Martha Wells continues to prove why The Murderbot Diaries has become one of modern science fiction's most beloved series. In Rogue Protocol, Murderbot infiltrates an abandoned research station to uncover the truth behind GrayCris's illegal operations,but beneath the action lies a surprising story about identity, freedom, and friendship.

In this episode, we explore why Wells's writing is so consistently engaging, why Miki becomes the emotional center of the novella, and why this series continues to impress me... even as one recurring element is beginning to hold it back.

This is a fantastic series, and Wells does not disappoint, but the bar is being raised.

Type: Review | Book: Rogue Protocol | Writer: Martha Wells

Can ambition be moral?

In this episode, I review Moral Ambition by Rutger Bregman—a book arguing that too many of us spend our lives chasing status instead of solving meaningful problems.

We talk about how Bregman builds his case through history and biography, why his arguments are surprisingly compelling, and whether he succeeds in answering the biggest question of all:

What do you actually do after hearing the call to make a difference?

Type: Review | Book: Moral Ambition | Writer: Rutger Bregman

What if the wilderness doesn't destroy you—but reveals who you really are?

This week on Paperback Friends, we return to John Williams to review Butcher's Crossing, the novel that came before Stoner and helped establish Williams as one of the great overlooked American writers.

We follow Will Andrews as he abandons his comfortable life for a buffalo hunt deep in the American West, only to discover that the greatest struggle isn't against nature, but against himself.

A quiet novel about the wilderness, freedom, and that everything has a price – man and buffalo.

Type: Review | Book: Butcher's Crossing | Writer: John Williams