolves quickly with the team he is contracted to work for, with a bit of a twist. Overall, this was a fun and interesting story. It evolved quickly and read like a simple first-person descriptive tale of the bot's experiences and thoughts, but it leaves me wanting just a little bit more. Of cousre, it's a series, so I'll read more and expect that desire will be satisfied as I learn more about Mr Murderbot. I recommend this book!
Murderbot has hacked himself out of main control.
The idea of an android, part bot with lingering organics, gives rise to ideas of a machine that sometimes feels human, a very introverted and relatable human; with its increasing independency situations develop more unexpectedly than what I anticipated, and that kept me reading the whole book almost in one sitting.
The secondary characters add enough depth to the story and help the development of Murderbot throughout it, queer characters are also a welcomed presence.
It was a very fun and fast read 😁
From the plot alone, this novella would be a bit of perhaps cliche science fiction. What makes it both unique and compelling is that the story being told from the perspective of the "Murderbot" (hence The Murderbot Diaries), a cyborg generally treated by society as a piece of equipment.
Martha Wells's writing does a good job of showing Murderbot's personality, its particular anxieties, its relationships towards humans, and general attitudes towards life. Even if the plot is cliche, Murderbot as a character is the opposite.
From the plot alone, this novella would be a bit of perhaps cliche science fiction. What makes it both unique and compelling is that the story being told from the perspective of the "Murderbot" (hence The Murderbot Diaries), a cyborg generally treated by society as a piece of equipment.
Martha Wells's writing does a good job of showing Murderbot's personality, its particular anxieties, its relationships towards humans, and general attitudes towards life. Even if the plot is cliche, Murderbot as a character is the opposite.
A socially awkward, traumatized by PTSD, has executive dysfunction, and just wants to be free and watch entertainment streams ... Murderbot is very relatable.
