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2023
256 pages
Fiction
Science Fiction
Artificial Intelligence

Am I making it worse? I think I'm making it worse.

Everyone's favorite lethal SecUnit is back.

Following the events in Network Effect, the Barish-Estranza corporation has sent rescue ships to a newly-colonized planet in peril, as well as additional SecUnits. But if there’s an ethical corporation out there, Murderbot has yet to find it, and if Barish-Estranza can’t have the planet, they’re sure as hell not leaving without something. If that something just happens to be an entire colony of humans, well, a free workforce is a decent runner-up prize.

But there’s something wrong with Murderbot; it isn’t running within normal operational parameters. ART’s crew and the humans from Preservation are doing everything they can to protect the colonists, but with Barish-Estranza’s SecUnit-heavy persuasion teams, they’re going to have to hope Murderbot figures out what’s wrong with itself, and fast.

Yeah, this plan is... not going to work.

Top Reviews
Michael Shotter
October 9th, 2025
I enjoyed this Murderbot outing, which is a direct follow-up to the events of "Network Effect" and could almost be seen as a "part two" of that book in the same way "Exit Strategy" could be seen as an extension of "Rogue Protocol." There's a lot to like here for fans of the saga and I had fun with it but for me, the story never really got going or had much punch to it. I think a big part of that is because the stakes and threats this time around sort of pale by comparison to the full-tilt madness that was basically front and center throughout the duration of "Network Effect." That's not really a problem as it makes for a more intimate, introspective, and "personal" story for Murderbot and the reader to experience together but I find myself at a point where some of the tropes of the series have started to wear a bit thin and lose their luster in a way that leaves me hoping it'll nicely wrap up and Murderbot will get to gracefully fade off into the sunset in another book or two. Bottom line: Still having a good time. Still here for whatever comes next. Just not as enthralled as I was by some of the other entries, which is absolutely fine, and admittedly a great place to be as a reader after seven books.
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