Exit Strategy [Dramatized Adaptation]

The Murderbot Diaries [Dramatized Adaptation] #4

by Martha Wells, Aure Nash (reader), Alysia Beltran (reader)

Murderbot wasn’t programmed to care. So, its decision to help the only human who ever showed it respect must be a system glitch, right?

Having traveled the width of the galaxy to unearth details of its own murderous transgressions, as well as those of the GrayCris Corporation, Murderbot is heading home to help Dr. Mensah—its former owner (protector? friend?)—submit evidence that could prevent GrayCris from destroying more colonists in its never-ending quest for profit.

But who’s going to believe a SecUnit gone rogue?

And what will become of it when it’s caught?

Adapted from the novel and produced with a full cast of actors, immersive sound effects and cinematic music!

Genres: Science Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Space, Adult, Queer, Space Opera

3 pages, Audio CD

Published November 16, 2023

About the author

Martha 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+.

Reviews

[Suhailah [Got a new job! Trying to keep up] · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dramatized Adaptation Audiobook ☆☆☆☆☆

So entertaining and fun!! The danger felt out of this world!

♡Buddy listen with my husband♡

My Husband’s Rating: 20/10 ☆ (because why not?)
He was so glad Murderbot reunited with Mensah and the OG team! He is also excited about the introduction of “the little human” as I warned him that dynamic becomes highly entertaining!

~ This one really brought Murderbot’s “oh shit” moments to life!
~ Still floating over Mensah and Murderbot’s interactions! It felt even more real listening to it! All the ‘feels’ all over again.
~ This novella has some of the best action scenes of the series! Hollywood-approved! I.am.so.excited.for.the.TV.show!!! I have been watching all the news about the casting choices, and I couldn’t be happier!

My original review for the novella can be found here.

[Tabatha (tab.talks.books) · Rating 3 out of 5]

* 3⭐️0🌶️
* This book did a really great job of getting into the action. I listened to this on audio and it was a full cast which made it so nice. I loved all the voices for everyone.
* Murderbot, the rogue security unit, returning to its former owner and friend, Dr. Mensah, to provide evidence against GrayCris Corporation. However, Mensah is now in danger, accused of espionage, and Murderbot must rescue her while also battling GrayCris forces. The novella is a blend of high-stakes action, political intrigue, and Murderbot's ongoing struggle with its own identity and emotions as it navigates a dangerous situation

[Branden · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️

The plot thickens. I’m enjoying these books more and more as I move along the series. Definitely more action, though that could certainly be the dramatic adaptation that I’m listening to. Who care though. I’m enjoying it, and that’s all that matters.

[Natasha Brooks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yay book one characters return!! I enjoyed this one because it linked in so well with the first three and so much of what happened built to this book. I love Murderbot, I’m excited to see what his life is like now that he’s kind of not on the run anymore. Also love his obsession with “media”.

[Therése · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think switching to GraphicAudio after only reading the previous entries meant things just didn’t align with what I had in mind. Buuut it’s another MB. The robot-person likes to watch his shows but also cares about his humans. And so it goes.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew addicted to this series from possibly the first scene and have read and listened to the older iterations of each book. Graphic Audio is my latest form of enjoying the series yet again.

The series is told from the perspective of a non-human, fully sentient, half-biological half-tech Security Unit bot. It has personhood though it prefers this not be mistaken for humanity.

Murderbot is wry in humor, but also a keen observer. It doesn't like having emotions, but it doesn't let feelings stop it when a job needs to be done. And, it is exactly who and what it is and doesn't want to be more human, no thank you very much.

Murderbot is in the wind and hiding among the humans from the big corporation, Gray Cris, and still pondering humans, human behavior, and ways to continue blending in so it can binge watch the entertainment feeds. If only its need to protect innocent humans didn't get in the way. But, the human who first treated it like a person has gone missing and it needs to do something about that along with all the data it's gathered to bring down GrayCris.

