FUGITIVE TELEMETRY
by Martha Wells
Murderbot graces my recommendations yet again! Fugitive Telemetry is the sixth installment and fifth novella featuring Murderbot, an android with a penchant for vid dramas who would really rather be doing anything other than work.
In this story, taking place before the novel Network Effect, but after the other four novellas, Murderbot faces an actual murder mystery for the first time, on Preservation Station. It doesn’t actually want to solve the mystery, yet can’t help but feel concerned for the humans who have become its family.
Besides, it might be good to discover something it can do to be considered an equal, providing citizen within Preservation Station.
The mystery takes Murderbot through dealing with humans completely and utterly incapable of doing their own jobs, forces it to prove itself trustworthy to those still concerned with having it running free within their civilization, and has it comparing itself to the service bots who have a symbiotic relationship with the people of Preservation.
I recommend Fugitive Telemetry for anyone already a fan of Murderbot or of Wells in general. For those new to either, I recommend the novellas to anyone who loves more character-focused science-fiction, a dab of humor in the voices they read, and, for this story in particular, who enjoys a fun murder mystery.
Marie Croke 