All Systems Red

3.5 stars. Wasn't bad really, just didn't really grab me.

This was a fun and surprising read. The main character, Murderbot, is a robot-human hybrid and is so interesting and well drawn. I was fascinated from the start. Since this is a novella, the story just scratches the surface, but at the same time felt like a complete unit. I am so happy there are more stories in this series.

I love murderbot. The whole series is great. It's full of some of the most hilarious writing I've come across in sci-fi. I will re-read it endlessly.

I will say one negative thing - The pricing of the series is greedy AF. Someone made a poor choice to overcharge for what is essentially a single book and broke it up into a few smaller stories then charged full price for each of them... smelly greediness is not good business. That said, I will not let that monkey brained decision taint my love for the story itself.

After getting a friend to read Murderbot, I decided I needed to read it again immediately. Good news, it holds up.

All Systems Red is the first installment of the Murderbot diaries, a humorous SF (mostly) novella series by Martha Wells. Its reluctant protagonist is Murderbot, a security robot contract worker made to accompany clients on different missions so they don't get themselves killed.

Despite being designed for expressly this, Murderbot is far more interested in watching TV. It's like the assassin version of an office worker who lets calls ring out while they listen to podcasts and play 2048. And perhaps in the future, after the current onslaught of terrible generative AI, this is where we'll end up: humans don't want to work, so they build robots to work for them so they can watch TV. But the robots end up not wanting to work either, so they can watch TV.

Murderbot does not dream of labor, does not like eye contact, fast forwards through sex scenes, and more than anything wants to be left alone. Wells' representation of queerness and neurodiversity (really, anyone who feels alienated or exhausted by the world) in this character is endearing and multifaceted.

Murderbot puts up a front of being detached and lazy, but it cannot help but turn it on in a crisis. It may not be great at its job, but it is great at what it does. And, it cares deeply — far more than is convenient or comfortable — about its humans and protecting innocent, kind people from coming to harm. It has tugged out the altruistic threads of its being and replaced the rest with special interests. It is me working at the public library, but if I could do a push-up.

2018 review: This was a fun and funny novella. A socially awkward nevertheless endearing genderless robot protagonist is...a lot of things. But somehow it worked! It's not a heavy read, but Wells touches on deeper themes about how empathy and autonomy relate to one's identity. I have a soft spot for not-so-human characters unfamiliar with societal expectations looking to pop culture for solace and understanding—the only other examples of this I can come up with off the cuff are Stranger Things and Lilo & Stitch. There's something so delightful about finding an entity especially capable of if not outright designed for destruction so enraptured by books and movies and music.I'd recommend All Systems Red to those in search of some light quick sci-fi fun. Spend a rainy afternoon with a cyborg more scared of prolonged eye contact than stampeding into bloodshed. Because at the end of the day (literally), sometimes more than anything, we all just want to watch our shows and be left alone.

This was a light , fun and quick read.

A robot that gains total control of its own systems and start going deep into existentialism while at the same time keeping the humans of a scientific Spedition on a distant planet safe.

Nothing else really and waiting for the next novella to come out just killed any bit of enthusiasm I had at the time.

Wow I just read the book because one of my favorite authors were reading it, I am now a fan of the murderbot. Nice book that is fast to read.

Metaphorosis Reviews 4 stars

Summary:

A security cyborg leased out by its parent company is able to circumvent its governor chip, giving it substantial freedom of action, to the surprise of its colleagues, and of those who attack them.

Review:

Honestly, the description of All Systems Red didn't seem like my kind of thing, but Tor was giving it away for free, and I like Martha Wells, so I picked it up. The gamble paid off.

I've been a fan of Martha Wells since City of Bones and The Element of Fire. Lately, though, I've been underwhelmed (e.g., by the Raksura and Emilie). I'm glad, then, that The Murderbot Diaries sees Ms. Wells coming back full force, if in an unaccustomed genre.

