I’m usually alone in my head, and that’s where 90-plus percent of my problems are. The New York Times and USA Today bestselling Murderbot series exploded onto the scene with “one of the most humane portraits of a nonhuman I’ve ever read” (Annalee Newitz). Now one of the most relatable AIs in science fiction returns in its first standalone novel. It calls itself Murderbot, but only when no one can hear. It worries about the fragile human crew who’ve grown to trust it, but only where no one can see. It tells itself that they’re only a professional obligation, but when they’re captured and an old friend from the past requires urgent assistance, Murderbot must choose between inertia and drastic action. Drastic action it is, then.