Recommended order
The recommended reading order keeps the opening four books together, places the Preservation-station stories before Network Effect, and pairs that book with System Collapse. Compulsory and Rapport function as retrospective additions. Obsolescence comes last as an independent reading choice.[1-12]
The advantage of this reading order is that it preserves the opening sequence, gives the Preservation-station developments before the later survey, and avoids interrupting the connected Network Effect and System Collapse storyline. The tradeoff is that it departs from both publication order and strict chronology, so Compulsory and Rapport are encountered later than their fictional placement. Obsolescence is deferred because it has no established chronological connection to Murderbot’s story.[1-12]
It’s necessary to read The Murderbot Diaries in the recommended order, as it integrates the additional perspectives and keeps the closest continuations together, by following this sequence:[1-12]
| Order | Cover | Title | First published | Continuity note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
All Systems Red | 2017[13] | Establishes Murderbot, the Preservation team, and the opening corporate conflict. |
| 2 |
|
Artificial Condition | 2018[14] | Develops Murderbot’s independent travels and introduces ART. |
| 3 |
|
Rogue Protocol | 2018[15] | Connects the independent journey to the unresolved GrayCris investigation. |
| 4 |
|
Exit Strategy | 2018[16] | Brings the opening conflict to a turning point and establishes the Preservation aftermath. |
| 5 |
|
Compulsory | 2018[17] | Offers an optional look back at a mine assignment after the opening arc. |
| 6 |
|
Home | 2021[18] | Shifts to Mensah’s perspective during the early Preservation-station period. |
| 7 |
|
Fugitive Telemetry | 2021[19] | Develops station relationships before the later survey. |
| 8 |
|
Network Effect | 2020[20] | Begins the connected colony storyline after the Preservation-station episodes. |
| 9 |
|
System Collapse | 2023[21] | Continues the colony situation without an intervening earlier-set story. |
| 10 |
|
Rapport | 2025[22] | Revisits ART’s earlier experiences after its crew’s larger role has been established. |
| 11 |
|
Platform Decay | 2026[23-24] | Builds on the colony storyline’s relationships, capabilities, and corporate conflicts. |
| 12 |
|
Obsolescence | 2019[25] | Follows separate characters. |
Chronological order
The chronological order follows Murderbot’s fictional timeline, treating each work as a whole rather than rearranging its internal flashbacks. Rapport has a broad placement between Artificial Condition and Network Effect, but its timing against the intervening adventures is not fixed. Obsolescence is unnumbered because its Kidland Station story has no established chronological link to that timeline.[1-12]
The advantage of reading in chronological order is that it follows Murderbot’s experiences, changing circumstances, and developing relationships with fewer returns to earlier periods. It also places the Preservation-station stories before the later survey and keeps the colony storyline moving from Network Effect into System Collapse.[1-12]
The tradeoff is that Compulsory provides a narrower introduction than All Systems Red, while inserting Rapport early interrupts the opening sequence and introduces more of ART’s human circle before its later role develops. Because Rapport can only be placed broadly between Artificial Condition and Network Effect, this route also contains more chronological uncertainty than the recommended order.[1-12]
Alternatively, The Murderbot Diaries may be read in chronological order by following this sequence:[1-12]
| Order | Cover | Title | First published | Chronological note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
Compulsory | 2018[17] | An earlier mine assignment, before the Preservation survey. |
| 2 |
|
All Systems Red | 2017[13] | The Preservation survey begins the central sequence. |
| 3 |
|
Artificial Condition | 2018[14] | Murderbot’s independent travels follow the survey. |
| 4 |
|
Rapport | 2025[22] | Takes place sometime after Artificial Condition and before Network Effect. |
| 5 |
|
Rogue Protocol | 2018[15] | The Milu investigation follows the RaviHyral journey. |
| 6 |
|
Exit Strategy | 2018[16] | Continues the consequences of the Milu investigation. |
| 7 |
|
Home | 2021[18] | Occurs during the early Preservation aftermath. |
| 8 |
|
Fugitive Telemetry | 2021[19] | The station investigation precedes the later survey in Network Effect. |
| 9 |
|
Network Effect | 2020[20] | The later survey leads into the colony storyline. |
| 10 |
|
System Collapse | 2023[21] | Continues the colony crisis from Network Effect. |
| 11 |
|
