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Books like The Murderbot Diaries
Snarky narrators, thoughtful AIs and stories about being a person.
Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie
Another AI in a human-shaped body, working out who it is while seeking revenge.
+ Assured, gripping and stylish space opera, both fun and conceptually ambitious.
− Not entry-level; one critic found the characters weak and the ideas simple. (summed up from Wikipedia (reception))A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
A gentle, short story about a tea monk and a robot asking what people need.
+ A joyful, cosy and thoughtful novella that leaves a warm feeling and a hopeful outlook.
− Some details feel jarringly familiar, at odds with the gentle, equal society it imagines. (summed up from Wikipedia (reception))We Are Legion (We Are Bob) by Dennis E. Taylor
An uploaded mind becomes a space probe. Funny first-person narration.
+ An entertaining premise with enjoyable explorations of space tech and astrophysics.
− Juvenile execution: cheesy dialogue, too many pop-culture references, no character growth and no subtlety or surprises. (summed up from Yevgeniy Brikman)Klara and the Sun by Kazuo Ishiguro
Told by an artificial friend watching humans closely. Quiet and moving.
+ A haunting, elegant fable with a memorable robot narrator whose quiet observations land with real weight.
− The gene-editing background is vague, and some felt it falls short of his best work. (summed up from Wikipedia (reception))The Martian by Andy Weir
If Murderbot's sarcasm is the draw, Mark Watney's survival log has the same dry humour.
+ Sharp, funny and thrilling, with ingenious survival problems and just enough geekery.
− The jokey tone can undercut tension, and it feels set in the present day. (summed up from Kirkus Reviews)
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