{"id":8607,"date":"2025-06-28T00:03:05","date_gmt":"2025-06-28T05:03:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/?p=8607"},"modified":"2025-06-14T20:22:34","modified_gmt":"2025-06-15T01:22:34","slug":"tor-publishes-three-volume-set-of-martha-wells-prometheus-nominated-murderbot-novellas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/tor-publishes-three-volume-set-of-martha-wells-prometheus-nominated-murderbot-novellas\/","title":{"rendered":"TOR publishes three-volume set of Martha Wells\u2019 Prometheus-nominated Murderbot novellas"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/interview-lfs-founder-michael-grossberg-on-how-he-became-a-writer-critic-sf-fan-helped-save-the-prometheus-awards\/\">Michael Grossberg<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Good news for Murderbot fans: All of the novellas in Martha Wells\u2019 acclaimed, bestselling and Prometheus-nominated series about a self-aware robot have been bound together in paperback for the first time.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"8609\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/tor-publishes-three-volume-set-of-martha-wells-prometheus-nominated-murderbot-novellas\/murderbot1\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?fit=320%2C491&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"320,491\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Murderbot1\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Martha Wells, All Systems Red Murderbot&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?fit=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?fit=320%2C491&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8609 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?resize=196%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?resize=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1 196w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot1.jpg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a>The three-volume set &#8211; accessibly but unimaginatively titled <i>The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1, 2 and 3<\/i> &#8211; has been published by TOR Books, to capitalize on the Apple TV new TV series based on the stories.<\/p>\n<p>The set includes all four Murderbot novellas that were combined into one 2019 Prometheus Best Novel nomination and went on to be selected among that year\u2019s finalists: <i>All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol <\/i>and Exit Strategy.<\/p>\n<p><i>Network Effect, <\/i>a full-length Murderbot novel, also was nominated for a Prometheus Award in 2021 in the Best Novel category.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>Volume 1 includes <i>All Systems Red,<\/i> the story that sparked the Murderbot phenomenon, and <i>Artificial Condition.<\/i><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"8611\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/tor-publishes-three-volume-set-of-martha-wells-prometheus-nominated-murderbot-novellas\/murderbot2\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?fit=320%2C491&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"320,491\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Murderbot2\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Murderbot Diaries Martha Wells Rogue Protocol Exit Strategy&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?fit=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?fit=320%2C491&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8611 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?resize=196%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?resize=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1 196w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot2.jpg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a>Vol use 2 includes R<i>ogue Protocol <\/i>and <i>Exit Strategy, <\/i>the third and fourth novellas in the series.<\/p>\n<p>Volume 3 includes <i>Fugitive Telemetry <\/i>and <i>System Collapse, <\/i>the fifth and sixth novellas.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"8612\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/tor-publishes-three-volume-set-of-martha-wells-prometheus-nominated-murderbot-novellas\/murderbot3\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?fit=320%2C491&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"320,491\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Murderbot3\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Murderbot Diaries Martha Wells Fugitive Telemetry System Collapse&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?fit=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?fit=320%2C491&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-8612 alignright\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?resize=196%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"196\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?resize=196%2C300&amp;ssl=1 196w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/Murderbot3.jpg?w=320&amp;ssl=1 320w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 196px) 100vw, 196px\" \/><\/a>The novellas and novels center on a self-aware SecUnit or android that has hacked its own governor module to achieve greater self-awareness and independence.<\/p>\n<p>Thinking of itself privately as \u201cMurderbot,\u201d because of its original programming to kill if necessary to carry out its missions, Murderbot is rather leery of humans and just wants \u201cto be left alone long enough to figure out who it is (and to watch its favorite show in its downtime),\u201d according to a book description in File 770\u2019s news note about publication of the series.