Taking place after the events of Exit Strategy (novella #4 in the phenomenal Murderbot Diaries series), Martha Well’s short story Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory is a quiet little study of one of the series’ most interesting characters. After the unpleasant events on TranRollinHyfa, Dr Ayda Mensah is back on Preservation Station with SecUnit and all of the survey team, trying to get on with her life. The trouble is, it’s not that easy to get over being kidnapped by corporate murderers, and Mensah is spending more time on finding ways to help SecUnit than she is dealing with her own pain.
Short, almost entirely action-free and told from Mensah’s point of view, this is quite different to the series’ usual approach…but rather than feeling out of place it adds further intriguing layers to these fascinating characters and the world they inhabit. Seeing SecUnit/Murderbot through Mensah’s eyes, even briefly, allows us a sense of how much comfort she gains just from knowing it’s there, and a reversed look at the bond between the two characters. For Mensah herself it’s clear that she’s still suffering in the aftermath of her kidnapping, and shying away from dealing with her problems in something of a Murderbot-esque fashion. There’s not really any conflict here, or much of a structure, it’s just a couple of gentle scenes of dialogue and Mensah’s internal voice. Murderbot fans won’t mind, though – when the characters are this good, any opportunity to spend more time with them is welcome, and this is a strangely satisfying little snippet of additional story.
See also: all my other reviews for titles in the Murderbot Diaries series.
Buy Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory on Amazon*
If you enjoyed this review and would like to support Track of Words, you can leave a tip on my Ko-Fi page.
*If you buy anything using this link, I will receive a small affiliate commission – see here for more details.