In All Systems Red, the ‘murderbot' protagonist has just the right mix of glum realism and mordant humor. The science is left in the background – that the murderbot is remarkably human is part of the context – and best left unexamined. The character, however, is spot on – capable, disaffected, self-deprecating, and funny. It's a great combination. There's enough plot and action to keep the story moving, but the focus is deservedly on the murderbot itself.

My only criticism, really, (aside from a few too many parenthetical asides) is the brevity of the story. It is and is clearly intended to be the first of a series, but the piece ends somewhat abruptly. It could easily have gone well beyond its novella length, but this first episode is fairly satisfying.

I received a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Bot with simple needs
tasks to do, some alone time
no chit-chat, thank you.

Really great and fast-paced novella

This is the first novella in a superb quadrilogy. All of the books manage to be both fast paced and thoughtful, while not taking themselves too seriously.

Executive Summary: This was a fun novella, and I plan to continue with the rest of the series eventually.

Audiobook: Kevin R. Free did a good job. It isn't a must listen for me, but it's certainly a decent option if like me you do a lot of audiobooks.

Full Review

I've said this before in other reviews, but I'm not a huge fan of the Novella series trend that seems to be happening. I generally like longer stories. I often don't feel like they are priced the same as full novels where it seems like I'm not getting my money's worth, especially in audio.

I got the ebook of this for free, then promptly forgot I had it and bought the audio on a daily deal. I might not have read it otherwise. I really love the premise of this. I don't read a lot of sci-fi, but what I do tends to be very character-driven space opera. There don't tend to be a lot of robots/androids. This is still very character-driven. However it's much smaller in scope. Oh and the protagonist is some kind of cyborg who calls himself Murderbot.I liked the humor a lot. It's not so much laugh out loud funny as it is clever/wry. That suits me just fine.I also really like the humans in this book. The interaction between Murderbot and his humans was what really moved this story rather than the plot. I feel like the crisis could have almost been anything and it wouldn't have mattered.

I'm not rushing out to pick up Artificial Condition right away due to it being a novella instead of novel, but it's on my wish list and I'm sure I'll get around to it eventually.

Rereading the series since I have to wait on Fugitive Telemetry anyways. I forgot just how much I absolutely love Murderbot, I was cackling reading.

Love it. Witty, humourous, original and fresh.

The title of “Murderbot Diaries” is what caught my curiosity. The story is told directly from the point of view of the murderbot which makes for a utterly new take on the alien-type stories where shit (always) goes bad.

The murderbot itself is an really refreshing take on the future of bots, who through first “person” storytelling, mostly wants to be by itself, avoids talking about it's feelings, dislikes any eye contact and general doesn't really give two hoots about anything except for their TV binge watching.

I really enjoyed this short story, reading it in (about) one sitting on holiday. Now the only downside is that it is a short, I finished it so quickly and I don't get to enjoy more of the murderbot protagonist. I guess I'll be buying the other three books (though for anyone considering this book, this short book stands alone and you don't need to invest in the full series).

I read this book because a friend was telling me about it. He basically described it asa robot gains sentience and is socially awkward, which is an amazing premise. I expressed interest in borrowing it, he happened to have it on him, and shoved it into my hands. A short 144 pages, it was a quick and easy read that had I had a whole day I could have easily finished it within an hour or two.

I would give this a weak 4.5, solid 4 out of 5.

Now, you are not going to be blown away by prose, but it kind of works since the robot is the narrator and it often states how much it doesn't care and so why would it take these overly wordy observations. It had some moments that made me chuckle out loud.

Basically, if you're into science fiction, if you're into funny premises concerning robots, I do recommend this book.

Just reread this one again now that I finally own all the novellas. It was every bit as fun as I remember, and if anything I enjoyed it more this time around. My only minor complaint is the audio narration kept pronouncing “tears” in space suits as the salty eye water, which was unexpected.

We'll see if I can pace myself until the Murderbot novel releases in May.

2023: I liked this better the second time. So I'm going to give the next one in the series a try.

2018: Very quick read/listen. Picked it up because it was under $2.00 as the audible deal of the day. It was worth that. Enjoyable enough.

