Sci vs Sci

The Dresden Files vs Murderbot Diaries

Two of the most beloved narrators in modern genre fiction are dangerous, wildly competent, allergic to sincerity, and desperate to be left alone. One is a wizard. The other is a machine. Neither one gets its wish.

Harry Dresden, Jim Butcher's Chicago wizard for hire, runs on will and raw emotion. His magic is powered by how much he feels, and what he feels, on a punishing schedule, is that he cannot walk past a person who needs help. It nearly gets him killed every single book. Murderbot, the rogue security construct at the heart of Martha Wells's series, starts in the opposite corner.…