David Cui Cui and the rest of the Graphic Audio cast did a wonderful job on Exit Strategy which had some wonderful harrowing and action-packed scenes that the cast, music, and sound effects turned into a colorful sensory experience.

Exit Strategy is the fourth and final in this first season plot arc and it finished wonderfully. I look forward to a new series of adventures for Murderbot and can highly recommend this easy-read sci-fi adventure series.

[Kim Pelletier · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars. I will start this review by stating I listened to the audiobook for book 4 here before I listened to book 3, so take that into consideration when reading my review. Things are definitely starting to pick up story and plot wise, but this series still just isn’t doing it for me. I truly thought that by book 4 things would have gotten much better for me and I’d actually enjoy this series, but alas, that’s not the case. This isn’t to say this book or series is bad! The concept, like I’ve said before, is good! A murder bot adventure sci-fi book? Yes please! I’m just really struggling to enjoy this series and I cannot put my finger on it as to why.

Having missed book 3 I wasn’t entirely confused or out of the loop for the events of this book, so that’s not a major detriment (though if you’re reading this, don’t skip book 3, follow the series in order lol). And again, the action and the pace is really starting to pick up and overarching plots are starting to really take shape and start coming to the forefront of things. For short stories this series isn’t bad, I’m just not personally clicking with the series and unfortunately this is my last chance for this series (although I will listen to the audiobook for book 3).

I do still recommend the Murder Bot Diaries to anyone who likes sci-fi robot stories that have that murder mystery element to them! They aren’t long books (and the audiobooks are only 3-4 hours long), so they’re quick reads/listens, they just aren’t for me unfortunately.

[Diana T-C · Rating 4 out of 5]

Graphic Audio version - a nice alternate experience of Murderbot books. If only the voice actor for SecUnit/Murderbot would slow down. The voice actor for Mensah should have been a mature woman.

It's interesting to hear sound effects with the story and the graphic audio version sticks close to the original book. However, Murderbot's inner talk, observations of humanity and bits of humor get tossed aside in favor of narrating lines at breakneck speed.

Perhaps if the reader of SecUnit's lines paid attention, lines would be delivered appropriately. Where Mensah is telling SecUnit to stand down and not take over the gunship, SecUnit responds something like "You have to be calm to take over a gunship" (paraphrasing from memory) but this speedy reader of SecUnit's lines says it to Mensah like "YOU have to be calm . . . etc etc" and totally misses the deadpan response. These mistakes bring the listener out of the story as we have to figure out what happened and why conversations don't make sense.

This is entertaining, but the audio books narrated by Kevin Free are a better experience of Martha Wells writing.

5* for the writing by Martha Wells - 2* for the flawed graphic audio product sold - 3* average

[Lily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Murderbots freeeee !! Maybe?

I’m very interested to see the path murderbot chooses to take in the rest of the series! And I’m so glad Mensah and the crew are back ☺️ their dynamic is so fun to watch unfold as murderbot and the human crew learns/unlearns certain behaviours.

On to the next!

[Kerry Gibbons · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another stellar installment from Murderbot.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 🌈🌈.5

[Bcky · Rating 4.25 out of 5]

4.25

[Brian Korner · Rating 5 out of 5]

By this point, I’ll probably start showing spoilers for the books, but I have to say this book was just as enjoyable as the first. Not so much because it brought back the characters from the first book but because it told a story that built off the second and third books.

What I liked most about this one was that Murderbot is starting to make decisions that are not logical for his best interest, maybe a bit of compassion?

Regardless, I am curious to see where the story goes from here. Murderbot is left with various options at the end, and he has a strong support system.

Prime opportunity for some tragedy to start happening.

So far the past few books have had individuals die, but in this one I’m not sure anybody did, or at least they weren’t important.

Looking forward to the next one though!

[unzeniablybookish · Rating 5 out of 5]

In Exit Strategy Murderbot returns to the Corporation Rim with evidence to help clear his and Dr. Mensah's name. It learns that Dr. Mensah is being framed for a couple of thing by GrayCris. So it immediately goes on a rescue mission.