Platform Decay | 2026[23-24] | A later mission builds on the colony storyline’s consequences. |
| — |
|
Obsolescence | 2019[25] | No established chronological connection to Murderbot’s story. |
Publication order
The publication order keeps the initial four-book sequence intact and presents later additions in the sequence in which they were published.[13-25] The advantage of reading in this way is that All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, and Exit Strategy remain together. The retrospective works such as Compulsory, Home, Fugitive Telemetry, and Rapport are encountered after readers already know the characters, relationships, or situations they expand.[1-12]
The tradeoff is that the publication order moves back and forth in the fictional timeline. Obsolescence interrupts Murderbot’s continuing story before Network Effect, while Home and Fugitive Telemetry return to an earlier Preservation period after Network Effect has already begun a later storyline. Most significantly, those two earlier-set works separate Network Effect from System Collapse, requiring readers to leave the colony storyline and then return to its continuation.[1-12]
As such, The Murderbot Diaries may also be read in publication order by following this sequence:[13-25]
| Order | Cover | Title | First published | Publication note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
|
All Systems Red | 2017[13] | Opens the central narrative. |
| 2 |
|
Artificial Condition | 2018[14] | Continues Murderbot’s journey beyond the survey. |
| 3 |
|
Rogue Protocol | 2018[15] | Develops the continuing GrayCris investigation. |
| 4 |
|
Exit Strategy | 2018[16] | Completes the opening run of connected adventures. |
| 5 |
|
Compulsory | 2018[17] | Revisits an earlier mine assignment. |
| 6 |
|
Obsolescence | 2019[25] | Presents the separate Kidland Station narrative. |
| 7 |
|
Network Effect | 2020[20] | Establishes the colony-centered storyline. |
| 8 |
|
Home | 2021[18] | Returns to the Preservation aftermath of Exit Strategy. |
| 9 |
|
Fugitive Telemetry | 2021[19] | Presents a station case set before Network Effect. |
| 10 |
|
System Collapse | 2023[21] | Resumes the colony storyline. |
| 11 |
|
Rapport | 2025[22] | Looks back to ART’s earlier experiences. |
| 12 |
|
Platform Decay | 2026[23-24] | Continues beyond the colony storyline. |
Works in sequence
For the principal continuing story, the required books are All Systems Red, Artificial Condition, Rogue Protocol, Exit Strategy, Network Effect, System Collapse, and Platform Decay. These seven works carry the main narrative forward and should not be skipped when following Murderbot’s continuing story.[1-4][8-9][11]
Home, Fugitive Telemetry, and Rapport are recommended but not required. Home develops Mensah and the Preservation aftermath, Fugitive Telemetry adds a self-contained Preservation Station case, and Rapport expands ART and its crew through another viewpoint. All three may be skipped without losing the continuity of the principal narrative.[6-7][10]
Compulsory and Obsolescence are the safest skips. Compulsory is an independent earlier Murderbot episode, while Obsolescence follows a separate cast and has no established chronological dependence on Murderbot’s story.[5][12]
1. All Systems Red
All Systems Red (2017)[13] follows a rented security construct protecting a survey team on a dangerous planet. Its secretly disabled governor module and attachment to entertainment complicate the role its human clients expect it to perform.[1]
This book establishes Murderbot’s relationship with Mensah and the Preservation team, together with the corporate conflict that drives the opening sequence.[1]
2. Artificial Condition
Artificial Condition (2018)[14] follows Murderbot as it investigates a troubling gap in its past while traveling under an assumed human identity. Passage aboard a research transport brings an unusual ally and a new security assignment.[2]
Its exploration of Murderbot’s history and introduction of ART establish relationships and knowledge needed for later adventures.[2]
3. Rogue Protocol
Rogue Protocol (2018)[15] sends Murderbot to an abandoned terraforming facility to investigate GrayCris’s activities. An assessment team and its human-form assistant bot complicate an operation meant to remain covert.[3]
The investigation draws Murderbot’s independent travels back toward the unresolved Preservation conflict, providing the situation that Exit Strategy continues.[3]
4. Exit Strategy
Exit Strategy (2018)[16] follows Murderbot as its return from Milu becomes an effort to locate and protect Mensah. Corporate surveillance and pursuit bring it back into contact with members of the original survey team.[4]
This installment brings the opening GrayCris crisis to a turning point and establishes the circumstances behind the later Preservation-station stories.[4]
