I’m not a Murderbot fan. I’ve only read the first one, and don’t really remember it. I didn’t dislike it, but it wasn’t what I was in the mood for at the time. Given Wells’ popularity I’ve always meant to go back and try again, but I’ve never found the time. So if you want to know how her fantasy compares to her science fiction, I can’t really help you.
I can tell you that, independent of any shadow of Murderbot, this was an excellent character-driven standalone fantasy.
Our protagonist is Kai, a demon with the ability to take over the bodies of mortals. He wakes up in a glass coffin in some kind of prison, with no knowledge of where he is or how he ended up there. But there are people there who mean to kill or enslave him, and he senses a dear friend is also imprisoned nearby. And so we’re off.
This is as clear an example of in media res as I can think of. While the story moves forwards, and Kai works out who imprisoned him, and how, and why, we also learn about his past fighting against the world-conquering nigh-invincible Hierarchs. The two threads of the book play off of each other; as we learn about something in the present, we learn about the events of the past that provide the relevant background. Kai gathers friends and allies as he goes, especially ones he was very close to during the war.
As a story goes, it is quite good. The present kept pulling me along with the whodunnit aspect of things, especially since it’s made clear that someone close to Kai had to have been involved. The past storyline kept pulling me along because I was invested in Kai and his relationships to his friends, and needed to know how those bonds were forged. But I called this character-driven for a reason. Kai is the heart of this book, and Kai is what keeps everything moving.
I called this a standalone, which I don’t actually know to be the case. There’s definitely room for Wells to write more stories in this universe if she wants to, but this book is whole and complete. There could be a sequel, but it’s not needed.
Strongly recommended, and makes me want to revisit Murderbot.