A Review: Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells
Book 5 of the Murderbot Diaries, Network Effect, was a real high for me. It was the first full-length novel of the series, and it made good use of its page count to take us on an emotional journey. Fugitive Telemetry is a return to the novella length. But can we go back now?
When Murderbot discovers a dead body at Preservation Station, it is forced to assist station security in the investigation. This presents Murderbot with the unthinkable task of voluntarily speaking to humans.
The Murderbot Diaries is like a very consistent musician: someone who knows their genre and knows how to deliver hit after hit because they understand what the people want. Fugitive Telemetry is similar. It’s funny, it has excellent action, and a mystery story with twists and turns that keep you guessing as you try to solve the mystery yourself.
However… something bothered me.
There isn’t much change to be seen in Murderbot in this book. The change comes mostly from the people around it, presenting us with a flat character arc. This isn’t always a bad thing. A flat character arc is simply one in which a character doesn’t change, and instead, the world (or other characters) changes in response to them. Some of our favorite stories and characters have these types of arcs, but for some reason, this story’s flat arc didn’t hit quite as well as I would have liked.
We had a similar experience with Murderbot’s crew/found family—particularly Dr. Mensah—in previous installments, but because it was a bit less personal, I think it just didn’t resonate with me as well.
It is partially a problem of expectations that I had that wasn’t met. Based on the first couple novellas, there was very little that I could have expected from the series. But after Murderbot’s experiences with Miki, ART, and Amana, I wanted more development of that sort, however, what I got was a return to a lighter, plot-driven story that I was perfectly content with at the beginning of the series.
Regardless of this disappointment, it was just as charming and well crafted as any other Murderbot story in the series, and had I entered it with the right expectations, I think it would have been better received for me.
It does appear that this novella has presented an opening for a whole new larger, multi-book story for The Murderbot Diaries, and I very much hope that’s the case, because I’m here for it. And if you enjoyed the previous adventures, I think you will be too.
