Short Story Review – Compulsory (Murderbot, Book 0.5) by Martha Wells (4/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 8 pages
Publisher:‎ Subterranean Press
Release Date: July 28, 2023
ASIN: ‎ B0CD39L16K
Stand Alone or Series: Prequel short story set in the Murderbot world.
Source: Bought eBook for Kindle
Rating: 4/5 stars

“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.”

Series Info/Source: This is a short story related to the Murderbot world, I believe it is a prequel to the series. I bought this on ebook for my Kindle.

Thoughts: I enjoyed this quick look into earlier in Murderbot’s life. This takes place shortly after Murderbot hacked his governor module, when he is still working as a SecUnit for a corporation. I believe this is the story that started it all.

This only took me 5 minutes or so to read. However, it packs a lot of story for its short length and I enjoyed it. It starts to take a look at what can happen with a robot/human has to start making decisions on its own rather than decisions driven by commands.

My Summary (4/5): Overall I enjoyed this and I think it is worth reading if you are a Murderbot fan. This also works fine as a stand alone since it introduces us to Murderbot. It is a very short story though, so the Kindle price was a bit steep for what you are getting.