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I think that is a new and interesting protagonist tbh. So many are heros or have to develop into heroism. It’s refreshing to just have someone who explicitly do

I think that is a new and interesting protagonist tbh. So many are heros or have to develop into heroism. It’s refreshing to just have someone who explicitly doesn’t save the world or similar stakes.

VyseofArcadia 2y ago
Maybe the pop culture obsession is new, but the snarky, reluctant protagonist is something I have seen enough to be kind of tired of. Off the top of my head, Murderbot also reminds me of the protagonist of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City which I recently read. If you enjoyed Murderbot, take that as a recommendation, although it is less sci-fi and more historical fiction.
- SamoyedFurFluff 2y ago
  Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City has a protagonist who is reluctant but is forced to face huge stakes, namely the fall of a city at war. Murderbot is interesting for more than its reluctance: the stakes are distinctly different and far more about introspection and self actualization.
- Slippery_John 2y ago
  Orhan is quite different though - he's a braggart unreliably narrating his own story after most of the events have transpired. You can't believe his reluctance, it's a show he's putting on to make himself look better. The entire story feels like it too, credit to the author. Murderbot is not that. What you see of them is as genuine as their perspective can be. Murderbot may be snarky, but it doesn't have the same braggadocious air, and I do think that changes the character and story significantly. And if you're a similar kind of neuro-atypical then it can be a refreshing bit of heroic representation. I will give Sixteen Ways some credit though - at least it ended. I don't particularly like the ending, but it is one. Murderbot falls off hard by the time the series gets to full length novels.
layer8 2y ago
While I liked it for what it is, the reluctant antihero isn’t exactly a new concept, other than possibly in the present aspect of being a semi-autistic robot/AI.

VyseofArcadia 2y ago

Maybe the pop culture obsession is new, but the snarky, reluctant protagonist is something I have seen enough to be kind of tired of. Off the top of my head, Murderbot also reminds me of the protagonist of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City which I recently read. If you enjoyed Murderbot, take that as a recommendation, although it is less sci-fi and more historical fiction.

SamoyedFurFluff 2y ago
Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City has a protagonist who is reluctant but is forced to face huge stakes, namely the fall of a city at war. Murderbot is interesting for more than its reluctance: the stakes are distinctly different and far more about introspection and self actualization.
Slippery_John 2y ago
Orhan is quite different though - he's a braggart unreliably narrating his own story after most of the events have transpired. You can't believe his reluctance, it's a show he's putting on to make himself look better. The entire story feels like it too, credit to the author. Murderbot is not that. What you see of them is as genuine as their perspective can be. Murderbot may be snarky, but it doesn't have the same braggadocious air, and I do think that changes the character and story significantly. And if you're a similar kind of neuro-atypical then it can be a refreshing bit of heroic representation. I will give Sixteen Ways some credit though - at least it ended. I don't particularly like the ending, but it is one. Murderbot falls off hard by the time the series gets to full length novels.

layer8 2y ago

While I liked it for what it is, the reluctant antihero isn’t exactly a new concept, other than possibly in the present aspect of being a semi-autistic robot/AI.