Coming to the end of this highly-anticipated final entry in this arc of the Murderbot Diaries is only bearable because of the promise of a full-length novel to continue the story soon. With that in mind, I could enjoy the continued ingenuity of Murderbot as it takes the final steps to rescue its original team from the clutches of GreyCris, and consider what it will do with the rest of its existence. As usual, the world-building was engaging, and the action was non-stop. As a long-time Martha Wells fan, I'm delighted to see this series bringing the attention to her writing that her work has always deserved.

The fourth novella has Murderbot coming back to the original group of people that kicked off the first story. With evidence in hand they set off to bring Dr Mensah the data she needs to free herself from the clutches of GrayCris. Murderbot learns more about themselves as the story progresses does question why they are doing this when they could be safe somewhere far away watching entertainment feeds. The story has a good ending and does leave the door open to more since there is now a novel in the works.

If this is the last book in the series, I'm in denial.

Murder bot meets with the characters from the first book. This time he's grown more so that he's not running away from them. This one was the most exciting book because I've already know the characters and therefore care what's going to happen to them. It felt like this could be the end of the series but I would like more.

Such murder.

Much bot.

Murderbot aka Secunit aka Rin is traveling back from Milu when it learns that Dr. Mensah has gone missing...and has been taken straight to corporation rim headquarters. Its favorite human is in danger, and it must save her—even if it means death.

I'm such a sucker for Murderbot. I've loved each and every novella installment to this quartet, 90% for Murderbot's snark and sarcasm and half-assery, and 10% for the plot and worldbuilding. Happily, unlike book three, this one has a whole bunch of action, lots of intrigue and politicking and concludes the GrayCris saga and reunites Murderbot with his first crew. And Murderbot's interaction with said crew is hilarious—of course, this story being from Murderbot's point of view, it is just a little bit biased.

There are gun fights.

Drone attacks.

Combat SecUnits (so scary!)

Space battles.

Code writing ("How to Become Human 101" backburnered for further analysis)

Feed splicing.

Much media watching.

Human interactions (bleh).

And Murderbot deals with its most deadly enemy of all—emotions.

Ugh, feelings.

I can't wait for the full novel about to come out, because I need more Murderbot.

I received this ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.

I feel a bit weird having devoted three whole posts to a series of novella (first two can be found here and here), but Martha Wells is worth it. The Murderbot Diaries, of which All Systems Red just (deservedly) won the Hugo for best novella, comes to a close this year with Wells’ final installment, Exit Strategy. However, for those of us understandably obsessed with the four novella series – there has recently been an announcement that Wells will be continuing the series in a full length book. This is good news for two reasons: 1) I want more Murderbot, 2) the novella format was starting to wear a little thin.

Exit Strategy is another great addition to the four-part series, but I would hazard to say that it is the weakest of the group. All the things you love about the series, its great characters and exciting world, are still there – but the book didn’t quite blow my mind as much as its predecessors. The beauty in the Murderbot novellas is Wells’ ability to tell a tight, exciting, and poignant story – with the emotional impact of a full length novel – while cramming it into a byte sized piece. Exit Strategy feels like it falls short in this regard because it is left with the impossible task of wrapping up the greater storyline, while also telling its own story. Exit Strategy manages to do both these things, but at the cost of pacing and space. The first third of the short story feels like it’s just set up, which doesn’t leave a lot of room for action and character development. This is the first of the four shorts that I felt would have been better as a full novel, so I am excited that Wells is transitioning the series to that space.

Otherwise, Exit Strategy is still fantastic. Murderbot is still hilarious and relatable, and there is some serious cathartic release when they finally put the hurt on the antagonists that have been making Murderbot’s existence terrible for three previous books. The humor in particular is probably the best in the series and had me laughing aloud at multiple points. There unfortunately isn’t a new AI foil for Murderbot, unlike in Artificial Condition and Rogue Protocol (again, probably due to a lack of space). This is a shame, because Art and Miki were incredible and really helped bring Murderbot’s character development into the forefront of the story. Then again, since this is technically the end of the series I get why additional character development wasn’t a focus. Plus, Murderbot is pretty fantastic as they are now and I don’t know what direction they could go in to be a better person/robot.

In conclusion, Exit Strategy is still pretty phenomenal despite not quite reaching the heights of its predecessors. I still wonder why I have written about 5 pages of detailed review when a simple “seriously, go read this” would have done just as well. I can’t think of a better, or safer recommendation than The Murderbot Diaries – it is a story you can’t help but love. Be sure to grab Exit Strategy the moment it comes out, and then join me in endless speculation as we wait for the full length novel.

Rating:
Exit Strategy – 8.0/10
The Murderbot Diaries – 9.0/10
-Andrew

I love Murderbot! Ms Wells has created a unique take on a AI character, and has cleverly evolved the character over this and the preceding books, without making it a "human". I hope there will be more stories with this original and entertainingly cranky robot.

a wonderful finale to one of the best and most original sci-fi novella series to come out in ages. Murderbot is the best.

