Rogue Protocol is the third entry in Martha Wells’s Hugo, Nebula, Alex, and Locus Award-winning, New York Times and USA Today bestselling series, The Murderbot Diaries. Starring a human-like android who keeps getting sucked back into adventure after adventure, though it just wants to be left alone, away from humanity and small talk. Who knew being a heartless killing machine would present so … knew being a heartless killing machine would present so many moral dilemmas?
Sci-fi’s favorite antisocial A.I. is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayCris Corporation is floundering, and more importantly, authorities are beginning to ask more questions about where Dr. Mensah’s SecUnit is.
And Murderbot would rather those questions went away. For good.
“I love Murderbot!”–New York Times bestselling author Ann Leckie
Murderbot Diaries
#1 All Systems Red
#2 Artificial Condition
#3 Rogue Protocol
#4 Exit Strategy
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
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Murderbot is the best. This was a short but complete story, but I still wish it had been longer.
While this was my least favorite of the four Murderbot books so far, I still loved it and the series. This one faltered a bit for me because I missed some of the humor and emotional connections present in the other four books. Also, because the four books really read as episodes in a longer story (make no mistake, however – each book stands alone in a complete and satisfying way), this story functions as a kind of black moment for the overall arc. On the other hand, it is probably the most action-packed of the four, with an extended stealth, then search & rescue mission – and that’s just not my bag, baby – so other readers might find this their favorite. Definitely a must-read for the series as this story is a critical foundation for book #4 – and makes the book #4 (Exit Strategy) payoff all the better. Absolutely recommend!
Rogue Protocol
The Murderbot Diaries, Book 3
By: Martha Wells
Narrated by: Kevin R. Free
This book takes our murderbot on a very dangerous job when it should have been a simple case but thankfully she is no ordinary bot, it is a kick-butt not that may look human but pass for augmented human. No one would suspect a murderbot! She was certainly right for this job. She also meets another bot…possibly another friend for it? That would be exciting!
Wonderful narration! Although they have a male voice, when I first read the first book, not the Audible book, I picture not more as female -ish. Oh well….
When we first met Murderbot the GrayCis Corporation attempted to kill Mensha and her crew. And once again the company is trying to cover up shady business deals. With the news of Murderbot’s disappearance reaching a wider audience, it makes the decision to help Mensha and her public battle against GrayCis. After all, if the news explodes with the truth about the corporation, they’ll forget all about a rogue murderbot, right?
Sometimes you don’t realize what you’re missing until you witness someone else experience it. The introduction of Miki as a character was the reality check Murderbot needed. Miki brought to the pages a life Murderbot never imagined a bot being able to live. As Murderbot tried to identify and process newfound emotions, you couldn’t help but feel for it as a new realization began to take place. And while the new feelings put them in multiple uncomfortable situations, it also paves the way for further character development. Not to mention Miki’s personality was adorable and the perfect counterbalance to Murderbot.
Rogue Protocol shows how hard it is to break free of the cycle you’ve been living almost your entire life. Murderbot was fit into a box. Everyone around it believed it was only good for one thing. Follow orders and kill when necessary. This novel is a pivotal turning point for Murderbot. And as it forges a new path, Martha Wells shows the growing pains and self-doubt that Murderbot’s previous life has inflicted on it. Whether it’s through a split-second reaction or the fear of being touched by a human, Murderbot has been subconsciously scarred.
Martha Wells continues to impress me with the way Murderbot is portrayed. And as much as I love the characterization that takes place, the plot is just as good. No time is wasted introducing a new cast of characters with each novella. And there is plenty of action and suspense to go around. I cannot get enough Murderbot!
Book 140 towards my goal of 290! 3.5/5 stars for this Murderbot novella. These books are so short, I don’t want to say too much and give anything away.i didn’t enjoy this one quite as much as the last one. I did enjoy our side AI in this one a lot though! Can’t wait to see where Murderbot goes next!
Murderbot finds themself on another transit as a stow away and then in the middle of a mission. There is action and suspense as Murderbot plans and schemes to protect those involved. There is also a bit of humor throughout the story especially as Murderbot equates life to soap opera serials.
This book did it, a book finally made me really care about some robots and now I am NOT okay. Another pit stop on Murderbot’s journey to…far more caring and feelings than it wants. Murderbot may not like being touched, but it definitely needs a hug after this one.
At this point in sci-fi/action literature, Martha Wells has established herself as one of the greatest living authors and you can reserve a place on each award ballot for whatever her latest Murderbot entry is.
I, of course, am playing catch up in the series. Book 5 has just came out a few weeks back and Tor announced Wells has signed on for three more books in the series. It was originally Patrick Rothfuss who turned me onto this series with his review of book one, but seeing so many folks loving this series, I’ve been excited to dive in.
I wasn’t too sure what to expect with book three, and after book one I’ve stopped reading the synopsis’, so I dove in, wondering what our sarcastic Murderbot would get up to.
What I liked: Book three continues the story of Murderbot trying to get to the bottom of what happened to them many years ago. This is explained in more detail in book one and discussed in book two, but in book three they decide to try and help out the Doc who aided them in book one by trying to find more clues about those events.
Wells has created an iconic character with Murderbot (they even have their own active Twitter feed!) and as always we find them struggling with their desire to get their own answers and ultimately be able to watch tv programs while knowing they ultimately want to help those who’re in danger or following directions that’ll get them killed.
