Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Murderbot is going to go down as one of the best sci-fi characters ever created. In Exit Strategy, Martha Wells brings her four-part series of novellas to a conclusion that will satisfy fans of the series and whet their appetite for further adventures.

Murderbot just wants to be left alone to enjoy its downloaded shows, but pesky emotions and what might be a conscience have led it to investigate its own murderous past as well as the corrupt GrayCris Corporation. When Murderbot learns that its former owner and one of the first humans to show it compassion, Dr. Mensah, is missing or possibly being held captive, it returns to attempt to free her and put an end to the threat posed by GrayCris once and for all.

What Martha Wells is able to do within the confines of a novella length story is sort of amazing. It’s an action novel with pacing that is constantly moving forward, terrific battles and fight sequences and deep character development. Murderbot has sort of accepted that it has a mission it is trying to accomplish that goes beyond its own selfish desires and its original programming. But it also wrestles with the fact that doing so is creating an emotional reaction that it neither wants nor knows how to deal with.

Wells brings her rogue SecUnit full circle in Exit Strategy that leaves Murderbot facing the same internal struggle that it faced at the end of the first book. How it faces those same questions underscores the growth the character has made over the course of the four books. This is a brilliant series, both in the totality of the work and in each of its four components. The Murderbot Diaries is one of the great all-time sci-fi series, and Exit Strategy is a superb conclusion. I can’t wait to see what Wells has in store for us and her characters next. Highly recommended.

I was provided a copy of this book from the publisher.

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