Rogue Protocol (Martha Wells)

Rogue Protocol
The Murderbot Diaries, Book 3
Martha Wells
Tor.com
Fiction, Sci-Fi
**** (Good)

DESCRIPTION: The synthetic security unit Murderbot is on a mission to understand its past, but keeps finding more questions - many tied up with its former employer, GreyCris, which has been pulling some very shady (not to mention deadly) stunts across the worlds of the Corporate Rim. Though technically it was freed by the last clients who rented it, Murderbot won't truly be free to do what it wants - mostly avoid humans and stream media - until those questions have answers and certain unpleasant legal proceedings are resolved. Its quest takes it to an archaeological site on the half-forgotten world Milu... but, once again, a team of hapless humans with spectacularly poor timing turn up to complicate the investigation by blundering into mortal peril.

REVIEW: Rogue Protocol maintains the fast pace and snarky narrative wit of the previous two Murderbot adventures, returning focus to the larger story arc of finding out what GreyCris is up to and why it's so obsessed with alien ruins that it's willing to slaughter anyone who comes near its claims (with a heavy side-question of how any humans manage to survive without a somewhat-friendly rogue SecUnit to haul their posteriors out of danger.) The action can almost feel overwhelming; as a synthetic being, Murderbot can and does track action in multiple locations simultaneously. Other characters can sometimes be a blur, though the most important relationships are usually with other artificial entities. This time, that role is filled by Miki, a "pet" robot with a childlike mentality whose innocence about human nature is rudely shattered not just by Murderbut but by events in the story. These interactions get to the heart of Murderbot's fumbling efforts to understand its own nature and potential and what it truly wants out of its freedom, efforts it often tries to avoid by hiding in serials. Unlike the previous two tales, this one stands less on its own as it sets up a major revelation that might break open the GreyCris case/conspiracy; skirting spoilers, the reader is left on a cliff edge waiting for the actual reveal. I have the fourth book in the Kindle queue, and hope to get to it soon.

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