All Systems Red

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.

IMO a masterpiece.

"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.[...]. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.

That was a nice little entertainment. SecBot is a nice (but not new) mixture of laziness, virtues and superhuman skills and reminds me of Kvothe in the kingskiller chronicles. Thanks @reading tofu for the recommendation!

it's hard to pull off a sardonic robot protagonist, and I think this did it

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.

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.

All Systems Red is a novella written by Martha Wells, the first in her Murderbot Diaries series.

The titular Murderbot is a sentient robot-human hybrid, a slave to a mega corporation, tasked with protecting the humans it's told to protect.

Unbeknownst to anyone, Murderbot has hacked its governor module, granting it the ability to refuse any orders given by its corporate overlords.

Once again, Murderbot finds itself protecting humans, prospectors surveying a planet, when things start going wrong.

Hijinks ensue.

What impressed me most with All Systems Red was how Martha Wells was able to make Murderbot so believable and so easy to emphasize with.

Firstly, here's a quote:

"""So, I'm awkward with actual humans. It's not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it's not them; it's me. I know I'm a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes us both nervous, which makes me even more nervous."""

I don't know about you but I'm not a horrifying murderbot. I am autistic though and if you replace "horrifying murderbot" with "autist" in the quote above, that's a pretty accurate description of what it feels like at times.

Murderbot's struggle with social anxiety throughout the novella was depicted very well and it really resonated with me.

Secondly, in a sense, we're all Murderbot.

it's just like me fr

Murderbot is the grumpy, reclusive, crunchy outer shell with a golden marshmallow heart MC I've always dreamed of.

Violence: yes Sexual Scenes: no

From the plot alone, this novella would be a bit of perhaps cliche science fiction. What makes it both unique and compelling is that the story being told from the perspective of the "Murderbot" (hence The Murderbot Diaries), a cyborg generally treated by society as a piece of equipment.

Martha Wells's writing does a good job of showing Murderbot's personality, its particular anxieties, its relationships towards humans, and general attitudes towards life. Even if the plot is cliche, Murderbot as a character is the opposite.

Was shorter than I expected. But I enjoyed the concept very much. Looking forward to the rest.

Bit of a quick read, but not going to complain. Personally I liked the storyline, the humour of the murderbot too.

I may or may not be (read : I am currently) throwing money at the other books right now.