The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy

I don't often buy hardback box sets, but I have already listened to the series on audio through a loan and knew I would be revisiting the stories and more than once so I wanted my own copies. Why not just grab them all at once? (well, most of them since this is the first four and there are two more published at the time I'm writing this). It is exactly what is advertised- the first four books in hardback inside a case featuring art from the book covers. There is no additional special features, but it is a quality book collection. I presume that many who are looking at the collection are already familiar with the books, but I'll drop a copy of my review for All Systems Red here just in case there are newbies considering this wonderful set of novellas. After reading so many of my book pal's more than favorable reviews on this one, I had to give it a go. I love sci-fi when the character is a sentient AI, cyborg, robot, etc so this was right up my alley. From the beginning, I was hooked. Murderbot is owned by a company and is sent out as the security bot for a scientific exploration group on a new planet. They are there to determine if they want to buy into the shares for the planet by testing the natural resources available. It's not long before Murderbot is working hard to keep his little herd of scientists safe from someone bent on sabotaging and maybe killing off their stranded group before the date the company comes back to pick them up. Murderbot is fully in command of himself due to a faulty command module and he has to trick everyone into thinking that all systems are normal. The wry wit of Murderbot (he did have a mass killing under his belt so why not), his non-human way of looking at things, his addiction and binge-watching of human entertainment vids, and the uncertainty this lethal being has around feelings and acts of goodness from humans who generally treat him like equipment makes for an engaging story. I found it a great blend of character-driven with action plotting. It was a quick read, but very developed. The stranded with someone out to get them for unknown reasons was a great backdrop to see Murderbot and the isolated scientists interact and learn to work together. I liked that it ended leaving things wide open for what comes next even while wrapping up this first exciting chapter in the story.

I came across the TV adaptation of the first book in this series on Apple TV and loved it. A great show and I recommend that too. However, once I started on the TV series, I had to find and purchase the book it was based on. Instead, I bought the entire series of novellas and really enjoyed them all! Great reads both humorous and philosophically deep. The have well developed characters and explore the idea of personally freedom and what makes us each/all humans. My only complaint is that there aren't more - hopefully the success of the TV series and the resultant, well-deserved surge in book sales will convince the author that she needs to continue the series.

Nice books great author easy for students to read lots of fun interesting stories. The TV show is hugely popular. These books have grabed my teenager’s fascination and he is obcessed with reading these books. Excellent author. We now had to buy all the series to satisfy the previously non reader. So pleased!!

I wish there were more books or novellas whatever you want to call these

I've lived Murderbot since my first encounter. Martha Wells has written a compelling character that is both tremendously fun to read and contains surprising depths. There are so many themes here that I don't feel I can do justice to while writing an Amazon review on my phone. There are the elements of hiding the truth of one's existence, of being neuro-diverse, not falling cleanly into expected categories. Of hating your job but still wanting to do it well (or at least good enough), of finding people you respect in unexpected circumstances. Of wanting to just be left alone so you can watch your shows. A major theme is Murderbot becoming empowered to make choices for themselves, and coming to terms with having fewer choices than they might want, but also sometimes more choices than they assumed. I read the books, listened to the audio books multiple times, shared them with my kids, and bought this set for my brother. I've also made my friends tired by repeatedly recommending the series, especially to people who don't think they would like science fiction. Why are you still reading this? Read the Murderbot Diaries instead! I promise you won't regret it.

This series is an amazing dive into the character of murderbot. At first I was dubious based on the name Murderbot diaries, but the story is different than what most people probably think of initially from the title. Yes, there is some combat and action and murder, but these exciting scenes are often complemented by social interactions and dry humor that add even more value to the story. I have and will continue to recommend this to almost any reader. I think it will be very relatable to many people and I am already looking forward to reading it again in the future. I was skeptical during the first half of the first book, but by the time I finished it I was excited for more and have not stopped wanting to read about Murderbot.

I LOVE these books. I’m not a huge fan of Scyfi, but these books are pure gold! They include adventure, suspense, a reluctant hero, and they are so funny!! They are attention gripping. I blew through them and then had to order the other 3 that are out..and I still want more!! I would say this is my 3rd favorite series..which is saying something because up until a year ago I only had 1 favorite series ( the wheel of time) and other books I enjoyed, but couldn’t rank. Now my list is 1: Wheel of Time, 2: Stormlight Archives and 3: Murderbot Diaries. For context, I have read a massive number of books and series over the course of my 40 years so the fact that this ranks in my top 3 is saying something. Buy them and read them!! You can thank me for my advice later LOL!

Great series!!

The books are a bit short, but they are kind of a fun read. The writing is entertaining, and the storyline is OK.

I love the Murderbot books. They are very funny, full of excitement and adventure and a pleasure to read. There is a lot of violence in them but the setting is so outlandish that it seems entirely unreal, just like the whole setting for these stories of a construct, part robot part human, with a concience is unreal. The four books came quickly and were in very good condition. Be aware that the four books, the first in a longer series, are four episodes in one long story featuring the same characters. There are more books in the series still about Murderbot and his friends/clients, but these are the first and set the scene.

Absolutely fantastic books. I devoured them so fast it was surprising. I watched the tv series and a friend recommended that I read the books. Got the box set on sale and it was a great read. Now I can't wait to read the rest of them. If you like sci fi I highly recommend you read these. The character development is great. The description of the locations are nice and fleshed out. The books move at a good pace so it doesn't feel like a slog to read.

Fina inbundna böcker som kom fram i perfekt skick.

What's the series about? This series about an autistic-coded, non-binary robot who suffers from anxiety, watches serials, and privately refers to itself as Murderbot (you know, because of all the murder it did). This is very much character-driven rather than plot-driven series, and it was a pleasure to follow Murderbot's personal journey. There's also a fair bit of gore, violence and swearing, but somehow the Murderbot Diaries rapidly became my happy place. What is in this boxset? This boxset consists of the FIRST FOUR Murderbot novellas in hardcover (All Systems Red ISBN 9781250214713, Artificial Condition ISBN 9781250186928, Rogue Protocol ISBN 9781250191786, Exit Strategy ISBN 9781250191854). Each novella has a dust jacket with a matte finish. The spines of the hardcovers themselves are embossed with foil. There is also a non-foil emboss of the (then) TOR logo on the front covers. The box that the novellas come in is just thin cardboard covered in praise for the series, which you can recycle without guilt. Is this the COMPLETE series of Murderbot Diaries? Uh, no. As at the date of this review, a full length novel and another novella have been published in this series. You can see them in some of the pictures I've taken for this review. I understand another full-length novel is expected to be released end of 2023. BUT the four novellas in this collection wrap up that story arc nicely if you want to stop there. Is this collection worth the cost? Let's be honest - a lot of reviewers complain about the price. These are novellas (i.e.: they are shorter than novels) but cost the same as hardcover full-length novels. Buying this set really only makes sense if you are already a fan and want to have nice physical copies. Before committing to buying this set, it would be prudent to read at least the first novella but preferably the first two novellas. If you have spare audible credits, the narrator is wonderful. As at the time of writing this review, the Kindle price for All Systems Red (the first novella) is much much cheaper than the others. Happy reading!