If you loved how Murderbot methodically sifted Preservation Station’s logs and security feeds to crack the corpse on the concourse—snarking at Station Security’s protocols while doing real detective work—then you’ll dig the locked-room puzzle aboard the generation ship in Six Wakes. A crew of clones wakes to multiple murders and wiped memories, forcing a rigorous, tech-forward investigation with escalating stakes. Like Murderbot casing camera angles with Indah’s team, this mystery leans on forensic detail, ship systems, and sharp suspicion among a small crew.

Murderbot’s dry asides about human media, its grumpy competence, and its muttered "I hate this" while saving everyone are half the fun of Fugitive Telemetry. The Kaiju Preservation Society delivers the same breezy, quip-rich voice as a crew wrangles world-sized problems (literally kaiju) with banter, competence, and heart. If Murderbot’s sarcastic commentary while negotiating with Indah and protecting Dr. Mensah made you grin, Scalzi’s fast, funny momentum will feel like home.

If Murderbot’s in-your-head, first‑person running commentary—juggling analysis, snark, and sudden bursts of competence while tracking a killer through Preservation Station—hooked you, The Spare Man gives you that same immediacy. Socialite-turned-sleuth Tesla Crane narrates with sharp humor as she investigates a shipboard murder, using tech, misdirection, and stubborn decency in tight corridors and security choke points that’ll echo Murderbot’s tense interviews with Station Security.

Part of the charm of Fugitive Telemetry is its compact scope: Murderbot and a handful of Preservation folks combing specific decks and vendors, following breadcrumb trails through constrained spaces. Finna does the same—two retail workers plunge into uncanny showroom “backrooms” to recover a missing person, relying on improvisation and nerves. If you liked Murderbot’s focused corridor-by-corridor hunt and tense, small-team problem solving, this intimate, punchy romp will click.

Beneath the murder puzzle, Fugitive Telemetry warms because Murderbot will absolutely throw itself between Dr. Mensah and danger—and even begrudgingly respects Indah’s people. If that slow, reluctant attachment and competence‑driven care is what you loved, The Long Way to a Small, Angry Planet centers a diverse crew whose bonds deepen through shared crises and kindness. It scratches the same itch as Murderbot quietly choosing its people and protecting them without making a fuss.