A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.
“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 …
A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.
“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.
All Systems Red is the first entry in Martha Wells’ New York Times and USA Today bestselling, and Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction series, The Murderbot Diaries.
Winner: 2018 Hugo Award
Winner: 2018 Nebula Award
Winner: 2018 Alex Award
Winner: 2018 Locus Award
Loved the tight little plot. A great intro to the cast of characters and conceits of the series. Murderbot's intense interiority is such a great idea. It feels in a way like an autistic insert into this interesting universe of corporations and free worlds. Despite that, the story is kept very very local and immediate-stakes, and resists explicit worldbuilding.
Content warning
Vague spoilers involving Murderbot's character arc.
I loved the funny, witty inner voice of Murderbot, and I also love that it chose the name based on the coolness factor and not because it actually likes to murder. My mom has been bugging me to read this book for years, and I'm so glad I finally listened and read the first installment. I love how Murderbot grew to trust and care about the humans they were reporting to. 10/10, can't wait to read the next one.
4.25 Witty social commentary from a killer robot (well actually guard robot) with an interesting world and realistic characters, but the novella format really hurts it a little. It's over before it has really started. Still rating it highly because the story continues directly in the next volume.
