All Systems Red
Ratings1,676
Average rating4.1
Someone on Twitter called Murderbot “Janet from the Good Place, but with guns in their arms,” which is how I pictured them throughout this entirely delightful novella.
The first entry in The Murderbot Diaries is a short sci-fi adventure with cool, unusual concepts.
The story is told from first person perspective by a kinda security robot which has some social issues and likes to watch a lot of tv series.
Also there is a bit of tense action and are some mysterious detective moments. And on top of that it has an open ending...
Can't wait to read the next one!
Well, I can finally check this one off my “I really should read this” list. There’s a handful of books I feel obligated to read as a librarian and just never get around to, because there’s only so many minutes in a day, and new books are shiny. I was mostly pleased with this, and I think my only real hangups center around it being a novella and not a full novel. Things felt rushed in places, but when you only have under 200 pages to tell a story, things get streamlined.
The “shy murderbot” shtick is mostly funny and relatable, but I will say that towards the end it felt layered on a little heavy. Like the joke had been told just one too many times, and you’re left thinking “yeah I get it” rather than being amused. The ending was especially on-point with the MurderBot character, and I liked that the author played it the way she did.
So, only a very minor complaint to a short, enjoyable read. Definitely will read more in this series, especially to pad out a Goodreads Reading Challenge at the end of the year.
I read a quick description and thought, “huh, sounds like something I'd be into”, but then I spent a couple of weeks debating starting the book because the title Murderbot was a little off-putting. What was I about to get into? Turns out it is a lovely story from the point of view of a human/bot construct called a SecUnit (for security unit), and it gave itself the name Murderbot for reasons I won't divulge in this review. SecUnits don't usually have free will, controlled by a governor system, but have a certain amount of independence within the framework of protecting their charge. In this case, Murderbot is free from the governor system, and has a lot more feelings and thoughts about its existence than one might expect, while it tries to stay under the radar from the Company that owns it. There was some action, but it was mostly not action. And a very quick read. I'm ready to read the rest of the series!
I liked it well enough till 2/3rds in & then got bored. Just not enough going on in this very one dimensional story. I don't think I'll bother reading the other books in the series.
I dunno, this novella just isn’t for me. It’s quick, it’s sorta fun, it’s a unique interpretation of what murderous robot is but I don’t vibe with the vibe.
I wasn’t all that impressed. So many people had hyped me up about it, that I thought I was about to read the next terminator or something. So some of this is my fault. The book had some funny moments and I loved that it was a sci-fi. My biggest issue was the lack of murdering. This is the Murderbot Diaries. I needed dead bodies 🤦🏾♂️. I purchased the entire series so I will definitely keep reading. Hopefully the action I’m looking for will start in book 2 🤷🏾♂️.
Murderbot might be one of my new favorite book characters. Unintentionally humorous, hates their job but takes pride in it, and all they want to do is watch TV. I can relate.
I appreciated how short of a read it was (I think I finished the whole book in two hours) but still enough to get me invested in the story.
It was a good little story for what it was. Obviously I can’t compare it to a larger sci-fi novel because that’s not what it aims to be. It reminded me a lot of Hugh Howey’s novels like Wool and Sand and how they were originally released as a series of novellas. I think this book is better however in that it contains a whole story. While the ending definitely leaves it open for more, I don’t feel required to read the next book to get the whole story.
It reminded me also of Klara and the Sun, making me think about what it means to be human, and the feelings of artificial intelligence.
A quick, snappy, and incredibly engaging read. It didn't take long for me to identify with Murderbot more than most of the human main characters I've read.
Key sentence:
“If the humans see me actually doing my job, it helps keep suspicions from forming about faulty governor modules.”
As someone who used to have to find external motivations to convince myself to work in the face of -a faulty governor module- undiagnosed depression, boy howdy did this resonate with me on a spiritual level.
Looking forward to the rest of the series!
2.75 stars
was an okay read for the most part! i found murderbot endearing and the story interesting enough to keep reading but i felt no connection to the other characters. still considering continuing the series though!
oh my god i love Murderbot
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All Murderbot wants is to stay away from humans and watch their soap operas. Unfortunately, some wonky things start happening and they're forced to work with their human team to figure out what's going on. I really enjoyed this! Murderbot's dry sense of humor made me love them and while I wasn't super invested in the plot, this was incredibly readable and fun enough to get through in just a couple sittings. This is pretty “soft” sci-fi, so I think those who aren't deep into the genre will still enjoy it.
I found the style to be very engaging and easy to read. The murderbot character is pretty funny and it's an interesting perspective to read from. The story moves along quickly and I wasn't ready for it to end. Good thing there are more!
The character of the Murderbot was nicely developed, was easy to identify with and humourous. I'm invested in its story and it's continued development will keep me coming back for the rest of the series.
However, the secondary characters were difficult to connect with. At times, it was hard to distinguish who was who based on personality alone. Mensah and Gurathin were the only voices that seemed to separate themselves from the rest. It was a shorter story, so expanding on each personality would be difficult to do. I will try to read the rest of the series in hopes that we learn more about the ensemble.
The main thrust of the story centered around the dynamic between Murderbot and the secondary characters. Because I felt a little apathetic about them, that hurt how I saw them through the eyes of Murderbot.
Overall though it was a fine story, each chapter kept pushing the narrative forward and I found myself laughing out loud at particular points throughout.
I love the idea of a robot designed for violence being socially awkward and obsessed with trashy TV. This novella felt like a solid first episode in a great sci-fi TV series — action packed, a memorable protagonist, and a relatively small scope. It was refreshing that rather than being a super skilled Terminator type, that Murderbot's combat method is essentially cannon fodder. For me, the plot itself wasn't the most original story line, but the concept of SecUnits and the internal monologue of Murderbot kept the pages flying.
I'm curious to see Murderbot's journey with his identity throughout the series, and hopefully learn more about how SecUnits work — from what I understood, all SecUnits have human consciousness, just not human will due to the commands of their system. This definitely has me interested in reading the sequel, Artificial Condition.
It's hard to grapple with the idea that this was quick and fun, an asset, but also left some of the more interesting ideas and beats unexplored.
Hopefully the next ones dig deeper.
strong start to a story, i rarely enjoy the beginning of a series this much and I'm excited to read more
“Nobody was touching my humans”
All Systems Red was everything I didn't know I needed! This very serious cover is hiding a very funny and cosy read inside, perfect for readers in need of short and quick adventure.
What is this about?
A self-aware droid, designed to kill, hacked its governor module and discovered entertainment TV. He wants to be left alone to see his favorite shows, but his humans won't give him a break and keep getting themselves in trouble.
This sci-fi obviously touches some major issues surrounding AI, but it's mostly a light-hearted read.
I fell in love with Murderbot and I can't wait to read more of his adventures.