Solid entry into the series.

I've read all the previous Murderbot books, but since the last, I also watched the TV series - which I equally enjoyed, but…or put a weird spin on reading this latest book.

I'd entirely forgotten the "diary" part, and because of the TV series, I had the external perspective and wondered why this book was both being told from Murderbot's internal monologue, but also why there was so much…noise, I guess the word would be.

Once I'd finally remembered that this was the actual format of the book I settled into it, reminding myself there wouldn't be huge character developments (because the diaries tend to last for one mission/episode).

Still, the Murderbot character is in fact growing and evolving and that's fun to read.

The story pulled me along pretty well. Not quite the rip roaring page turner, but a solid entry all the same.

I'm not 100% sure you could just pick this book up without having read at least a few previous books, which is why I hadn't rated it higher (the very first novellas are absolutely excellent).

Enjoyable, even if it took me a minute to remember the specific Murderbot format.

6 Highlights

#1/6 - Location 97

this level of anger for this long was making my performance reliability drop

#2/6 - Location 155

You always have contingency plans.) (I wish I had a fucking contingency plan.)

#3/6 - Location 403

I really wanted to kill them but they were so whiney and screamy, it was hard to get started

#4/6 - Location 451

Well, fuck. I hate it when the humans are right.

#5/6 - Location 490

(Emotion check: Having someone else support your bad decision feels kind of good.)

#6/6 - Location 526

I picked her up and was going to tell her to put her arms around my neck and hold on, but she immediately clamped on to me like a tentacled parasite in a horror show.

Others I've read in the "The Murderbot Diaries" series: