Exit Strategy

“When you're told what to do every second of your existence, change is terrifying.”

In Exit Strategy, Murderbot realizes that striking out on its own has been misinterpreted as following the orders of a new owner. An owner who now finds herself in trouble as a result.

Murderbot rushes back to the group it fled at the end of book #1, kicking up old and new emotions about being treated kindly, and even, perhaps, as human.

When our kneejerk reaction is to run, but we still care more than we would like, or are able to admit to ourselves, sometimes we find ourselves sprinting back to what we left behind.

Exit Strategy shows us the ways Murderbot has grown and changed over a few short novellas, though it remains difficult for it to accept reciprocity. It is easier for it to accept that it cares about keeping others safe, because it was programmed to provide security, so that can be cast as hardwired, despite its best efforts. It is far more uncomfortable with the idea that that others want to help it, and keep it safe, too. The last line of the book hit me like a ton of bricks.

Excited for my [b:Network Effect|52381770|Network Effect (The Murderbot Diaries, #5)|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1640597293l/52381770.SY75.jpg|63614271] hold to come in so I can read some new Murderbot!

2019 review: I wasn't very impressed by [b:Rogue Protocol|35519101|Rogue Protocol (The Murderbot Diaries, #3)|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1506001607l/35519101._SY75_.jpg|56934596], so I wasn't sure I would love this, but luckily it feels more like the second book to me. I still think [b:All Systems Red|32758901|All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)|Martha Wells|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1631585309l/32758901._SY75_.jpg|53349516] is the strongest of the series. In Exit Strategy, we get some reunions and closure connecting the first book to the last. We get more of Murderbot wrestling with its relationship to humans. Murderbot wants what all of us want: autonomy and basic respect. It wants to be left alone, not only to watch the entertainment feed, but also to make its own choices. I've read and watched stories with protagonists who are great at killing, but experiencing some sort of moral crisis. I've also read and watched stories about human existential anxieties provoked by AI. The Murderbot series is a hilarious combination: artificial intelligence + great at killing + moral crisis (because of humans). It's just funny and good and I like it.