Tor.com: Martha Wells is an amazing writer, whose work I’ve generally loved since first encountering THE ELEMENT OF FIRE. When her novella ALL SYSTEMS RED came out last year from Tor.com Publishing, it was a delight to see Wells turn her considerable talents to original science fiction – space operatic science fiction with a sense of humour and a deep well of kindness. This year will see two sequels published, ARTIFICIAL CONDITION (May) and ROGUE PROTOCOL (August), and—not a word of a lie—they’re both really good.
Wells brings a strong sense of character to Murderbot. Deeply socially anxious, immensely awkward about talking to Actual People, and constantly insisting that they don’t care (when it becomes obvious that they do), Murderbot is a very human sort of bot—despite their occasional assertion that they’re not really a person.
Wells’ pacing is sharp, and the world of the Murderbot Diaries is atmospheric and filled with cool shit. And the individuals who appear on the pages of these stories, however briefly, all feel like fully-rounded people. These are delightful books, and I sincerely hope that Wells writes many more of them—because I definitely want to find out what happens next.