In this one, we get another story line where Murderbot has to tolerate another robot/machine character and it’s here where Wells really excels with the internal workings of Murderbot and how much they despise pleasantries and inside jokes.
The story has a ton of action and acts as a fine stand alone but also pushes the over-arcing plot of the series, which sets up book four really nicely.
What I didn’t like: Ultimately, this was a bit ‘more of the same,’ where we know Murderbot is going to have to protect the humans as they do have a conscious and as much as Wells keeps trying to show us that Murderbot doesn’t care about humans, three books deep tells us otherwise. I’m hoping book four reduces that aspect a bit and we see Murderbot make bigger bounds towards embracing their empathetic side, but I doubt it, ha!
Why you should buy this: If you’re invested in book one and two, you’ll want to keep following along and while this wasn’t the highlight so far of the three books I’ve read, this was a really great follow up and a fun read.
Murderbot is a unique character in that they are, at their base, a killing machine, but it’s a bit like watching Robocop have parts of his human identity burst through and aid in overriding their directives. Book three was a fun time and I’ve excited to jump into book four shortly.
I just loved Miki! He just wants to be friends with Murderbot. I thought the story was awesome. I was pulled in and couldn’t put it down. I will be continuing this series.
Again, how can I even describe how much I love Murderbot. I love that it can’t help but care about humans. I love Mickey in this one and that it just wants to be friends with Murderbot. I adore this series so much!
Murderbot never disappoints. As usual, high-octane action and near-constant danger come together with fascinating questions of identity, loyalty and technology, with a new cast of unforgettable characters (Miki!) Just devouring the series bite by bite, working my way through with delight and appreciation.
Murderbot is a wonderful character. You can’t help but want to know about “it”. Enjoy.
OMG Martha Wells just keeps giving me EVERYTHING I want! Action, gun battles, underdog against the bad guys, an anti-social hero. So good!
I love this series. Just put down whatever you’re reading now and check it out.
Moving into the third leg of Murderbot’s adventures, I was eager for more of his wry humor, confusion and interest in human behavior and interactions along with the trouble he can find without even trying.
Rogue Protocol is the third novella in the Murderbot Diaries series. Each is an installment in one ongoing story so must be read in order.
Murderbot has been slowly assimilating into the futuristic world in the stars where his kind, a security robot or secbot is not supposed to be loose and enjoying the ‘freedom’ of a human. For one, he may have been part of a mass slaughter at a mine which earned him the name Murderbot and he may have removed the controls that force him to obey commands and protocols. And, he most definitely may be addicted to entertainment vids. First, he just wanted to explore freedom and not belong to anyone even a kindhearted scientist who wouldn’t exploit him, but he also feels a need to take it to the GrayCris corporation who use up and kill both humans and bots in their greedy quest for more.
Murderbot is still being talked about on the news channels so he must keep a low profile. This involves pretending to be human and a security expert fooling other artificial intelligence and bots as well as the humans. He constantly gets into trouble and forced to fall back on his original programing which inclines him to protect and save humans. This recent quest to dig up more dirt on GrayCris to help his scientist friend leads him into a new bad situation and an intriguing encounter with another bot who seems to like and want to be human.
As I said before, I enjoy the humor, but I also enjoy Murderbot’s thoughts on who and what he is and how he interacts with those around him. The suspense and action scenes don’t hurt. My only niggle is how short each book is though, yes, it is fully developed and self-contained (and, though I didn’t purchase this Whoa is the price steep).
While I read the first two installments of the series, I had the chance to get Rogue Protocol in audio. It was my first experience with Kevin Free’s narration. I enjoyed his voice and the distinction of character voices. His cadence threw me off a little in the beginning, but I adjusted and ended up liking his narration work by the end.
I am eager to move on to the final segment of this story arc and look forward to more adventures with Murderbot. Those who enjoy sci-fi set in future space should give these a go.
Be sure to read these books in order, or you’re going to be hopelessly lost. I’ve actually finished all of the Murderbot Diaries up through Network Effect (#5) and am anxiously awaiting the release of book #6 in April, 2021.
These books show just how humane a non-human can be. Highly recommend!
If you haven’t read any of the Murderbot books, you are in for a treat. The writing is great and this was such an enjoyable read.
You have to read the whole series! Just read them all!
I read over half this story today because I couldn’t stop! There was danger and snark! Very glad I already have #4!
I enjoyed this book a great deal. But not quite as much as the previous two. This one started slow. I think it was the lack of setting the conflict quick enough. Right after the conflict was set, the book hit a wallow and I almost put the book down. I was glad I didn’t, the end of the book grabbed me by the throat and drug me through. I’m not sure why book two and book three are broken into two books. Combined they make an average length book. They also deal with the same topic the investigation that got the murderbot in trouble. I’d hate to think the publisher made it two books in order make more money.
David Putnam author of the Bruno Johnson series.
The hero (?) is a military grade robot that deleted it’s governing program when being repaired from intense damage and then went AWOL. So there is a lot of effort being made to find it. It’s trying to find out how it got so damaged, as its memory has been wiped. So it’s hiring out as a Security Bot while it researches its past. It’s a little like “Total Recall” for Killbots, and very craftily constructed and very tension filled. I have them all now. Great stuff.