What do you think?
Rate this book
The Murderbot Diaries #0.5
Compulsory
Murderbot—the sardonic, almost-homicidal, media-loving android created by Martha Wells—has proven to be one of the most popular characters in 21 st century science fiction. Everything that makes this protagonist (it would be wrong to call Murderbot a hero) beloved of fans is on display in Compulsory.
While trying to watch episode 44 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, Murderbot is—again, what is it with humans?—distracted by something that is technically outside its purview. A miner is suddenly in danger following a pointless (to Murderbot’s way of thinking) argument, and the choice is to risk discovery and leap into action, which would require hitting the pause button during a very exciting part of SanctuaryMoon, or to follow orders and stay still.
This is a tougher choice than it seems. But then, when has Murderbot ever been faced with an easy choice?
A shorter version of this story originally appeared in Wired magazine.
While trying to watch episode 44 of The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon, Murderbot is—again, what is it with humans?—distracted by something that is technically outside its purview. A miner is suddenly in danger following a pointless (to Murderbot’s way of thinking) argument, and the choice is to risk discovery and leap into action, which would require hitting the pause button during a very exciting part of SanctuaryMoon, or to follow orders and stay still.
This is a tougher choice than it seems. But then, when has Murderbot ever been faced with an easy choice?
A shorter version of this story originally appeared in Wired magazine.
8 pages, ebook
First published December 17, 2018
639 people are currently reading
13963 people want to read
About the author
Martha Wells
109 books24.8k followersMartha Wells has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, the Ile-Rien series, The Murderbot Diaries series, and other fantasy novels, most recently Witch King (Tordotcom, 2023). She has also written media tie-in fiction for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won Nebula Awards, Hugo Awards, Locus Awards, and a Dragon Award, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the British Science Fiction Association Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, the Sunday Times Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. She is a member of the Texas Literary Hall of Fame, and her books have been published in twenty-five languages.
She is also a consulting producer on The Murderbot Diaries series for Apple TV+.
She is also a consulting producer on The Murderbot Diaries series for Apple TV+.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,186 reviews
September 9, 2023
“Since I hacked my governor module, it’s not like I haven’t thought about killing the humans. But once I started exploring the company servers and found hundreds of hours of downloadable entertainment media, I just thought, there’s no hurry. I can always kill the humans later, after the next series drops.”
So apparently this is an illustrated version of a teeny-tiny blink-and-you-miss-it prequel for Murderbot series that was published in Wired magazine a few years ago, and this version is fully worth the dollar it’s priced at because Murderbot. (And because it’s published separately for a price, Amazon/GR no longer need to wage the “not-a-book” battle here, so there!)
“My risk assessment module indicated that there was at least a 53% chance of a human on human massacre before the end of the contract.”
For established fans of a certain anxiously shy and cynically grumpy media-obsessed SecUnit with the hacked governor module, with hard armor on the outside and soft marshmallow on the inside. (And please never let Murderbot find out I’ve made this joke).
“Nobody likes SecUnits. I am one, and even I don’t like us. We’re part human, part bot constructs, rented out as part of the company safety bond, and we’re creepy and we make everybody nervous and uncomfortable, and if we didn’t have governor modules to flashfry our brains if we refuse an order, we’d rampage and kill all the humans and augmented humans. Or maybe we’d just watch entertainment media for the rest of our hellish existence. Personally I could go either way.”
4 stars. I need “Sanctuary Moon” to become a real show like yesterday.
——————
Also posted on my blog.
August 14, 2023
I am 100% a Murderbot fan girl and am incapable of an unbiased opinion. Of course I loved it. I loved it so much I read it twice back to back. Do not expect critical thinking from me regarding anything Murderbot. 💘
August 8, 2023
Almost a fragment. A hint of what Murderbot's conditions are under a not-so-nice team.
"Even the humans think about killing the humans, especially here."
"Even the humans think about killing the humans, especially here."
July 15, 2025
Even though I generally avoid both very long and very short stories, I will always make an exception for the "missing scene" tropes. In this case: a small glimpse into a freshly-hacked Murderbot's state of mind. And it truly is all sorts of funny and heart-breaking. And that's with four casual death threats in what is a less than a 10-minute-long stream of consciousness.
