New 'Murderbot' book promises 'family road trip from hell': See the cover

Couldn’t get enough of Apple TV+’s “Murderbot” starring Alexander Skarsgård?

Good news, sci-fi fans: There’s a brand new “Murderbot” book by Martha Wells on the way, and USA TODAY is exclusively revealing the cover. 

“The Murderbot Diaries” series is set in a corporate space odyssey that follows a witty, sardonic android “SecUnit” who has hacked its own module and refers to itself as “Murderbot.” It has no interest in fighting aliens or the humans’ scientific work – it’d like to be left alone to watch TV, if you please. 

Wells will return in May 2026 with “Platform Decay.” Here’s everything you need to know.

New ‘Murderbot’ book ‘Platform Decay’ is coming: See the cover

Wells’ upcoming novel promises a balance of “Wells’ signature blend of wit, action-packed adventure, emotional poignancy and complex worldbuilding,” publisher Tor says. 

"Platform Decay" follows Murderbot on a new volunteer rescue mission, realizing it will have to spend significant time with humans (especially human children) that it doesn't know.

"Ugh," the book description says. "This may well call for... eye contact!"

"I had a lot of fun writing Platform Decay; I thought of it as ‘Murderbot goes on the family road trip from hell’ and I hope readers enjoy it,” Wells wrote to USA TODAY. “I'm also excited for readers to see the great cover by Jaime Jones.”

All the ‘Murderbot’ series books in order

This will be Wells’ eighth “Murderbot” book, but there are also three short stories in the series. Here’s the order in which they were published, or check out our full guide to the reader-recommended order:

• "All Systems Red" (novella, 2017)
• "Artificial Condition" (novella, 2018)
• "Rogue Protocol" (novella, 2018)
• "Exit Strategy" (novella, 2018)
• "Compulsory" (online short story, 2018)
• "Network Effect" (novel, 2020)
• "Home" (short story, 2021)
• "Fugitive Telemetry" (novella, 2021)
• "System Collapse" (novel, 2023)
• "Rapport" (short story, 2025)
• “Platform Decay” (novel, 2026)

Clare Mulroy is USA TODAY’s Books Reporter, where she covers buzzy releases, chats with authors and dives into the culture of reading. Find her on Instagram, subscribe to our weekly Books newsletter or tell her what you’re reading at [email protected].