All Systems Red

, #1

eBook, 156 pages

English language

Published Dec. 13, 2017 by Tor.com.

View on OpenLibrary

5 stars (23 reviews)

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

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

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.

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

4 editions

reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Fun short novel with a strong voice

4 stars

It's a short novel so I can't expect much in character development outside of the main one, but that is my one critique: I'd like to know more about the other members of the crew and their situations.

But overall it was a fun listen; engaging, interesting, suspenseful.

reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Review of 'All Systems Red' on 'Goodreads'

5 stars

A fun, quick sci-fi read.

I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The idea is simple enough. "Murderbots" are engineered constructs comprised of biological and mechanical components. They're created to kill things and follow orders but are capable of more under certain circumstances, such as those created via a hacked or malfunctioning "governing module." This is the story of one such entity, caught up in an unusual scenario when a "simple planetary survey mission" goes sideways. It's a solid read and works, both as a standalone and as the setup for the "Murderbot Diaries" series it kicks off. Highly recommended for those seeking a fast-paced, charming, and generally-lighthearted (despite a few somewhat-grim moments) introduction to modern science fiction but veterans of the genre will likely find a lot to enjoy as well.

reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Review of 'All systems red' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

It's good fun. Was a bit shorter than I expected so the ending felt a bit abrupt (reading it as part of a Tor ebook collection so couldn't see how long was left). Murderbot's an interesting character, and the story from their point of view is interesting, especially when there are so many hours of Sanctuary Moon left to be watched. The problem of that perspective is it makes it hard to distinguish the other characters from each other, but overall it's an enjoyable read.

reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Review of 'All systems red' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

This was excellent. The first person from the central character is what sells it. Murderbot is a great creation, injecting the humour and narrative drive into the story. This is a novella so the wider setting is only hinted at but it is nicely self contained as well. A few trenchant points are made about free will and slavery but mostly this was just fun. A small note about pricing though. These are novellas not novels and I got the first one for 2.99 which is a fair price. The next 3 range from 6 to 8 quid and that's a bit off if you ask me. It doesn't affect my review score as that is not the author's problem but I bang it up here as a PSA.

2022 Re-read.
I am just going through a few re-reads while I wait for a few pre-orders to land. A re-read …

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