Title: Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries #4)
Author: Martha Wells
Genre: Science fiction
Publisher: Recorded Books Inc.
Publication Date: October 25, 2018
Format: Audiobook
Length:  4 hours

Read if you like: futuristic societies, questions of robots ethics, critiques of capitalism, witty humour, diverse cast, themes of identity and freedom

Rating: 

At this point, it’s no secret that I’m a huge Murderbot Diaries fan. The whole series has been so wonderfully executed, and Exit Strategy is no exception.

In this novella, we finally get to loop back to some of the original characters, and it gives Murderbot some unique growth opportunities. I’ve loved the rotating perspectives and stories that Murderbot brings with each installment, but it’s felt like we were circling on this one for a while, so it was wonderful to go back and explore some of the original themes from book one. Also, the ending of this one might be my favourite yet—Wells has established such a fantastic premise, and it felt like the end of this book left a world of possibilities on the table.

This is probably one of the most consistently fantastic series I’ve ever read. I’ll definitely be continuing to follow Murderbot’s adventures from here.

The Book: Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having travelled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it’s caught?

The Review

Wells does it again! I loved this book, just as I’ve loved all the others in this series.

It was such a delight to get to go back and revisit the original characters from the first Murderbot. I’ve loved rotating through new characters with new perspectives, but the build towards Murderbot’s reuniting with his original team was exquisite and I felt like it was executed flawlessly. There’s definite relief on its part to find them safe, but also the same irritation and trepidation to trust a group of relatively useless humans. Only Dr. Mensah seems to be relatively beyond Murderbot’s scorn, and their willingness to support her and see her safe creates one of the strongest relationships and connections in Murderbot’s existence. It’s both heartwarming and humorous to watch it attempt to navigate what are largely emotions despite its lack of familiarity with such complexities. 

I also thoroughly enjoyed the continuing action in this book. This one was fast-paced and moved a lot of the long-term plot elements forward, which felt particularly satisfying given how long the build for much of it has been. I find you can always trust this series to deliver a healthy dose of pulse-pounding and this book was no exception.

The ending for this one might have been my favourite yet. There are so many directions that Wells can go in from here and so many possibilities. I can’t wait to pick up the next one to see what Murderbot chooses for themselves, particularly given that the concept of “choice” is such a foreign concept to them. It truly feels like the premise possibilities from here are limitless.

Loved this book, love this series, and can’t wait to continue on.