Rogue Protocol
2018
- franchise:the murderbot diaries
- series:the murderbot diaries
- form:novella
- genre:science fiction
- fiction
- androids
- human-computer interaction
- artificial intelligence
- robots
The story
"Sci-Fi's favorite antisocial AI is back on a mission. The case against the too-big-to-fail GrayChris 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."
What it’s like
Dry, deadpan narration carries this novella, so the reading experience is more about voice than scenery: a sardonic, self-deprecating inner monologue that clips along in short, punchy sentences and lands its jokes with a flat, sideways precision. The world is a corporate-run frontier of mining outposts, transit stations and bleak corridors, rendered through a machine's hyperattentive eye, with plenty of readouts, feeds and surveillance noise that gives it a cool, slightly synthetic texture. It reads well on a slow Sunday, on a long train ride, or as a light comfort read between heavier books. Pacing is brisk and episodic, with bursts of action and long stretches of wry internal commentary. The emotional register is warm beneath the sarcasm: a self-avoiding, socially awkward android slowly, reluctantly reaching toward the people around it. Violence occurs in short, sharp fight scenes with some blood and mechanical damage, but it is brief and never lingers on gore; the tone stays more amused than frightening. Ideal for readers who enjoy witty, character-driven science fiction and a protagonist who would rather be left alone.
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