To be clear, my excitement for these types of stories only happens when I'm already a big fan of the main series... or of one of the characters, at least. Any YA trilogy I've wishy-washily thrown a "meh" rating, is unlikely to squeeze out some more dough for yet another short story.
So if you're new to The Murderbot Diaries series, come back after reading the first four books (which would put you in publication order). Trust me, the whole thing will hit differently.
Score: 4/5 stars
=============
Review of book 1: All Systems Red
Review of book 2: Artificial Condition
Review of book 2.5: Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy
Review of book 3: Rogue Protocol
Review of book 4: Exit Strategy
Review of book 4.5: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Review of book 5: Network Effect
Review of book 6: Fugitive Telemetry
Review of book 7: System Collapse
To be clear, my excitement for these types of stories only happens when I'm already a big fan of the main series... or of one of the characters, at least. Any YA trilogy I've wishy-washily thrown a "meh" rating, is unlikely to squeeze out some more dough for yet another short story.
So if you're new to The Murderbot Diaries series, come back after reading the first four books (which would put you in publication order). Trust me, the whole thing will hit differently.
Score: 4/5 stars
... we're creepy and we make everybody nervous and uncomfortable, and if we didn’t have governor modules to flashfry our brains if we refuse an order, we’d rampage and kill all the humans and augmented humans. Or maybe we’d just watch entertainment media for the rest of our hellish existence. Personally I could go either way.
=============
Review of book 1: All Systems Red
Review of book 2: Artificial Condition
Review of book 2.5: Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy
Review of book 3: Rogue Protocol
Review of book 4: Exit Strategy
Review of book 4.5: Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Review of book 5: Network Effect
Review of book 6: Fugitive Telemetry
Review of book 7: System Collapse
August 4, 2023
I would read Murderbot’s grocery list. Loved it, of course.
November 26, 2023
Look what I found! A Murderbot short story I haven’t read! Yay. It’s very very very very very short – but it works splendidly when you are still wondering what to read after having finished two longer Murderbot books.
Life is not easy for a SecUnit with a hacked governor module – free will is doing strange things to you, while you have to pretend to be a cyborg without free will.
“Nobody likes SecUnits. I am one, and even I don’t like us. […] and if we didn’t have governor modules to flashfry our brains if we refuse an order, we’d rampage and kill all the humans and augmented humans. Or maybe we’d just watch entertainment media for the rest of our hellish existence. Personally I could go either way.”
Murderbot rescues a human in a mine: “Sekai made an “eep” noise. I wanted to make an “eep” noise too but I was busy.” Then it can go back to episode 44 of Sanctuary Moon...
Life is not easy for a SecUnit with a hacked governor module – free will is doing strange things to you, while you have to pretend to be a cyborg without free will.
“Nobody likes SecUnits. I am one, and even I don’t like us. […] and if we didn’t have governor modules to flashfry our brains if we refuse an order, we’d rampage and kill all the humans and augmented humans. Or maybe we’d just watch entertainment media for the rest of our hellish existence. Personally I could go either way.”
Murderbot rescues a human in a mine: “Sekai made an “eep” noise. I wanted to make an “eep” noise too but I was busy.” Then it can go back to episode 44 of Sanctuary Moon...
August 14, 2023
Did I spent 99 cents on an eight page short story? Yes. Was it silly to spend almost a dollar on an eight page short story? Yes. Would I do it again in a heartbeat? Yes. Would I buy Martha Wells's grocery list if she wrote "The Murderbot Diaries" on it? Yes.
