Right now, Apple TV+ is airing Murderbot, its new sci-fi comedy starring Alexander Skarsgård as a self-hacking security android — called a SecUnit — which has gained autonomy. It could live up to its chosen name and be a Murderbot...but it would much rather binge watch TV shows. Who among us?
Murderbot has been going over extremely well with critics and audiences alike. As of this writing, it holds a sky-high critic rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes, and reviews have been positive across the board. The show hasn't yet been renewed for a second season, but it seems likely that we'll get to see more.
The success of Murderbot has been especially exciting to watch for many science fiction readers, who were already well-acquainted with the beloved book series by author Martha Wells. Since 2017, Wells has released five novellas and two novels in The Murderbot Diaries, with more on the way. The series has won numerous awards, including the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus, and carved out an incredibly passionate fanbase. The show primarily adapts the first novella, All Systems Red, so there's plenty more source material if it continues.
But The Murderbot Diaries is far from the only book series that Wells has written. Wells published her first novel, The Element of Fire, in 1993, and has consistently released books ever since, including series like The Books of the Raksura and Ile-Rien, the fantasy novel Witch King, the YA series The Emilie Adventures, and tie-in works for Star Gate Atlantis, Star Wars, and Magic: The Gathering. She's had a long and winding career, which is now reaching a new high thanks to the Murderbot show.
We had the opportunity to interview Wells about seeing her books adapted and her future plans for The Murderbot Diaries, as well as the recent Tordotcom re-releases of her older works, her upcoming Witch King sequel Queen Demon, and more.
DANIEL ROMAN for Winter Is Coming: Murderbot is airing now on Apple TV+, and the reception seems to have been pretty great so far. What has your experience been like working the show adaptation?
MARTHA WELLS: It's been an excellent experience. Since 2021 when I first started to talk about it with Paul and Chris Weitz, it's been a bright spot at times when I really needed something fun and exciting to think about. It's been a great learning experience, too.
WiC: What are some of your favorite aspects of the Murderbot television show?
MW: It's hard to pick just one, but I'll say the cast's interpretation of the characters just delights me so much. I love the fact that they've brought these characters to life.
WiC: Was there anything you were especially nervous about with the show from an adaptation perspective? And how are you feeling now that you've seen it all?
MW: I don't think there was really anything that I was nervous about, except maybe that something would happen at the last minute and it wouldn't get shown. I saw the complete pre-production version first, and it was so incredibly good, even without the special effects or the final version of the music or anything. And I saw the last part of the post-production version probably in March, and I was even happier with it. The thing that struck me is that it was so gripping, even after knowing the story, and reading the different versions of the scripts.
WiC: Assuming the show gets more seasons, is there any particular book or part of the series you're especially looking forward to seeing on screen?
MW: I'm looking forward to ART showing up, and to see more Sanctuary Moon.
WiC: You've talked before about how The Murderbot Diaries came at a crucial time in your career, helping you continue writing at a time when things seemed uncertain. Looking back, what have been some of the biggest highlights for you of this journey with the series?
MW: I think the places I've been able to visit have been one of the biggest highlights. Events I would never have otherwise been invited to, fabulous things I wouldn't have otherwise seen. And being able to watch the filming of the show was a huge highlight.
WiC: Do you have any idea how many more Murderbot Diaries books you'd like to write in the series, or are you figuring that out as you go along?
MW: Right now I'm contracted for two more, and I haven't really thought beyond that at this point.
Editors note: Since this interview, Wells confirmed to The New Yorker that she has finished the eighth Murderbot Diaries book, titled Platform Decay.
WiC: Tordotcom has been re-releasing a lot of your older stories, some of which were previously pretty hard to find. The latest is The Emilie Adventures, which released the same week as Murderbot premiered on Apple TV+. How did the conversations come about to do these re-releases, and what's it been like revisiting your past works over these last few years?
MW: It's been kind of hard, in some ways. The oldest one was published over 30 years ago, and my writing had changed so much, and I had changed so much as a person since then. Some of the books were written at very difficult times in my life, for example when my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Revising the books brought back a lot of those memories.
WiC: I wanted to sneak in at least a few questions about Queen Demon, the sequel to Witch King you have coming out later this year. I loved the first book, and was pleasantly surprised when it was announced you were releasing a sequel, since Witch King was marketed as a standalone. At what point did you know you were going to continue the story for Kai?
MW: At the time I wrote it, I wasn't sure if readers would like it, or if I would even want to write a second volume. But they did, and I did, so I started working on Queen Demon. It's basically an old habit from the period in my career when each book I was able to get published might be the last, so I tried to make everything as standalone as possible. But I really liked writing about Kai and Ziede and their world, so I was very glad to have a chance to go back to it.
WiC: Along those lines, how has your experience working on Witch King and Queen Demon been
different from your experience working on The Muderbot Diaries?
MW: Murderbot has a very narrow perspective on its world, since it doesn't talk about anything except what it's specifically interested in at that moment. So writing third person fantasy, when I'm a lot more free to describe a much larger world, is kind of a relief at times.
WiC: Are there any books or authors in the sci-fi and fantasy genres that you've read recently and particularly loved?
MW: Don't Sleep With the Dead by Nghi Vo, The Nightward by R.S.A. Garcia, The Martian Contingency by Mary Robinette Kowal, A Palace Near the Wind by Ai Jiang, Long Live Evil by Sarah Rees Brennan. I'm looking forward to reading The Witch Roads by Kate Elliott and The Potency of Ungovernable Impules by Malka Older, plus a bunch of others.
WiC: Final question! I asked Alexander Skarsgård this question, and I'm curious about your answer as well. Murderbot is obsessed with shows like The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon; in the Apple show it even has to defend this series when people claim it's bad. What is your own personal Sanctuary Moon?
MW: TV shows were company for me growing up, just like books, so I've had a lot of different Sanctuary Moons over the years. Recently, my favorites have been Elementary, Only Murders in the Building, Doctor Who, Andor, Strange New Worlds, Lower Decks, Discovery, and The Expanse.
A huge thank you to Martha Wells for stopping by the site to talk Murderbot, Queen Demon, and more! Check out her website to learn more about her work and stay up-to-date on all her latest projects.
Murderbot is deep into its first season on Apple TV+. New episodes air Fridays (or Thursday nights for the late-night crowd). We've been reviewing it all season and will have our ear to the ground for updates about a renewal, so make sure to check back for more.
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