Platform Decay by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #8) * * * * *
The Murderbot Diaries is one of my favourite series of all time, so I was very excited to read this one. It did not disappoint. Before starting it, what I really wanted was another fun adventure with Murderbot, and that is exactly what I got. Fast pace, danger, sarcasm, strange humans, emotional growth, and a setting that felt genuinely interesting.
This series means a lot to me because it is actually the series that got me back into reading a few years ago. Before that, I mainly read long books, but I found that nowadays I just could not get into those 500+ page stories anymore. Reading The Murderbot Diaries made me realise that a book does not have to be huge to have interesting worldbuilding, strong characters, and a complex story. These books are short, but they are never empty. They move quickly, but they still have emotional weight. That balance is something I really appreciate, and it is also something not many books manage to deliver.
The main reason I love the series, though, is Murderbot itself. It is such an unusual and interesting main character. Murderbot is sarcastic, awkward, deeply observant, and not human, which means it often looks at humans as if they are the strange ones. That alone makes the narration funny, but there is also something very relatable about it. Murderbot is often interpreted as neurodivergent, and I can absolutely see why. The way it processes people, emotions, social expectations, danger, and discomfort makes the whole series feel sharp, funny, and strangely familiar.
The story of Platform Decay follows Murderbot on a new mission inside a massive space station. The station is a torus, which means it encircles an entire planet. I actually had to look up exactly what that meant, but once I understood the concept, I found it fascinating. The station is divided into different zones, and some of them are designed to mirror environments on Earth. There is a forest zone, a desert city zone, and other areas that each come with their own atmosphere and challenges. I really enjoyed moving from one zone to the next, because there was always that feeling of, “What are they going to find here?”
The station itself felt lived-in. It did not feel like a blank science fiction backdrop. It felt like a place with history, movement, and everyday life. At times, I could almost imagine planning a strange futuristic holiday there, which is always a good sign for a setting. Some parts were easier to picture than others, but that may also be because halfway through the book, life got busy and I switched to the audiobook. I was often doing something else while listening, so I probably missed some of the visual detail that I would have caught more clearly on the page.
As usual with Murderbot, the mission does not exactly go as planned. I do not want to say too much about the mission itself, because there are details that are better discovered while reading. There is also an early twist that expands the mission, and I liked how that changed the shape of the story without making it feel messy. The book has a constant sense of danger, with one obstacle after another, but it never felt too busy to me. The movement is part of the fun. There is always something happening, but it still feels controlled. The story is tense, fast, and satisfying, with enough unexpected problems to keep it from becoming predictable.
What stood out to me most, though, was Murderbot’s emotional development. Murderbot is still sarcastic. It is still uncomfortable around humans. It still reacts to feelings with irritation, avoidance, or something close to “no shit.” But in this book, it also feels more emotionally aware. There is an “emotion check” element, where Murderbot becomes more conscious of what it is feeling, even if it does not always appreciate that awareness. That felt very true to the character. It is not suddenly transformed into someone soft and open. It is still Murderbot. But it is also growing.
I especially noticed that growth near the end, when the immediate danger calms down and Murderbot finally has a moment to sit with everything. That is where the emotional progress felt most apparent to me. The book is not only about the mission. It is also about how Murderbot deals with some of the trauma from the previous books, and how it continues to become more of a person in its own mind. The growth is subtle, but meaningful. It does not feel forced. It feels earned.
I also enjoy Murderbot most when it is forced to interact with people, and there is plenty of that here. Those moments are often funny because Murderbot is trying so hard to deal with humans, social situations, feelings, and danger all at once. But they are also intense, because those interactions show how far Murderbot has come. It is still uncomfortable. It is still sarcastic. But it is also more attentive, more aware, and more connected than it used to be.
About the audiobook, I have to say that the narrator was not my favourite. There was nothing wrong with the performance. He was a competent reader, and I would not tell people to avoid the audiobook. It is just that his voice did not match the Murderbot voice in my head. I always imagined Murderbot with a much deeper voice, while the narrator’s voice had more of a middle pitch for a man. That is completely personal preference, though. It did not ruin the story for me. I just prefer reading Murderbot with my eyes.
As part of the series, Platform Decay is interesting because it continues some events from the previous books, but it also works as its own story. It feels connected to what came before, but I do not yet know whether it is the beginning of a new arc or a more separate adventure. Either way, it works. It has a complete and satisfying ending, while still leaving room for more.
For me, this was five stars. It was another fun, fast-paced adventure, but it was not only that. Murderbot is growing as a person, slowly and awkwardly and in its own very Murderbot way, and seeing that progress made me genuinely happy.
It is still sarcastic, still overwhelmed by humans, still trying to survive the mission, but it is also learning how to live with itself.
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