Martha Wells - Rogue Protocol

Sci-fi's favorite antisocial AI is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah's SecUnit is.
And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.
Martha Wells' Rogue Protocol is the third in the Murderbot Diaries series, starring a humanlike android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk.

Comment: This is the third installment in the Murderbot series. So far, I can say it was the one I liked best...

In this story, Murderbot is considering his next moves in his attempt to expose the company he broke free from, especially since the humans he reluctantly came to care about might be punished somehow. Murderbot still felt like humans are too much hassle and wanted to accomplish this far from them, but once more he sees himself in the need to help yet another group of them, even more so because he needs to travel from place to place without being discovered. This time, there's also another bot, Miki, one who was programmed to be friendly, to help him.. or to annoy him too, but Murderbot can't help but feel, and what he feels compels him to help... 

I did enjoy this novella more than the others, for two reasons: Murderbot seemed more "human" this time around and I probably could read this without interruptions, which helps in making it seem the flow of the story is better achieved.

Basically, Murderbot is annoyed he still needs to do something to help humans when all he wants is to be left in peace. But these annoying feelings prove Murderbot is more alike humans than what he imagined, and I can only suppose the goal of these novels is for him to accept he has those emotions ingrained in his programming and that his AI status does allow him to care, more than he wanted.

In terms of plot, there isn't much I can say, in the background there's this notion Murderbot wants to help the human team he helped in the first story and I think the next novella might be about his return. While debating this and planning what he will need to do, he comes across one more complicated situation and, of course, he helps even though he claims he didn't want to rescue more humans, who might want to thank him. He does seem to collect human "friends", which is clearly ironic. This time, he also has another bot to help, and the dynamics were interesting, since this bot seemed to have been programmed to be friendly and more human-like.

The way the story went on, this new bot and how Murderbot reacts to Miki presents an interesting change in how the bots might interact. It was all very technical, but underlain is the notion these AI can be more than just machines with a purpose. Thankfully, there are plenty of those - machines without feelings I mean - to counterbalance the protagonists. What happens in this story also allows Murderbot to reflect on other things, namely the notion of sacrifice and respect. I'm quite curious to see what Murderbot will be doing in the next story, with all these new considerations in mind...

Grade: 8/10

Martha Wells - Artificial Condition

It has a dark past – one in which a number of humans were killed. A past that caused it to christen itself “Murderbot”. But it has only vague memories of the massacre that spawned that title, and it wants to know more.
Teaming up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don’t want to know what the “A” stands for), Murderbot heads to the mining facility where it went rogue.
What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks…

Comment: This will be a simple and quick comment, only for my personal registers. I've read the first book in this Murderbot series, so well liked by many readers and it was certainly unique, and I've decided to keep up the read but I must say I wasn't as dazzled by this second story.

In this second story, which closely follows the events of the first book, Murderbot has decided to leave the safety of his previous employer's help so that he 

- I'll use the masculine pronoun to make my text simpler - 

can keep searching for the information on what truly happened when his system was deactivated and he participated in the murder of some people in a previous mission. Therefore, he decides to travel in a ship which is going to that area, because what better tactic than to go back to where it all happened?

Again, I've liked reading this story, it's also novella sized and this makes for a quick read. I wanted something not too big to finish the month and this was perfect. I still remembered some things from the first story and it was easy to get back to the events from it and it did feel as if the story just kept going. I can suppose this is the intention of the author in writing things this way, more like slices of life in sequence than completely individual plots.

In this new adventure Murderbot finds another friend, the AI in the vessel in which he is traveling and in between sharing a love for human made serials, his new friend also helps Murderbot with some details so that he can achieve his goals when he arrives at the mining facility. I think these little things were interesting mostly because they help the reader understand Murderbot a bit more, considering he is not human but many of his reactions are seen as if he could be.

In fact, this is the appeal of the concept: how a character who isn't human reacts among humans and learns and emulates so many of the human reactions and emotions but in a non human way. It sounds complicated but it's actually cute to see Murderbot processing things and try to read between the lines. However, the fascinating part is also the trickiest one because it can be difficult to see the changes in Murderbot and in his evolution. I confess I struggled a little to follow some of the steps and I kind of wanted him to interact even more with more characters. Some of the things he shares aren't that obvious and I feel there is always something I'm missing out.

In this novella, while searching for what he wants, he ends up helping a small group of humans too and it is clear that this is done to add action and more proof he is learning and getting more and more alike a human, not just in appearance but in reactions. I still can't describe Murderbot and I find it hard to imagine his human features and his robotic ones. I admit I picture that robocop character from movies but since I didn't like that movie, it's quite difficult to compare with something positive.

It's true that this is a quick, imaginative story, from a bigger fun picture but... I kind of expected to like it more and I feel perhaps I'm not seeing what others do...

Grade: 6/10

A book and a wish

This will be a quick post, for I don't have much to say but still wanted to leave some kind of register that I have read the following story.

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.
But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.
On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid — a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.
But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

Comment: I've finished last night the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series. This is novella size, therefore there isn't a lot of pages but the content certainly has a lot to talk about. For me the issue is that I was easily distracted by other things and feel I didn't get to appreciate the story in all its glory. Still, I can see why it is liked by so many readers and why it was hyped for a while. 

This sci-fi story is set in the future, and planets are being conquered or investigated and humans live alongside aliens (possibly) and robots with more or less awareness. The main character and narrator is Murderbot, a sort of AI that works as security for a group of scientists, while having the task of recording everything and snitching for the Company, the enterprise that builds and controls all robots. Murderbot, however, having had a bad past experience, has erased or disabled the inputs with this order and now simply works as best as he can while protecting the humans, while enduring their constant talking in the hopes he can have enough free time to keep watching his entertaining series.

The plot thickens when the team has a call for help and upon investigating, they discover the other team to be dead, probably by their own security AI units. What follows is a funny and surprisingly sweet description of what happens while the team dodges the enemy. I liked Murderbot voice and what the author has done with this character, making it seem quite human, thus easier to like. I would say the element I found less appealing was how everything works out in this world, the few details included didn't seem to be enough for me to have a broader idea a«on the whole thing. I can only suppose the next installments will answer some questions, especially considering the way this story ended.

All in all, this was good, entertaining like Murderbot's series, but I imagined more.
Grade: 7/10

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Taking the opportunity to wish you all a happy weekend, lots of fun and chances to read!

Enjoy your reading!

(image here)