This was a lot of fun! A quick, light plot, which fits nicely into the novella length; with a longer story this would feel thin, but Wells keeps it short and sweet. Also, Murderbot is possibly my favourite sarcastic android since Marvin. Looking forward to more Murderbot.

So, I actually liked this less the second time around than I did the first time. More of a 2 stars now.

My biggest problem is the main character, Murderbot. When I'm stuck in the head of someone that doesn't want to do anything, - including their job - admits to not caring about anything, it's an uphill battle for me to care about them.

To no ones great shock, I like the secondary characters much more than the main character (much like my feels for The Cloud Roads by Martha Wells and everything to do with Moon) but...well, if you've read the book you know why this doesn't help my issue.

Look, I read books to be entertained, not read about someone that wants to, literally, watch TV all day.

(I do have the second book checked out from the library, and I intend to read it in the next couple of weeks then go from there if I'll continue the series.)


Original Review

I went back and forth so many times on the rating for this book. I mean, it took me a good thirty pages (of an already short book) before I settled in to the writing style. It seems rather jerky and abrupt at first, but I'm assuming that was a style choice. (And also a side effect of the first person narrative that, really, was quite necessary, even if I don't usually care for it. And a byproduct of me not being able to picture ANY of the characters.) Then things picked up and we got moving and I sighed in relief that this would be another great Wells read for me. (My expectations probably did this book no favors.) But, then I reached the last page - almost literally - and was rather unhappy with the ending. I mean, I understand why Murderbot did that, but that's not what I wanted to see happen. So...I think I'll probably catch up on the rest of Wells books before I come back to this series.

At first, I couldn't get into this. Why would a security robot speak like a moody teenager? Once the action started, I got over it but there is so much going on here that is unexplained. It is what it is. It's the events of one team on one mission, and it's good. It's really good. I think it was perfect at 150 pgs, and was amazed at how much character development Wells managed to jam into so few pages.

Pros: interesting protagonist

Cons: short

Murderbot is a SecUnit made of half cloned human parts and half mechanical parts that's hacked its governor module so it no longer has to obey commands. It's been assigned to provide security for a small survey group looking at a new planet. But the group encounters an unknown hostile life form that wasn't mentioned in the original survey report, which makes them wonder what else was missed - or possibly removed on purpose.

This is a 100 page novella, so it's fairly short. That means it's light on the world-building and character development. While you get to know Murderbot pretty well, the other characters, with the exception of Gurathin (who's a light antagonist) and Mensah (the group leader) felt interchangeable. Having said that, Murderbot is fascinating and you really get inside its head.

The plot was interesting and quick paced. There are some tense moments, though the ending comes up so fast it didn't feel particularly climactic (which may be due to my reading the story in 2 sittings instead of all at once).

It's fun and entertaining and I'll definitely read the next one.

Not a bad story. The robot/android point of view was interesting. I felt the ending was a little rushed.

Having killed a handful of company employees on his previous job the self-described Murderbot quietly hacks it's own governor module and essentially becomes a petulant, self-conscious emo teenager that would rather watch soap operas than deal with humans. One armed with military grade weapons and defensive systems mind you.

Now on a planetary mission where things aren't adding up, the crew including Murderbot find themselves in mortal danger. Murderbot having gifted him/herself with free will is no longer restricted to following orders but still works to keep his/her human crew safe. The book doesn't overstay its welcome and manages to pack a tight little story in under 200 pages. And it looks like its building a world that will continue on with a new book slated for this year. A quick sci-fi hit.

I loved Murderbot, I wish this book had been much longer, and I want to read more about “it”/them.

When a rogue murderbot becomes your unlikely yet likeable hero, unexpected heroics and feels ensue.
Delightful!

Murderbot is an android. It feels pretty awkward with humans and really just wants to be left alone. Unfortunately, circumstances don't allow that. Oh, and it has secretly hacked its governor and has free will.
We get lots of action, some quite nasty bad guys, and quite a bit of android existential angst. Pretty good story.