Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory
Ratings154
Average rating3.9
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A good short story that adds a nice bit of character development.This takes place shortly after [b:Exit Strategy 35519109 Exit Strategy (The Murderbot Diaries, #4) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1518642623l/35519109.SY75.jpg 56934601] and before [b:Fugitive Telemetry 53205854 Fugitive Telemetry (The Murderbot Diaries, #6) Martha Wells https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1589475583l/53205854.SY75.jpg 80438420]. If you are reading this series I recommend reading this if you have the chance, if you skip it you really won't miss anything plot-critical, though you will be missing out on a little scene-setting, some well done (and rather sobering) character development and a few quite good jokes.
So I immediately went into murderbot withdrawal, and failing having another novel right now, I settled for a short story. This is the only story I'm aware of in the series that is not from Murderbot's perspective
TL;DR
I can't give it a bad score because it's free, not much happens on this very short story. Just a little interaction showing how all the experiences are weighing in on Dr. Ayda Mensah.
My Scoring System
I have five things I look for in a book, if the book checks all five it's a 5/5 stars book, if it checks none it's a 1/5 stars and everything else is a combination:
✓ - Main Story: Very short but it's free.
X - Side Stories (if it applies):
✓ - Characters: Mensah is my second favorite character behind ART so it's always nice to see her.
X - Setting/Ambiance: Preservation Station isn't as interesting as other locations visited in previous entries.
✓ - Ending: Not very satisfying but again, it's free.
Extensive Review
You can read the story here for free:
https://reactormag.com/home-habitat-range-niche-territory-martha-wells/
I wish this was longer. I think that the conversations it started to have about trauma and recovery were important to be had, but because it was so short, it didn't feel as impactful. However, seeing as the next book is a full-length novel, I'm hoping we get more of Mensah's recovery as well as SecUnit's continued character development.
Good story in the Murderbot Diaries. It's an excellent stepping stone from Exit Strategy to Fugitive Telemetry, but at the same time it's hard not to feel that it's unnecessary for readers of the sixth novella. It's an interesting change for Wells to write from the prospective of a character other than Murderbot, but I might have enjoyed reading a voice even more distinct from SecUnit's. Overall ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
This short story primarily focuses on Mensah (irritatingly called by her first name Ayda here) is nice enough but doesn't live up to the standards of the rest of the series.
Most disappointingly, Murderbot itself is hardly ever present and just at the moment when it got interesting, the story was at its end.
This is a “deleted scene”, such as you might watch on Youtube. It gives you a bit more of the characters interacting with each other, but it's a scene rather than a story.
It probably doesn't appear as a part of any complete story because it's too quiet: it would slow the pace of these stories. There's no current crisis, and almost no action; just conversations.
I originally gave it two stars, as a deleted scene, but I quite enjoy it, and I think it has a valid place as part of the series as a whole, so I'm willing to up that to three.