Review copy provided by the publisher.
I got this in the mail today and immediately read it. Now, yes, it is December and my TBR is perilously small. But also: new Murderbot! Yay! Still delighted to see more of this series.
In this episode: Murderbot has installed code that allows/requires “emotion checks” periodically, so we get to see the self-awareness process evolve with that (and sometimes devolve…). Murderbot is also assisting with the extraction of several humans, including juveniles and an elder. Juvenile humans do all sorts of things that alarm, annoy, and in some cases terrify Murderbot. This is all to the good.
(“Terrified” is never the response to an emotion check. Obviously. Like the kid in The Princess Bride, Murderbot is sometimes a bit concerned, that’s all. Definitely only a bit concerned.)
Unfamiliar systems, unfamiliar humans, what else could be called for here…oh, wait, is it the consequences of Murderbot’s own actions? WELP. Lots of fun. Still recommend. Don’t start here, it’s mid-ramification.