November 24, 2025
murderbot had the freedom but had to pretend otherwise. following corporate protocols, watching humans make terrible decisions, internally screaming the entire time. bound by contracts nobody knew were hacked.
the corporate exploitation is real, but murderbot's running commentary makes it darkly funny instead of bleak. you get security unit action while murderbot judges everyone.
what got me was seeing murderbot's personality already intact - the protective instincts, the humans-are-idiots observations. free but couldn't show it.
short and punchy. left me wanting the main series immediately.
murderbot fans need this origin story. best read before all systems red or when you need to remember murderbot was always this way.
the corporate exploitation is real, but murderbot's running commentary makes it darkly funny instead of bleak. you get security unit action while murderbot judges everyone.
what got me was seeing murderbot's personality already intact - the protective instincts, the humans-are-idiots observations. free but couldn't show it.
short and punchy. left me wanting the main series immediately.
murderbot fans need this origin story. best read before all systems red or when you need to remember murderbot was always this way.
December 1, 2023
It's about time I shifted the review to this edition:
Oh, how I miss Murderbot! I always love how Murderbot is so cool under pressure but is instantly nervous while interacting with others. I wanna read the final book but I don’t want this series to end. This is a very short read but I loved reading Murderbot’s pov again.
Oh, how I miss Murderbot! I always love how Murderbot is so cool under pressure but is instantly nervous while interacting with others. I wanna read the final book but I don’t want this series to end. This is a very short read but I loved reading Murderbot’s pov again.
January 15, 2024
“IT’S NOT LIKE I haven’t thought about killing the humans since I hacked my governor module.”
□ A very short prequel Story for The Murderbot Diaries □
This short story is free to read
here
This story fills us in on the mining incident (I believe this may have been mentioned in All Systems Red) that occurred in Murderbot’s past after it hacked its own governor module.
Murderbot is doing what it does best (binging TV shows) when a miner accidentally falls into danger, and Murderbot must decide whether or not to save her and risk exposing its inert governor module.
“With my governor module inert, I sometimes do things and I’m not entirely sure why. (Apparently getting free will after having 93 percent of your behavior controlled for your entire existence will do weird things to your impulse control.)”
This very moment sets the stage for Murderbot’s future actions and definitely explains why Murderbot does what it does in the first novella. It’s a perfect snippet of what to expect in the diaries and could be perfectly and comfortably read before or after the first novella, All Systems Red.
☆☆☆☆☆
5 stars always for Murderbot!
2024 Monster Mash Challenge:
|Pennywise Category|
◇ Read a book that the cover is white. ✔️
□ A very short prequel Story for The Murderbot Diaries □
This short story is free to read
here
This story fills us in on the mining incident (I believe this may have been mentioned in All Systems Red) that occurred in Murderbot’s past after it hacked its own governor module.
Murderbot is doing what it does best (binging TV shows) when a miner accidentally falls into danger, and Murderbot must decide whether or not to save her and risk exposing its inert governor module.
“With my governor module inert, I sometimes do things and I’m not entirely sure why. (Apparently getting free will after having 93 percent of your behavior controlled for your entire existence will do weird things to your impulse control.)”
This very moment sets the stage for Murderbot’s future actions and definitely explains why Murderbot does what it does in the first novella. It’s a perfect snippet of what to expect in the diaries and could be perfectly and comfortably read before or after the first novella, All Systems Red.
☆☆☆☆☆
5 stars always for Murderbot!
2024 Monster Mash Challenge:
|Pennywise Category|
◇ Read a book that the cover is white. ✔️
May 18, 2025
“Nobody likes SecUnits. I am one, and even I don’t like us.”
Great short story, prequel to All Systems Red. Only issue is I didn’t want it to end.
Great short story, prequel to All Systems Red. Only issue is I didn’t want it to end.
December 15, 2024
What is it about Murderbot that makes me want to hang out with it all the time?
June 21, 2024
Compulsory
4⭐+❤️
Livro prequel da série The Murderbot Diaries que tem apenas 8 páginas e com isso posso dizer que foi a leitura mais rápida que eu já fiz na vida levei apenas 5 minutos kkkkkk mas apesar de ser rápido foi bem divertido e vemos um pouquinho mais do nosso robô favorito em uma missão de resgate eu particularmente gostei bastante pra que leu só o primeiro livro traduzido ou pra quem leu só os principais sem ler esses curtos recomendo esse demais é uma leitura rápida divertida e te faz gostar ainda mais desse universo e desses personagens realmente muito bom.
