Paperback, 152 pages
English language
Published May 2, 2017 by Tor.
All Systems Red is a 2017 science fiction novella by American author Martha Wells. The first in a series called The Murderbot Diaries, it was published by Tor.com. The series is about an artificial construct designed as a Security Unit, which manages to override its governor unit, thus enabling it to develop independence. It calls itself Murderbot, and likes to watch unrealistic soap operas. As it spends more time with some caring humans, it starts developing feelings that it does not care for.
Content warning spoilers; 3rd reading
2026-02-07: reread for same work bookclub. Didn't remember this wonderful moment: [in response to revealing "murderbot" name: Harsh glare—"That was private". Chef's kiss.
2020-03-27: 5 stars; reread for my new work bookclub.
2018-02-03: 5 stars; read with a cool bookclub at Volume Books in Chicago.
I have not watched the TV show, but this first instance of this series of novellas was captivating fun. Looking forward to reading the other books.
I've been watching the recent tv show and thought I'd give the books a reread so I could ground myself in the text again. Also brains have been bad, and Murderbot is such short grippy comfort fiction. I think what makes me come back to this (personally) is my empathy for Murderbot's exhaustion and horror around being asked to be a person.
Murderbot also epitomizes the mortifying ordeal of being known (but simultaneously the even more mortifying ordeal of being loved). There's so much joy for me in the grumpiness of the internal monologue. If I had to come up with a one sentence emotional arc for each book, this one would be Murderbot moving past apathy and learning that it does in fact want to protect (some) humans.
Confession time: I don’t actually know where we are
On a reread, I had also forgotten …
I've been watching the recent tv show and thought I'd give the books a reread so I could ground myself in the text again. Also brains have been bad, and Murderbot is such short grippy comfort fiction. I think what makes me come back to this (personally) is my empathy for Murderbot's exhaustion and horror around being asked to be a person.
Murderbot also epitomizes the mortifying ordeal of being known (but simultaneously the even more mortifying ordeal of being loved). There's so much joy for me in the grumpiness of the internal monologue. If I had to come up with a one sentence emotional arc for each book, this one would be Murderbot moving past apathy and learning that it does in fact want to protect (some) humans.
Confession time: I don’t actually know where we are
On a reread, I had also forgotten the level of indifference that Murderbot has, in terms of not even knowing what planet they're on. It's an aspect that comes through so much stronger in the original text.
Después de tres años lo he releído (a causa de que la serie de Apple TV+ basada en la novela va a salir en breves) y lo he entendido mucho mejor y me ha gustado muchísimo más. ¿Será cosa de que mi nivel de inglés ha subido o de que he entendido mejor de qué iba la vaina? Ni idea, pero el resultado es que esta novelita corta, entretenida y con une protagoniste más que especial se hace un huequecito.
Como siempre, la culpa de todo es del capitalismo. Incluso el del futuro.
This book (and series) is about its protagonist, who is a joy to listen to. It's also fun to hear about the stuff it gets up to with technology. There are action scenes at the appropriate places to be exciting. I wouldn't go expecting a thematic interrogation of some idea though — the plot moves quickly and breaks things.
This book (and series) is about its protagonist, who is a joy to listen to. It's also fun to hear about the stuff it gets up to with technology. There are action scenes at the appropriate places to be exciting. I wouldn't go expecting a thematic interrogation of some idea though — the plot moves quickly and breaks things.
short, fast-paced, funny. i too love muderbot. it's so endearing.
short, fast-paced, funny. i too love muderbot. it's so endearing.
Pretty short with only about 160 pages. The story is enough to make me want to keep reading more from the series!
Content warning Plot spoilers
One of the things I like about recent sf is that it doesn’t feel the need to adhere to the old tropes. The protagonist’s secret comes out, and unlike in old sf where there would have been hand-wringing and ostracism, the allies accept the new information, accept the protagonist, and the story moves on. Old sf would definitely have killed off one of the protagonist’s group for shock value, but that isn’t a given nowadays. Old sf likes to explore the axis of the powerful against the underdog, but now the force driving the story is bureaucracy, opportunism, and selfishness. I like this first Murderbot story because it (the story, but also Murderbot) is relatable.
I was surprised that it was only the length of a novella, but it's a fun read.
I was surprised that it was only the length of a novella, but it's a fun read.
Murderbot has hacked himself out of main control.
The idea of an android, part bot with lingering organics, gives rise to ideas of a machine that sometimes feels human, a very introverted and relatable human; with its increasing independency situations develop more unexpectedly than what I anticipated, and that kept me reading the whole book almost in one sitting.
The secondary characters add enough depth to the story and help the development of Murderbot throughout it, queer characters are also a welcomed presence.
It was a very fun and fast read 😁
It’s rare to find a compelling sci-fi book that also has a hefty helping of humor and sarcasm baked into its tone. I will definitely be reading more of this series.
It’s rare to find a compelling sci-fi book that also has a hefty helping of humor and sarcasm baked into its tone. I will definitely be reading more of this series.
Decided to reread Murderbot diaries due to finding the @murderbotbot@botsin.space account. I've really missed good dark humor.
Decided to reread Murderbot diaries due to finding the @murderbotbot@botsin.space account. I've really missed good dark humor.
Fast paced plot. The AI is exactly not doing what it was built for (it's a security bot that calls itself a murderbot), it loves watching entertainment series on HBO or the like. The story is told from the point of view of the bot and the bot is really funny. It's not only the interactions with humans, it's often in between different thoughts and all, she puts in a new perspective that is funny.
Of course I want to point out that we all seem to love these bots that turn human, like with Ann Leckie etc. But we don't know if these books sound like real AIs, although we think they do and we love it. I love the difference between the bot and a human, or better, what the bot is thinking about an easy interaction with a human that we as humans never consciously think …
Fast paced plot. The AI is exactly not doing what it was built for (it's a security bot that calls itself a murderbot), it loves watching entertainment series on HBO or the like. The story is told from the point of view of the bot and the bot is really funny. It's not only the interactions with humans, it's often in between different thoughts and all, she puts in a new perspective that is funny.
Of course I want to point out that we all seem to love these bots that turn human, like with Ann Leckie etc. But we don't know if these books sound like real AIs, although we think they do and we love it. I love the difference between the bot and a human, or better, what the bot is thinking about an easy interaction with a human that we as humans never consciously think about. But I have no way of knowing if this makes this AI authentic, or if we just anthropomorphize what we think an AI should be thinking, you know?
Immediately off to buy the rest of the series. This is one of my personal favorite style of story, and Martha Wells does a brilliant job of it.
Sensible, rational sci-fi and a perspective that speaks to me. Top marks all around, and more please!
Immediately off to buy the rest of the series. This is one of my personal favorite style of story, and Martha Wells does a brilliant job of it.
Sensible, rational sci-fi and a perspective that speaks to me. Top marks all around, and more please!
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.
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.
