The Murderbot Diaries has become my most beloved series in recent years. This sixth entry lives up to the level of comfort reads I've come to expect of it.

It is something about the atmosphere painted by Martha in her series of novellas — with quick, punchy and informal strokes of words — that grips me. Most of the Murderbot stories contain elements of mystery, but this one dabbled more in the detective genre than others. I've always loved detective tales; regularly re-reading Sherlock Holmes stories, among others. Stuff gets even better when these are combined with the fascinating post space colonization future of Martha's Murderbot universe.

The dystopian Corporation Rim was explored in many earlier stories — cut-throat companies with profit motives that push them towards A Boring Dystopia- and Late Stage Capitalism-esque vibes. Fugitive telemetry takes place entirely in the Preservation system. No corporate thugs, but plenty of ignorance concerning the universe and its rough sides. Otherwise, the Preservation system takes care of its citizens in a worthy way, even going so far as to recognize rights of bots. Though our friend Murderbot is a special case no one had considered before; a part-bot part-human construct.

There is not as much entertainment series binging, because it seems like Murderbot actually starts to develop a small passion for helping out its humans. They rather enjoy their position as independent security consultant, and coming along for the ride remains a splendid adventure. This book, but really the whole series, is an instant recommendation I would give to anyone I know. I am looking forward to the next entries in the series.