I loved that the original team from the first book returned in Exit Strategy. Murderbots interaction and teaming up with them again is such a highlight for me. It's internal struggle with disliking humans, but disliking this particular group of humans (maybe even liking them) is such a good part of the book.

!! SPOILER!!


In the end Murderbot chooses to stay with dr. Mensah and the rest of the group, it gets new identification documents and got to choose what it wanted to do.

[ᒪᗴᗩᕼ · Rating 4 out of 5]

•My Rating: 4/5•

Try this if you like:
• sci-fi novella
• deep space action and adventure
• rogue Artificial Intelligence that’s relatable
• snarky inner dialogue mixed with cynical independence
• autonomy & identity
• full cast audio dramatization
• single POV

Notes: Murderbot is back with Mensah, and I was here for it.
Narration: Two thumbs up👍🏻👍🏻 for the Graphic Audio Narrators!!! Also, I don’t care if you’re offended by a thumbs-up emoji👍🏻

[Margie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So good. I really enjoy these dramtizations. Even just adding the background music really intensifies the action. Great story as well. Even though I've read the full books, I still feel all the excitement and emotions that I did the first time around.

[A · Rating 5 out of 5]

My favorite installment in the Murderbot series so far!

[MC · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another solid installment of the series. I immersive read the last 15 percent and it helped with the names. I will find the next one relatively soon.

[Carl Yank · Rating 4 out of 5]

Exit Strategy brings us deeper into the world of Murderbot as he continues to evolve and amaze.
Yes I'm now even more adicted to this series, bring on the 5th novel.

[Rachel Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great installation in the Murderbot series. The graphic audiobooks are the best way to listen to this series. 5/5 star narration!

✨ 5/5 stars ✨

[Megan Herek · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are so addicting.

[Jeana Cheque · Rating 4 out of 5]

I listened to the GraphicAudio, which I really like. I did have to slow it down to 85% though. My brain isn't used to listening to action books and I was having a hard time keeping up with the plot. He took his evidence to where he thought Dr. Menza was. Then, he found out that she had been kidnapped for ransom by Graychris. They were going to use the money to hire The Company to destroy The Preservation. Murderbot worked with the remaining members of Menza's team to find and rescue her. He convinced the bot pilot of The Company's gun ship to let his humans aboard. It spoke in code, but was more complex than Ship from the previous book. Graychris found them and started to hack the tech on the gunship to get Murderbot back. The ship sent an SOS to Murderbot, asking for his help in the same manner he'd asked the bot pilot for help. So, he helped. Murderbot went into the bot pilot's system and fought side by side with it to counter the hack. This left his body more compromised than a physical attack. Murderbot's neural pathways are expanding, and he's getting smarter, but this was too much in a short period of time. He also had wounds from the fighting before they boarded. He almost died. When he woke up, it took several days before he was back to 100%. He was told that he tried to sacrifice himself to save Menza. She offered him the same deal as last time. To give him a place to live until he figured out what he wanted to do. He got a job offer from the company he'd assisted in the last book. Maybe he'll find out that they saved Mickey?

[Yvonne Fortin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Operation Not Actually a Completely Terrible Plan

Exit Strategy is a fantastic continuation of Murderbot’s evolution, and this may be the most unapologetically Murderbot-y installment yet. David Cui Cui leans hard into Murderbot’s sarcastic, cocky personality, and I loved every minute of it.

The story moves ​f​ast, with an enormous amount of interconnected action, hacking, and callbacks to the previous books. This is definitely not one to listen to with half an ear! Murderbot’s hacking becomes increasingly sophisticated as its skills develop, but the writing keeps those sequences exciting rather than repetitive. Every hack feels like a race against the clock: disable this, block that, override the other thing—before someone gets hurt. The station battle and escape sequence were especially well done in the audio adaptation, with excellent sound effects and action choreography.

