"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."

First, read the story that started the Murderbot phenomenon in All Systems Red!

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied 'droid - a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as "Murderbot." Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is (and to watch its favorite show in its downtime.)

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and Murderbot to get to the truth.

Then, In Artificial Condition Murderbot teams up with a Research Transport vessel named ART (you don't want to know what the "A" stands for), and together, they infiltrate the mining facility where Murderbot went rogue to try to understand its past.

What it discovers will forever change the way it thinks...