5. Compulsory
Compulsory (2018)[17] places a secretly independent SecUnit at a company mine when a worker faces an emergency. The unit must choose between its assigned duties and an intervention it is not authorized to make.[5]
This earlier, self-contained episode contrasts corporate expectations with Murderbot’s voluntary behavior without supplying a prerequisite for the continuing plot.[5]
6. Home
Home (2021)[18] follows Mensah on Preservation Station as she faces council concerns about SecUnit and the effects of her recent ordeal. Political conversations and ordinary tasks reveal pressures that Murderbot’s own perspective does not fully capture.[6]
By shifting the viewpoint to Mensah, Home develops the personal and institutional aftermath of Exit Strategy.[6]
7. Fugitive Telemetry
Fugitive Telemetry (2021)[19] brings Murderbot into a suspicious-death investigation on Preservation Station. Cooperation with Station Security tests its methods, negotiated freedoms, and ability to work within local restrictions.[7]
This self-contained case develops Murderbot’s standing among the station’s residents, making it a useful bridge between the opening arc and its later survey work.[7]
8. Network Effect
Network Effect (2020)[20] begins with Murderbot protecting a Preservation survey before an attack pulls the team into a crisis far from home. The mission draws together human colleagues, machine intelligences, and an isolated colony.[8]
It brings the ART relationship into Murderbot’s wider circle and establishes the colony situation that System Collapse resumes.[8]
9. System Collapse
System Collapse (2023)[21] follows Murderbot and its allies as they confront the remaining dangers surrounding the isolated colony. Corporate intervention and Murderbot’s own disrupted functioning complicate efforts to protect the colonists’ choices.[9]
Its dependence on the colony, personnel, and unresolved problems of Network Effect makes it a continuation rather than a separate starting point.[9]
10. Rapport
Rapport (2025)[22] follows Iris and Perihelion during a research mission through a station undergoing a corporate takeover. Perihelion’s altered behavior becomes a concern alongside the team’s dangerous passage.[10]
Through the perspective of the ship’s human crew, this story reframes the ship’s relationship with another machine intelligence, adding context without being necessary to understand the intervening adventures.[10]
11. Platform Decay
Platform Decay (2026)[23-24] sends Murderbot and Three into an immense planetary torus to extract members of Mensah’s family. Fragmented transport networks and corporate factional conflict complicate the rescue.[11]
This mission builds on relationships, capabilities, and consequences established in the colony storyline, making Network Effect and System Collapse important groundwork.[11]
12. Obsolescence in Take Us to a Better Place
Obsolescence, a story included in the story collection Take Us to a Better Place (2019),[25] follows Commander Jixy as she investigates a violent death aboard Kidland Station. Questions about medical augments and station access shape an investigation in a community built around care and safety.[12]
Its separate cast and self-contained investigation allow independent reading, without establishing a chronological connection to Murderbot’s adventures.[12]
References
- All Systems Red. Tordotcom. ISBN: 9780765397539.
- Artificial Condition. Tordotcom. ISBN: 9781250186928.
- Rogue Protocol. Tordotcom. ISBN: 9781250191786.
- Exit Strategy. Tordotcom. ISBN: 9781250191854.
- Compulsory. Subterranean Press. ISBN: 9781645241720.
- Home. Tor Books. ISBN: 9781250838865.
- Fugitive Telemetry. Tordotcom. ISBN: 9781250765376.
- Network Effect. Tor Books. ISBN: 9781250229861.
- System Collapse. Tor Books. ISBN: 9781250826978.
- Rapport. Tor Books. ISBN: 9781250425362.
- Platform Decay. Tor Books. ISBN: 9781250827005.
- Take Us to a Better Place. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Obsolescence. ISBN: 9781595910288.
- All Systems Red. Macmillan Publishers.
- Artificial Condition. Macmillan Publishers.
- Rogue Protocol. Macmillan Publishers.
- Exit Strategy. Macmillan Publishers.
- The Future of Work: Compulsory, by Martha Wells. Wired.
- Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory. Macmillan Publishers.
- Fugitive Telemetry. Macmillan Publishers.
- Network Effect. Macmillan Publishers.
- System Collapse. Macmillan Publishers.
- Rapport: Friendship, Solidarity, Communion, Empathy. Macmillan Publishers.
- Platform Decay. Macmillan Publishers.
- Platform Decay. Tor Publishing Group.
- Take us to a Better Place. Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Copyright page. ISBN: 9781595911117.