4⭐+❤️
Livro prequel da série The Murderbot Diaries que tem apenas 8 páginas e com isso posso dizer que foi a leitura mais rápida que eu já fiz na vida levei apenas 5 minutos kkkkkk mas apesar de ser rápido foi bem divertido e vemos um pouquinho mais do nosso robô favorito em uma missão de resgate eu particularmente gostei bastante pra que leu só o primeiro livro traduzido ou pra quem leu só os principais sem ler esses curtos recomendo esse demais é uma leitura rápida divertida e te faz gostar ainda mais desse universo e desses personagens realmente muito bom.
October 17, 2025
Murderbot Prequel
A review of the Subterranean Press eBook (July 20, 2023) of a short story published earlier in Wired magazine (December 17, 2018).
I didn't get on the Murderbot train when the books first came out, but became interested when the TV-series premiered and when I also learned that it was filmed here in Toronto and other parts of Ontario, Canada. I did enjoy reading book #1 All Systems Red due to the character's neurodivergent aspects.
Compulsory is an extremely short prequel (8-pages) that provides some backstory when the self-described Murderbot SecUnit worked as security on a mining planet. He has already hacked his governor module and discovered the joys of streaming entertainment. An incident between mining workers causes him to recklessly step out of SecUnit mode and intervene, at the risk of revealing his new autonomous nature.
I may follow-up further in the series as I'm currently immersed in an end of year Long Books Challenge with several GR friends to read the 400+ pagers in our TBRs. I'm going to need a few dozen or so short books in order to simultaneously meet my personal 250+ book annual target.
Trivia and Links
The Murderbot book series has been adapted for the Apple TV+ original series Murderbot starring Alexander Skarsgård as the title character. The 1st season was based on All Systems Red (Murderbot #1 - 2017) and premiered on May 16, 2025. You can watch the trailer for the series on YouTube here.
The TV series has been renewed for a Season 2 which is rumoured to be based on books #2, #3 and #4.
A review of the Subterranean Press eBook (July 20, 2023) of a short story published earlier in Wired magazine (December 17, 2018).
Nobody likes SecUnits. I am one, and even I don't like us. We're part human, part bot constructs, rented out as part of the company safety bond, and we're creepy and we make everybody nervous and uncomfortable.
I didn't get on the Murderbot train when the books first came out, but became interested when the TV-series premiered and when I also learned that it was filmed here in Toronto and other parts of Ontario, Canada. I did enjoy reading book #1 All Systems Red due to the character's neurodivergent aspects.
Compulsory is an extremely short prequel (8-pages) that provides some backstory when the self-described Murderbot SecUnit worked as security on a mining planet. He has already hacked his governor module and discovered the joys of streaming entertainment. An incident between mining workers causes him to recklessly step out of SecUnit mode and intervene, at the risk of revealing his new autonomous nature.
I may follow-up further in the series as I'm currently immersed in an end of year Long Books Challenge with several GR friends to read the 400+ pagers in our TBRs. I'm going to need a few dozen or so short books in order to simultaneously meet my personal 250+ book annual target.
Trivia and Links
The Murderbot book series has been adapted for the Apple TV+ original series Murderbot starring Alexander Skarsgård as the title character. The 1st season was based on All Systems Red (Murderbot #1 - 2017) and premiered on May 16, 2025. You can watch the trailer for the series on YouTube here.
The TV series has been renewed for a Season 2 which is rumoured to be based on books #2, #3 and #4.
May 15, 2025
(Apparently suddenly getting free will after having 93% of your behavior controlled for your entire existence will do weird things to your impulse control.)
October 25, 2024
Origin Story
This is part of Murderbot’s origin story from back before he was an actual Murderbot.
Five stars of a brief and telling story that is worth reading. But maybe I just really like Murderbot?
This is part of Murderbot’s origin story from back before he was an actual Murderbot.
Five stars of a brief and telling story that is worth reading. But maybe I just really like Murderbot?
September 19, 2025
short-short murderbot thing
November 6, 2023
Quick read to get me hyped for the upcoming new release later this month. Can’t wait!
