Book Review | Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells

From the publisher: The New York Times bestselling security droid with a heart (though it wouldn’t admit it!) is back in Fugitive Telemetry! Having captured the hearts of readers across the globe, Murderbot has also established Martha Wells as one of the great SF writers of today. When Murderbot discovers a dead body on Preservation Station, it knows it is going to have to assist station security to determine who the body is (was), how they were killed (that should be relatively straightforward, at least), and why (because apparently that matters to a lot of people—who knew?) Yes, the unthinkable is about to happen: Murderbot must voluntarily speak to humans! Again!

Murderbot is a rogue cyborg Security Unit doing adventures in space. I love Murderbot and eagerly look forward to each new adventure. I started Fugitive Telemetry, then I put it down and re-read the first four Diaries before continuing. I didn’t love Fugitive Telemetry quite as much as I did Rogue Protocol and Exit Strategy, but it’s a solid 4.5 stars for me. Not enough interaction with SecUnit’s “human friends” for my liking, but I especially enjoyed the scenes with Ratthi and Gurathin. Good character development for our beloved SecUnit, and a new (and uncomfortable) situation as well. And I did not guess who the bad guy was.

I don’t buy many books, but this whole series is on my eReader. Can’t recommend it enough for rollicking fun in space. (Start with All Systems Red.) The snark really hits me in the feels right now (during the covid-19 pandemic). (Hmm, is there a reason why my two go to series for entertainment at the moment are The Murderbot Diaries and The Mandalorian?)

I read an advance reader copy of Fugitive Telemetry from Netgalley. It is scheduled to be published on April 27. It will be available for checkout at the Galesburg Public Library. Other books in the Murderbot series are also available in print and ebook formats.