Murderbot book 4 depends a little more heavily on the previous books to make sense; it does not stand alone as well as the previous ones. But it’s still really good; as Murderbot continues trying to protect its humans, it also finds it harder and harder to avoid questioning its own motives. I love that Murderbot would risk its life for a human without hesitation (scolding the human for being an idiot the entire time), but is so uncomfortable dealing with gratitude or friendship that it would rather run away than accept an overture. I loved seeing the characters from the first book come back to interact with Murderbot; their familiarity and patience with its quirks mean that it is even harder for it to turn away, even though it tries its very best.
Tag: length-novella
The Gurkha and the Lord of Tuesday, by Saad Z. Hossain
Deceptive little novella, I loved it. Starts out with a djinn waking from an unnaturally long slumber and meeting a human sitting by the road eating pistachios. (The pistachios are a running gag with this guy, kind of like Han from the Fast and Furious franchise and his bag of chips.) Turns out the djinn has woken into a far future world where everyone in Kathmandu is implanted with pollution-fighting nanites, no one starves, and good behavior is rewarded on a point system by a citywide AI named Karma. Hilarity and biting social commentary ensue as the djinn attempts to conquer the futuristic city, a local bureaucrat tries to maintain order, and everyone belatedly finds out that the pistachio eater has an agenda of his own.
Rogue Protocol, by Martha Wells
The Murderbot Diaries novellas just get better and better (this one is #3). Murderbot’s narrative voice is a work of art – it feels emotions but doesn’t want to admit to them, or talk about them, so we get beautiful, terse little notes like “I don’t know, everything was annoying right now and I had no idea why.” But we all know why; it’s because someone is trying to treat Murderbot as worthy of friendship and respect, and Murderbot absolutely cannot deal. The characterization was great, especially that of Miki, a friendly little bot whose sweetness would have been saccharine except for how it was presented through Murderbot’s annoyed eyes. Wonderfully condensed piece, where mystery and sci-fi action and those emotions that Murderbot hate so much combine and build towards a beautiful and poignant conclusion, propelling Murderbot unwillingly towards further character growth and plot development.
The Haunting of Tram Car 015, by P. Djèlí Clark
Set in the steampunk Cairo of Clark’s Dead Djinn universe, in which hapless ministry officials try to regulate supernatural occurrences given shoestring budgets and an unsupportive bureaucracy, Senior Agent Hamed al-Nasr and his new partner Agent Onsi investigate a haunted tram car. I loved Hamed’s weary competence in tackling the case, set against Onsi’s exuberance; I also liked the suffragettes and other women in the story who insisted that Hamed make room for their competence and independence, and how it all managed to tie together at the end. Really tight, well-written novella.
Portrait of a Wide Seas Islander, by Victoria Goddard
Another companion novella to The Hands of the Emperor, but from the point of view of Cliopher’s great-uncle and occasional spiritual guide. It wouldn’t stand alone well but it provides a nice bit of insight into one of the most opaque characters in the book, and also allows us to see Cliopher from the standpoint of his native culture, instead of seeing him filtered through his own critical gaze.
Petty Treasons, by Victoria Goddard
I could not get enough of Victoria Goddard this month. This is a companion novella to The Hands of the Emperor, but from the Emperor’s view instead of Cliopher’s; the burden of the Emperor’s enforced solitude is hinted at in the first book, but here we get to experience its crushing weight firsthand, and we also get to see Cliopher from the Emperor’s point of view. Perfect for someone in withdrawal from the glory of The Hands of the Emperor. I will say though that the shifting first/second person viewpoints read a bit awkwardly for me; I got why it was done, but I think the Emperor’s isolation could have been hinted at another way.
The Bride of the Blue Wind, by Victoria Goddard
Look, I had to immediately find another Victoria Goddard work, ok? This one is an action-packed novella, told like a fairy tale. In this retelling of the Bluebeard story, three sisters go forth to find their destiny; the first becomes a weaver of magic, the second a fierce warrior, and the third is swept away by a god who takes her as a wife. As the third daughter slowly becomes suspicious of her new husband’s ultimate motives, her sisters unite to ride to her rescue. Great strong female characters obv, and the language was just beautiful.
Artificial Condition, by Martha Wells
Murderbot Diaries #2 is almost as good as its prequel, which is to say that it’s still extremely good. In this story, the security cyborg that calls itself Murderbot is investigating some strange events in its past, and reluctantly accepts the help of a bored research transport ship in doing so. Murderbot being Murderbot, it also finds itself once again reluctantly protecting naive humans who get themselves into dangerous situations. Love Murderbot’s exasperated and sarcastic internal monologue, and how Wells gently eases in the character development and moments of growth. Beautifully done. And there are space station battles too, which are always fun.
All Systems Red, by Martha Wells
The Murderbot Diaries had been recommended all over the place and the praise is well deserved. I really liked the self-named Murderbot, a security cyborg AI provisioned to a planetary exploration team. Murderbot managed to hack into its controller module to gain its freedom… and proceeds to carry on doing the bare minimum required by its job while binging on entertainment serials in its spare time. (So relatable!) Despite Murderbot’s general antisocial tendencies, it finds itself trying to take care of its assigned humans as things around them get suspiciously dangerous. Murderbot is a super adorable character, the humans around it are well-sketched, and the plot moves really well. Next few books on hold!
In the Watchful City, by S. Qiouyi Lu
A dreamy, nonlinear novella in which a mysterious visitor with a box full of stories gets the unwilling attention of a spirit-caretaker for a city. The spirit-caretaker is innocent and empathic; the stories open ær eyes (yep, this is one of those stories with extremely nonstandard pronouns) to the moral gray area æ inhabits as æ tries to uphold the city’s isolationist standards. The overarching plot is a bit thin, but the interstitial stories are poignant and pretty.