April 2, 2025
WE LOVE YOU MURDERBOT!
August 7, 2025
Murderbot is sent on a mission.
Murderbot does the mission.
Murderbot internally monologues about how annoying humans are.
Murderbot saves the day anyway.
Classic.
Murderbot does the mission.
Murderbot internally monologues about how annoying humans are.
Murderbot saves the day anyway.
Classic.
July 6, 2025
There’s really nothing new here if you’re an established fan. It’s a very short story, essentially a single moment in Murderbot’s life, and not a substantial one. This reads like a deleted scene, a five-minute action sequence that could have happened during any of its other adventures but was cut for whatever reason. If you’re hoping for extra insight or backstory, there isn’t any. I’m not sure why this exists, honestly. I still gave it three stars because there’s nothing bad about it, but as a standalone I think it’s only needed if you feel the need to read everything related to the series.
September 10, 2023
Reprint of a Murderbot snippet originally posted in Wired magazine in 2018, set before the first novella. Supposedly longer than the original. I read both version and could not tell a difference in length. Slice of life in one of the earlier Murderbot days.
“Since I hacked my governor module, it’s not like I haven’t thought about killing the humans. But once I started exploring the company servers and found hundreds of hours of downloadable entertainment media, I just thought, there’s no hurry. I can always kill the humans later, after the next series drops.“
The ebook version has some illustrations, which was my main motivation for getting it.
For fans. I recommend that all others start with the first novella.
“Since I hacked my governor module, it’s not like I haven’t thought about killing the humans. But once I started exploring the company servers and found hundreds of hours of downloadable entertainment media, I just thought, there’s no hurry. I can always kill the humans later, after the next series drops.“
The ebook version has some illustrations, which was my main motivation for getting it.
For fans. I recommend that all others start with the first novella.
August 16, 2024
3.5⭐
A nice little short story from the 15,000 hours when Murderbot was still passing as a normal, totally-not-hacked Sec Unit.
He has to make a choice whether to save a stupid, annoying human, possibly blow his cover and get memory wiped and/or recycled.
We all know what he does.
A nice little short story from the 15,000 hours when Murderbot was still passing as a normal, totally-not-hacked Sec Unit.
He has to make a choice whether to save a stupid, annoying human, possibly blow his cover and get memory wiped and/or recycled.
We all know what he does.
March 20, 2024
Short story available from Wired.com. I don’t think it added much to the series but it stars Murderbot, so of course I liked it anyway.
September 23, 2023
Very quick read of an event in the life of our favorite cyborg before the journey that changed them forever. They could kill everyone or just decide to watch a lot of media.
Murderbot saying murderbotty things while going against their governor module to actually save someone.
Fun with Murderbot!
Murderbot saying murderbotty things while going against their governor module to actually save someone.
Fun with Murderbot!
August 12, 2023
Good for what it is...very short story, but good outline of what Murderbot stories are about...
December 23, 2023
Was it long enough to give it 5 stars? No. Am I giving it 5 stars anyway? Absolutely! Murderbot has my heart ❤️
May 7, 2024
Murderbot putting 98% of its brain into watch the TV show it's me putting 98% of my brain into audiobooks while at work.
March 18, 2025
Zdecydowanie za krótkie to opowiadanie!
February 5, 2024
So far I have thoroughly enjoyed the Murderbot series - a combination of snappy dialogue and almost constant action certainly demonstrates why this is such a fan favourite. And so we come to one of the 2 short eBooks from the series. Now these were originally published for special editions and as such were never really intended to impact the main stories - in other words you can read these or not - your enjoyment of the books will not be deminished.
However for the fans out there - who are eager for the next installment it could no be better. So what you have here is a small episode which for me demonstrates Martha Wells's understanding of her character and the dialogue to demonstrate this. A fun short episode which I enjoyed while it last - which sadly was all too short.
However for the fans out there - who are eager for the next installment it could no be better. So what you have here is a small episode which for me demonstrates Martha Wells's understanding of her character and the dialogue to demonstrate this. A fun short episode which I enjoyed while it last - which sadly was all too short.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,186 reviews