Murderbot is depressed, has anxiety and just wants to be left alone to watch all of the episodes of Sanctuary Moon. Instead Murderbot is stuck protecting humans.  He hates when they look at him, especially when he is not wearing his armor.  But he feels compelled to protect them, even when they are doing stupid things that put them (and him) at risk.  Murderbot has a very dry sense of humor and makes a lot of comments about humans, humanity and life in general.  I really enjoyed spending time with Murderbot.  Besides being a great science fiction adventure, Murderbot's personality and his interactions with the humans he encounters was fun and fascinating.  

I liked the future that the author has invented here.  Even though there are some pretty evil corporations running most things, it appears that most humans are accepted for who they are.  There is some uglier aspects to this future society, including indentured servitude.  But overall it seems like a pretty cool place to live and work.  

In this fourth book Murderbot is truly in his element here.   He finds where GrayCris is holding a kidnapped Dr. Mensah and goes to help rescue her.  I loved all of the action and the complexity of everything he had to juggle just to get her away safely.  He is able to save the day, but not for them so much as for himself.  He has shown a lot of growth through out all of these books, but he still is embarrassed to spend time with humans and would still rather hide in a room and watch his media, instead of interact with them.

(The Book Lens blog post will publish a week before the book's release, on Sept 25. The GoodReads post is available now.)

This series is the best-kept secret in the "we love reading!" world, and this fourth and final book in that small, treasured series is the best.

The novellas have won big-deal awards, and for once, it's easy to understand and applaud those awards.

The small, quick-to-read titles make book-talking this to a new reader a breeze, and it encourages reluctant readers to give it a chance. That the titles have come out in print makes it easy for librarians.

Though the titles are Sci-Fi, I have recommended this to readers of all genres -- it's just that good! I've heard this series described as a Sci-Fi Jack Reacher, but Murderbot is better.

The main character's wry humor (not to say snark), his strategic thinking, and the action and suspense make this a very entertaining read. We care about the characters, even those that may not be sentient, and we care about the outcome and that justice triumphs. Great reads.

There are tantalizing rumors of a fifth, full-length novel coming later that will start a new arc. We should be so lucky!

Over the course of four novellas, Murderbot wormed their awkward way deep into my heart. In fact, it took me twice as long to finish this book as the rest of the series because I didn’t want to say goodbye.

In Exit Strategy, Murderbot is forced to come face-to-face with many feelings that they’ve managed to shove deep down and ignore by watching dramas. I love how Wells shows Murderbot embracing their emotions without humanizing them too much.

When Murderbot returns and discovers that Dr. Mensah has been abducted by evil corporation GreyCris, it decides to rescue her. Things do not go according to plan.

Murderbot is, as always, as delight.

This is the last of the planned novella sequence. There is at least one follow-on novel in the works.

What can I say about Murderbot that hasn't been said before? As with the previous three installments, it was a joy to watch Murderbot on its journey of self-discovery, trying to save its humans that definitely don't mean anything to it but you know why not it doesn't have anything better to do really, might as well in between downloading new seasons of Sanctuary Moon

I enjoyed the action-y aspects of the book well enough, but as always, Murderbot's character exploration was the main draw. I loved Murderbot's working through its feelings about its own identity and humanness and its place in the universe. Despite the differences in specificity (unfortunately, not all of us can be awesome robots), its struggles are universal. I'm glad I got to go on this journey with it, and I am looking forward to the recently announced Murderbot novel.

This review was based on an advanced copy courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley.

MURDERBOT HAS A FAMILY AND IT MAKES ME SO HAPPY. This is a wonderful ending that wraps up the immediate dangers facing our favorite murderbot and its friends but leaves a space open for further adventures.

It been wonderful watching Murderbot grow over the course of these novellas. I love him/her/ter! This finale lived up to the series promise!

It was really hard to finish this book. Knowing that this book signals the end of the Murderbot series was both exciting and extremely disheartening. I found myself rationing pages of this short novel just to make the experience last longer. But, alas, I did finish. My verdict? Exit Strategy is a satisfying and intriguing read and conclusion to the series. No need to do a plot summary--just read the dang book!

This is definitely a must read for anyone who enjoys science fiction. It was a lovely experience being exposed to an author I've never read before. I'm now also reading a couple of her earlier works, which are quite different than this series but interesting on their own merit. Please, please, please give this author another book contract pronto!

More Murderbot please! I have an enormous amount of affection for this character, which is only increased by knowing that affection would horrify Murderbot.

A brilliant conclusion to the Murderbot Diaries. Exit Strategy wraps up the story of Murderbot in a tidy package. Murderbot is the most relatable android I've ever come across in fiction, and I would happily and readily recommend this series to people who aren't sci-fi readers.

I was lucky enough to read all four novellas in one go over a few days, and I think that is the optimal way to read this series. It's best when there aren't any gaps in your memory. That's not to say the story doesn't stick with you, simply that I found it more engaging to read through in one go than I believe reading through with space between would be.