The Murderbot Diaries

The Murderbot Diaries is a science fiction series by Martha Wells following a part-human, part-robot security construct who has hacked its own governor module and just wants to be left alone to watch TV serials. Dry, anxious, and unexpectedly warm, the series blends action, found-family dynamics, and sharp social commentary across a format that moves fast — most entries are novellas that can be read in a single sitting.

Author: Martha Wells
Genre: Science Fiction · Space Opera · Novellas
Format: Novellas + Novels · Kindle Unlimited & Audible
Status: Ongoing series · Apple TV+ adaptation in development

The Murderbot Diaries won the Hugo, Nebula, Locus, and Alex Awards, making Martha Wells one of the few authors to sweep genre fiction's major prizes with a single series. If you enjoy progression fantasy for its character-driven power systems and found-family dynamics, Murderbot scratches a very similar itch — just in a sci-fi skin with considerably more social anxiety.

Reading Order

The series is best read in publication order. The first four novellas form a tight arc and feed directly into Network Effect, the first full-length novel. Reading out of order is possible but you will miss the character development payoffs that the novellas build carefully. Get our reading guide published as a blog post.