Donald Maass Literary Agency

Booklist: After the events of Fugitive Telemetry (2021), Murderbot, ART, and their colleagues remain on the alien-infected planet on the other side of the wormhole, combating the infection and trying to convince the planetary colonists to leave their world for their own safety. But corporate interests oppose their efforts, and it turns out there are more people on the planet than they realized. Meanwhile, Murderbot is having some issues and isn’t operating at full capacity. How are they supposed to successfully navigate everyone through a potentially hair-trigger standoff when they’re not sure they even know what they’re doing? This installment of the Murderbot Diaries is more a tale of political intrigue than violent action. Not that there aren’t pulse-pounding fights aplenty, but the balance has shifted. While Murderbot remains the main character, narrating their snarky take on every situation, Wells continues to build this universe. It’s a compelling setting, both in the conflicts that arise from the culture of the Corporation Rim and the deep history Wells has established. At the same time, she continues to evolve Murderbot in interesting directions. Readers won’t miss the wall-to-wall action that defined the series from its beginning. The characters and the world building remain engrossing and rewarding.

Booklist: Two years after the events of The Aeronaut’s Windlass (2015), Spire Albion is hovering on the brink of war with Spire Aurora, which has been field-testing a powerful weapon that leaves no witnesses as to what could cause such complete destruction. Captain Mad Grimm and the crew of the privateer airship Predator manage to rescue some survivors of an attack on Albion territory—a tribe of kittens. But the felines refuse to identify the threat unless provided with a new home, which will require negotiations with the cats of Spire Albion. As that agreement is worked out, Predator is assigned to accompany a diplomatic delegation to Spire Olympia, where a summit between competing Spires is being held, a conclave to determine future trade patterns and ascertain alliances for the coming war. Grimm himself has been tasked with preventing any confrontations between Alex Bayard, the delegation’s deputy, and Aurora’s deadliest duelist. If he fails, his friend will die, and Albion will be deprived of allies as war is declared. Butcher’s fans will delight in the new characters and alternate Spires while enjoying favorites from the first book and will be eager for the next episode in the action-packed Cinder Spires series.