Avoiding Emotions and GrayCris

It’s time for another installment of Martha Wells’ brilliantly fun series! Today, I’m finally diving into Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4). It took me a lot longer to get to this book than I would have liked. I’d love to blame my local library, but honestly, it was just bad timing on my part.

Before we jump into the deep end, let’s do a quick crash-course recap in case anyone has forgotten where we are in the series:

• All Systems Red (#1): We meet our main SecUnit, who secretly calls itself Murderbot. Having already hacked its governor module offscreen, it reveals its independence to a planetary exploration team while saving them from the murderous GrayCris corporation.
• Artificial Condition (#2): Murderbot goes down memory lane to a past massacre site to learn what actually happened the last time its governor module malfunctioned.
• Rogue Protocol (#3): Murderbot tracks down evidence of GrayCris’s corporate wrongdoing on another planet, determined to help its former exploration team maintain their freedom.

Now that we’re all caught up, let’s dive into book four!

Facing the Feels (and GrayCris)

We pick up right where Rogue Protocol left off. Murderbot has obtained critical data that could destroy GrayCris and protect Dr. Mensah and the rest of the PreservationAux team. However, the stakes skyrocket when Murderbot discovers that Dr. Mensah has been kidnapped by GrayCris.

Because Mensah was the first human to ever treat Murderbot like a real person, this crisis forces our favorite SecUnit to deal with emotions it would much rather avoid. This theme of emotional avoidance repeats throughout the novella, and honestly, it made me think of my own teenage years. It took me a long time to get comfortable with my emotions and stop using distractions to run from them. This emotional resonance is probably why I love this series so much. What does it say that I find Murderbot is deeply relatable?

Reuniting the Crew

Murderbot travels to TranRollinHyfa, a massive transit station where GrayCris holds a major presence. Once there, it reconnects with the original PreservationAux team: Pin-Lee, Ratthi, and Gurathin, who are scrambling to rescue Mensah. Murderbot’s continued petty dislike of Gurathin remains an absolute top-tier running gag.

Together, they concoct a high-stakes plan that “might work” and just roll with it. The action is fantastic, built around tight movement through the station, constantly shifting security threats, and staying one step ahead of corporate forces.

Murderbot realizes that because it has been acting on its own to gather evidence, the corporate universe might not view its actions as independent choices. Instead, they might accuse Dr. Mensah of directing it. It is a SecUnit, after all, and they are programmed to take orders. This adds a layer of guilt to the emotions that Murderbot is already dealing with.

The Ultimate Calculation

The confrontation on the station escalates until Murderbot and Dr. Mensah are entirely trapped. In a classic heroic move, Murderbot bargains for Mensah’s escape, telling station security it will stay behind if they let its client through the barrier. While it looks like a tragic sacrifice, Murderbot confesses it mostly wanted to stay behind because it wanted to win. When its death became all but certain, it realized dying wasn’t winning, so it pivoted and escaped anyway.

The true climax unfolds during their escape out of the star system. Murderbot’s awkwardness around the hired ship’s crew is dialed up to eleven, which naturally feeds into its immense annoyance. The ship’s crew doesn’t know how to handle a rogue SecUnit, and Dr. Mensah is frustrated because Murderbot won’t let her handle the danger. It plays out like acts of teenage rebellion at every turn. To make matters worse, GrayCris refuses to back down and attacks the escaping ship with a sophisticated, intelligent virus.

To save the day, Murderbot merges with the ship, ultimately succumbing to the virus and suffering a catastrophic near-mind-wipe. What follows is a deeply touching rebuilding of Murderbot’s personality, as it uses its favorite downloaded television shows to reactivate and stitch its memories back together.

Growing Up is Hard

I loved how this novella wrapped up the initial story arc. Martha Wells keeps the narrative fresh and non-repetitive by reuniting us with the original crew, but featuring a Murderbot that has fundamentally grown. It’s dealing with feelings now, and it’s actively trying to process them. I also loved that it keeps accidentally saying its internal thoughts out loud, giving us an unintentionally exposed SecUnit. I can’t wait to read the next one!

What was your favorite Murderbot Diary so far? Or is there a later book in the series I need to hurry up and read? Let me know in the comments below!