But underneath all that action is Murderbot’s growing humanity. It risks itself to save Mensah, refuses to endanger innocent civilians even when it would make things easier, allows Mensah to hug it (the ultimate sacrifice), and finally admits why​ it loves Sanctuary Moon

The ending is particularly satisfying: Murderbot has options, resources, potential employers, and even the possibility of a documentary about itself. MEDIA! It still doesn't know exactly what it wants to do next, but for the first time, it gets to figure that out for itself.

​Story: ★★★★☆​
Production: ★★★★☆

[Kimberly R · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/4 Stars : Okay, four books into The Murderbot Diaries series now, so if you are still reading I think you know by now if you like the series or not. While this was a great addition to the storyline and included some fun new characters, for me, this one seemed to be lacking appeal compared to prior books. Many action sequences are between different droids and bots and condensed towards the end of the book. While there was humor throughout there was more watching of Murderbot's favorite media, hello Sanctuary Moon, it seemed to be a bit more than normal. The ending was pretty awesome though, but also predictable given the focus of everything leading up to it. However, I will most certainly be reading the next books and still enjoyed this one overall!

My review is for the Graphic Audio production of Exit Strategy which is an abridged audio production of the full story.

[A H · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, how is it possible that I can love the murder bot as a character even more? The more I learn about him, the more endearing he becomes. I enjoyed this book greatly.

The only negative is at one point a character cried out a blasphemous “morher gods.” That made me very sad.

This book also showed more of a desire for violence from Murder Bot, but always either in self defense or to protect the ones he loves.

Great world building. I felt like I was there. Graphic Audio Audiobook did a phenomenal job as always in that regard too.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun ride as always 4.5 ⭐️

I listened to the Graphic Audio this time around… and MAN I do love me some sassy pants SecUnit.

We went back to his woman in this book (which I wish the woman was ME 🙄🤚🏽!) Anyways… SecUnits feelings are only growing… and growing for Dr.Mensah??? Guys I’m keeping count of how many times he grabs a girl by the waste by saving her. MARTHA WELLS KNOWS WHAT SHE IS DOING???

I have a goal to finish this series by May when the new AppleTV+ Series comes out. I hope they do this series justice and make it good. CROSSING MY FINGERZ AND TOEZ

👹👏

[Jac · Rating 3 out of 5]

As much as I enjoy the humour and action in every Murderbot edition. This one was very much lacking in plot. I felt like this novella could have been added to the last one or even added to #5. It felt very lacking In substance and purpose as I was wondering why this was it’s own separate thing it honestly felt like a second half to story instead of its own individual thing.
This oops won’t stop me from continuing though.
Onward to book 5!!!!

[Deb the Reading Bee · Rating 4 out of 5]

After the emotional ending of part 3 in the series, this part features a combination of way more alone time with inner monologues and strategizing, as well as more action, once Murderbot discovers his old original crew might be in danger and Mensa is likely kidnapped for ransom.

After all the action and fighting, they are for the first time truly faced with the decision to decide where to go and what to do without being seen as a SecBot and with free will.

[Erika · Rating 4 out of 5]

These audio dramatization are really quite good. The voice actors like David CuiCui really play the roles well. Sounds and music add to the depth of the performance too. The only criticism I have is that the Graphic Novel version is abridged or at least modified from the printed one.

It's not like large chunks are left out but definitely sentences and paragraphs.

I like to sometimes read while listening and it can be a challenge.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, by this one I'm starting to see some patterns and story points more clearly. Obviously a commentary on AI technology and human use of it, but I also feel like Martha is addressing neurodivergency throughout the books. So many different parallels between Murderbot and several autistic adults I'm friends with. I apologize if this has been part of the point the whole time 🙃. But still: super sci-fi, but very well written.

[Kat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basic Plot: Murderbot goes to rescue Mensah and figure out what it wants from its existence.

This is a definite close to the arc so far, bringing Murderbot together with its crew from the first book. It's a really good finish, while leaving plenty of space open for more stories later. The pacing is solid, the humor is on point, and the action is intense. A great entry.