The Murderbot Diaries reading order
By Martha Wells · Last verified · 4 sources
Quick answer
Start with All Systems Red and read the main books in publication order — except Fugitive Telemetry (book 6), which Martha Wells says is set before Network Effect (book 5). The short story Compulsory comes before everything, and home: habitat, range, niche, territory is set somewhere before Fugitive Telemetry.
A science fiction series of novellas, novels and short stories, mostly published by Tordotcom, with a hardcover compilation of the early novellas.
- The series has 5 novellas, 3 novels, 2 short stories.
- In publication order, the main sequence starts with All Systems Red (2017) and the latest listed is Platform Decay (2026).
- Besides publication order, this page offers: Internal chronology.
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Verification: Some works cite only secondary or catalogue sources (9 of 10 works cite an author, publisher or official source). How we verify.
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Ordered by first publication date (original language). Derived automatically from the dates listed for each work.
- All Systems Red
- Artificial Condition
- Rogue Protocol
- Exit Strategy
- Compulsory
- Network Effect
- home: habitat, range, niche, territory
- Fugitive Telemetry
- System Collapse
- Platform Decay
Why the order isn't simple
- Fugitive Telemetry was published after Network Effect but the author places it before Network Effect.
- Two short stories are set at different points: Compulsory before All Systems Red, and home: habitat, range, niche, territory before Fugitive Telemetry.
Which order should I use?
Publication order runs from All Systems Red (2017) to Platform Decay (2026).
The internal chronology uses only the placements Martha Wells states on her site: Compulsory before All Systems Red, Fugitive Telemetry before Network Effect, and System Collapse after Network Effect. 'home' is listed but not given an exact position, because the author only says it is set before Fugitive Telemetry.
Platform Decay has no chronological position yet because no source we checked states one.
Where each order comes from
- Publication order — Derived from publication dates
- Ordered by first publication date (original language). Derived automatically from the dates listed for each work.
- Internal chronology — Story chronology
- Built only from placements stated on Martha Wells' official Murderbot page. Platform Decay is not placed. Source: The Murderbot Diaries.
Novellas & short stories
The two short stories are short and easy to miss: Compulsory first appeared in Wired (2019) and home: habitat, range, niche, territory in 2020, later reprinted on Tor.com and in the special edition omnibus.
| Title | Type | First published | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| All Systems Red | Novella | 2017 | |
| Artificial Condition | Novella | 2018 | |
| Rogue Protocol | Novella | 2018 | |
| Exit Strategy | Novella | 2018 | |
| Fugitive Telemetry | Novella | 2021 | Author's site states it is set before Network Effect. |
| Compulsory | Short story | January 2019 in Wired | Author's site places it before All Systems Red. |
| home: habitat, range, niche, territory | Short story | May 2020 | The author's site dates it May 2020 and notes a reprint on Tor.com in April 2021; it is also included in The Murderbot Diaries special edition (March 2021). The May 2020 venue is not named on the author's page. Set before Fugitive Telemetry per the author; exact placement not stated. |
Collections & omnibus editions: what's inside
The Murderbot Diaries special edition (2021) contains the first four novellas plus 'home', so it overlaps any separately bought copies of books 1-4.
Contents below are works from this series only. Tick the editions you own to check for duplicates and gaps.
The Murderbot Diaries (Special Edition)
Omnibus · 2021 · Subterranean Press / Tor.com
- All Systems Red
- Artificial Condition
- Rogue Protocol
- Exit Strategy
- home: habitat, range, niche, territory
Illustrated hardcover; illustrations by Tommy Arnold per author's site. Other omnibus editions (e.g. separate Vol. 1/Vol. 2 hardcovers) were not verified and are omitted.
Source: The Murderbot Diaries
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Where sources disagree
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Short story placement of home: habitat, range, niche, territory
The author's site says only that this story is set before Fugitive Telemetry. Its exact position relative to the earlier novellas is not stated, so we leave it unplaced in the chronological view rather than guess.
Sources: The Murderbot Diaries
Platform Decay
Secondary sources list it as book 8 due 5 May 2026 from Tordotcom; not confirmed on the author's site or a publisher page during this check, and its chronological placement is unknown.
Sources: Upcoming: PLATFORM DECAY by Martha Wells (TorDotCom)
How this page was verified
Placement statements and story details come from Martha Wells's own Murderbot page. Platform Decay's date is confirmed by a library catalogue record; its book number comes from a secondary source.
Last verified . Some works cite only secondary or catalogue sources.
Sources
Every date, order and edition listed on this page cites at least one of these. See our data methodology for how source types are ranked.
- The Murderbot Diaries — Martha Wells · Author (official) · accessed 7 October 2026 Work list, dates, omnibus contents, chronology statements.
- Upcoming: PLATFORM DECAY by Martha Wells (TorDotCom) — Civilian Reader · Secondary reference · accessed 7 October 2026 Platform Decay date and series number (secondary).
- Open Library edition records: Platform Decay — Open Library (Internet Archive) · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 Catalogued Tor Books edition dated 5 May 2026 (/books/OL61795967M). Tor/Macmillan publisher pages returned HTTP 403 to our tooling.
- Open Library edition records (first-publication year cross-check) — Open Library (Internet Archive) · Library catalog · accessed 7 October 2026 Year of first publication matched the earliest year with two or more catalogued editions for: All Systems Red (/works/OL17914663W); Artificial Condition (/works/OL19747311W); Rogue Protocol (/works/OL19753589W); Exit Strategy (/works/OL19763338W); Network Effect (/works/OL20735675W); Fugitive Telemetry (/works/OL20805971W); System Collapse (/works/OL33402895W); Platform Decay (/works/OL44660267W). Generated by scripts/audit-dates.mjs; see audit/date-crosscheck.json.
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