Reading order · 7 books · 2017 to 2023 · Set in invented worlds
Murderbot Diaries Books in Order
The Murderbot Diaries are narrated by a security android that has hacked its own governor module and secretly calls itself Murderbot. It would rather watch television serials than deal with humans, but it keeps having to save them. Funny, sharp science fiction.
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Series facts
- Books
- 7
- Published
- 2017 to 2023
- First book
- All Systems Red
- Latest
- System Collapse (2023)
- Setting
- Set in invented worlds
The reading order
Every Murderbot Diaries book in publication order. Choose a title for its cast and summary.
7 books · Set in invented worlds
- 1All Systems Red2017With MurderbotOn a distant planet, a security unit that has secretly hacked its own controls is protecting a team of scientists.Buy on Amazon
- 2Artificial Condition2018With MurderbotMurderbot sets out to find out what happened in its past, with help from ART, a research transport ship with a very large mind.Buy on Amazon
- 3Rogue Protocol2018With MurderbotMurderbot investigates an abandoned terraforming facility, helped by a cheerful robot.Buy on Amazon
- 4Exit Strategy2018With MurderbotMurderbot returns to help Dr Mensah, who is in danger.Buy on Amazon
- 5Network Effect2020With MurderbotMurderbot and Dr Mensah’s daughter are caught up in a kidnapping that leads to ART and a lost colony.Buy on Amazon
- 6Fugitive Telemetry2021With MurderbotA body is found on Preservation Station, and Murderbot reluctantly helps investigate.Buy on Amazon
- 7System Collapse2023With MurderbotMurderbot, still recovering, helps ART and the humans save a colony from a ruthless corporation.Buy on Amazon
Do you need to read them in order?
Read in order, starting with All Systems Red. The first four are novellas.
Who appears in which book
The series’ main characters, book by book. Lead means the book is told around them; minor covers cameos.
| Book | Murderbot | Dr Ayda Mensah | Gurathin | ART |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 All Systems Red | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | |
| 2 Artificial Condition | LLead | MMajor | ||
| 3 Rogue Protocol | LLead | |||
| 4 Exit Strategy | LLead | MMajor | ||
| 5 Network Effect | LLead | MMajor | ·Minor | MMajor |
| 6 Fugitive Telemetry | LLead | MMajor | ||
| 7 System Collapse | LLead | MMajor | MMajor | MMajor |
Characters in the Murderbot Diaries books
4 characters from Martha Wells’s chart, with the number of Murderbot Diaries books each appears in.
| Character | Books | First in this series |
|---|---|---|
| MurderbotSelf-hacked security unit | 7 | All Systems Red 2017 |
| Dr Ayda MensahPlanetary leader of Preservation | 5 | All Systems Red 2017 |
| GurathinAugmented human of PreservationAux | 3 | All Systems Red 2017 |
| ARTResearch transport ship with a large intellect | 3 | Artificial Condition 2018 |