<\/p>\n<p>That suggests the libertarian appeal of the series, with its focus on bodily autonomy, individual choice, self-determination and non-aggression.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"6948\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/libertarian-futurist-society-unveils-new-logo\/lfs-icon-domain\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?fit=750%2C751&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"750,751\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"LFS-icon-domain\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;logo&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?fit=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?fit=660%2C661&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-6948 aligncenter\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?resize=300%2C300&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?resize=300%2C300&amp;ssl=1 300w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?resize=150%2C150&amp;ssl=1 150w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/LFS-icon-domain.jpg?w=750&amp;ssl=1 750w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><b>IF YOU WANT TO KNOW MORE ABOUT THE PROMETHEUS AWARDS:<\/b><\/p>\n<p>* <b>Prometheus winners:\u00a0<\/b>For the full list of Prometheus winners, finalists and nominees \u2013 including the annual Best Novel and Best Classic Fiction (Hall of Fame) categories and occasional Special Awards \u2013 visit the enhanced\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/awards.shtml\">Prometheus Awards page<\/a>\u00a0on the LFS website, which now includes convenient links to all published essay-reviews in our Appreciation series explaining why each of more than 100 past winners since 1979 fits the awards\u2019 distinctive dual focus on both quality and liberty.<\/p>\n<p>* Read <a href=\"https:\/\/quillette.com\/2020\/06\/12\/the-libertarian-history-of-science-fiction\/\">\u201cThe Libertarian History of Science Fiction,\u201d<\/a> an essay in the international magazine\u00a0<i>Quillette<\/i>\u00a0that favorably highlights the Prometheus Awards, the Libertarian Futurist Society and the significant element of libertarian sf\/fantasy in the evolution of the modern genre.<\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0Watch videos of past Prometheus Awards ceremonies (including the recent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/aiovg_videos\/2023-prometheus-ceremony-with-best-novel-presenter-sarah-hoyt-australian-dave-freer-accepting-best-novel-for-cloud-castles-heinlein-trust-society-reps-accepting-best-classic-fiction-for-heinlein-sto\/\">2023 ceremony<\/a> with inspiring and amusing speeches by Prometheus-winning authors <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/comedy-coming-of-age-and-forging-freedom-high-above-a-gas-giant-an-appreciation-of-dave-freers-cloud-castles-the-2023-prometheus-best-novel-winner\/\">Dave Freer<\/a> and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/the-corruption-of-absolute-power-vs-the-largely-stateless-shire-j-r-r-tolkiens-the-lord-of-the-rings-the-2009-prometheus-hall-of-fame-winner\/\">Sarah Hoyt)<\/a>, Libertarian Futurist Society panel discussions with noted sf authors and leading libertarian writers, and other LFS programs on the Prometheus Blog\u2019s\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/lfs.org\/blog\/videos\/\">Video page.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>* Check out the Libertarian Futurist Society\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/groups\/170484086945\">Facebook page<\/a> for comments, updates and links to Prometheus Blog posts.<\/p>\n<p>*\u00a0<b>Join us!<\/b> To help sustain the Prometheus Awards and support a cultural and literary strategy to appreciate and honor freedom-loving fiction, \u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/join.shtml\">join<\/a> the Libertarian Futurist Society, a non-profit all-volunteer association of freedom-loving sf\/fantasy fans.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Michael Grossberg Good news for Murderbot fans: All of the novellas in Martha Wells\u2019 acclaimed, bestselling and Prometheus-nominated series about a self-aware robot have been bound together in paperback for the first time. The three-volume set &#8211; accessibly but unimaginatively titled The Murderbot Diaries Vol. 1, 2 and 3 &#8211; has been published by &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/tor-publishes-three-volume-set-of-martha-wells-prometheus-nominated-murderbot-novellas\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading <span class=\"screen-reader-text\">TOR publishes three-volume set of Martha Wells\u2019 Prometheus-nominated Murderbot novellas<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1585],"tags":[2178,2180,2181,81,2174,2177,2210],"class_list":["post-8607","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction-in-the-news","tag-all-systems-red","tag-artificial-condition","tag-exit-strategy","tag-martha-wells","tag-murderbot","tag-rogue-protocol","tag-tor-books"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pe8nGl-2eP","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8607","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8607"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8607\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9344,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8607\/revisions\/9344"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8607"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8607"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lfs.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8607"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}