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All Systems Red

Book 1 in the series:The Murderbot Diaries

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In "All Systems Red," readers are introduced to Murderbot, a rogue cyborg struggling to navigate its identity and emotions while protecting a survey team on a routine mission that quickly turns into a complex web of conspiracy and danger. The novella delves into themes of artificial intelligence, personhood, empathy, and the blurred lines between human and non-human entities. Through Murderbot's unique perspective and wry narration, the story unfolds as a mix of action, mystery, and character exploration, offering a fresh take on the sci-fi genre.

Characters:

Characters include a relatable and humorous android, Murderbot, and its human clients, who together navigate challenges that foster evolving relationships.

Writing/Prose:

The writing style is characterized by a humorous first-person narrative, quick pacing, and minimal exposition, allowing for an engaging and relatable reading experience.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot follows a security android that gains autonomy by hacking its governor module, leading to a mix of action, humor, and self-discovery while navigating a dangerous situation.

Setting:

The setting is a corporate-controlled dystopian future on a distant planet, enhancing the sci-fi elements of the narrative.

Pacing:

The pacing of the story is fast and engaging, making it a quick and enjoyable read.
I COULD HAVE BECOME a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been wel...

Notes:

The protagonist, Murderbot, is a security android that has hacked its governor module to gain free will.
Murderbot prefers to binge-watch soap operas instead of performing its job duties.
The series explores themes of sentience, identity, and the desire for autonomy.
Murderbot is often described as socially awkward and introverted, making it relatable to many readers.
The books are known for their humorous and sarcastic narration.
Despite its name, the series focuses more on character interactions than outright violence.
The series received the Hugo and Nebula awards, establishing its popularity in speculative fiction.
Each book can be read as a standalone story, although they form a cohesive narrative arc.
Martha Wells's writing style is characterized by minimal world-building and a fast-paced plot.

From The Publisher:

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.

Winner: 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella

Winner: 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novella

Winner: 2018 Alex Award

Winner: 2018 Locus Award

One of the Verge's Best Books of 2017

A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

Ratings (494)

Incredible (135)
Loved It (190)
Liked It (104)
It Was OK (47)
Did Not Like (17)
Hated It (1)

Reader Stats (978):

Read It (496)
Currently Reading (8)
Want To Read (341)
Did Not Finish (8)
Not Interested (125)

32 comment(s)

Liked It
1 week

The main character was super relatable. Just a guy who wants to do his job and watch TV, who happens to be a murderbot.

 
Loved It
1 week

Goes for shows that some books a worth second chances. Listened to a bit of this months ago and did not like it and DNF this. But this time I highly enjoyed it, it was a very entertaining audiobook and it might be short but there was so much packed in the story. I really want more of this!

 
It Was OK
2 weeks

“I did that because it seemed sensible, not because I knew what I was doing.”

A SUPER quick read, a minimal amount of engaging/grabbing story telling, just okay.

 
Loved It
2 weeks

“All Systems Red” is a book about a self aware but disinterested security robot who is tasked with accompanying a group of scientists during a planet survey but quickly transforms turns into a deadly mission when a second team on the planet is found dead.

I liked that the main character of the book is a robot who has nicknamed himself Murderbot, enjoys watching hours of hours and mainly wants to be left alone. He does what he can to have as little interaction with the human crew as possible and is aware that they don't really want him there but he could care less and accepts his job as a security robot.

When the crew discovers that a second team on the planet has been killed, Murderbot and the leader of the crew, Dr. Mensah, come to a tenuous agreement to work together. By the end of the novel, the killer has been discovered, the human crew is safe, and Murderbot is left wondering what his future holds.

This was a entertaining and quick read which was very easy to follow. I enjoyed seeing the development of Murderbot from not caring to caring a little as well as his transformation from not trusting anyone to trusting Dr. Mensah. In closing, what I most like about Murderbot is that he is aware of what he is, how other perceive him, and how he wants to move throughout the world which is freely and without being beholden to other or being told what to do.

 
Incredible
2 weeks

Fun! I'll definitely be keeping up with this one.

 
Loved It
1 month

This was a fun novella following an AI that hacked its Guardian mod (the thing that forces it to obey commands) so it can be free. It names itself Murderbot, because of a terrible past incident with a malfunctioning update to the mod, which caused it to kill a bunch of people. That's the reason Murderbot hacked its mod - so it can't be forced to do that again.

Murderbot is wary of people, introverted, and yet surprisingly compelling. It is fun watching it learn to interact with humans as itself in this novella.

I'll definitely read onward.

 
Loved It
1 month

Muy buena novela corta con mi androide consumidor de series favorito.

Con muy poco presenta muy bien a los personajes y te deja con ganas de saber más.

 
Incredible
1 month

This is why I say please and thank you to ChatGpt. Love you MurderBot

 
Loved It
1 month

I’m conflicted about this book. Though understanding that it is an exceptionally short read and had to end in a timely fashion, I still wasn’t entirely convinced/pulled in until around pg. 100.

Murderbot is a likable character well enough, though the surrounding characters were a bit underdeveloped (Arada, Overse, Bharadwaj) and almost hollow. Again, less of a big deal because of how short the book is, though still a bummer.

My biggest bone to pick is the overuse of conjoined words (SecUnit, GreyCris, HubSystem, EvilSurvey, etc). I read a lot of sci-fi—I know this is common practice in the genre, but to me it felt overused.

The ending made me want to continue reading the series to get a bit more of a fuller experience and dive deeper into the Murderbot world, however.

 
Loved It
3 months

I, too, only want to watch TV all day and be left alone. Extremely relatable robot.

 
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About the Author:

MARTHA WELLS has written many fantasy novels, including The Wizard Hunters, Wheel of the Infinite, the Books of the Raksura series (beginning with The Cloud Roads and ending with The Harbors of the Sun), and the Nebula-nominated The Death of the Necromancer, as well as YA fantasy novels, short stories, and non-fiction.

 
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