I have heard so much about Martha Wells’ The Murderbot Diaries! It’s the perfect series to go to when you are feeling like immersing yourself in a fast-paced short SciFi thriller! This a series concerning a violent, self-hacking cyborg searching for the meaning of life and Ariel had reviewed the latest release, Fugitive Telemetry on Ariel’s Arc. All Systems Red, the first book in the series, received the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Awards and that is the one I am sharing about today. A look at the synopsis and content notes first:
All Systems Red
By Martha Wells | Goodreads
“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”
In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. 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 is 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, Murderbot wants 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 Murderbot to get to the truth.
Content notes include violence, gun violence, death, murder, injury/injury detail and slavery.
All Systems Red
I have been wanting to read books with non-human protagonists and Science fiction is full of such stories. All Systems Red is a 3 hours audiobook read about an android security robot that accompanies scientists on missions. What makes Murderbot unique is that it is self-aware and has figured out a way to exist within the Company contracts without drawing attention to this fact. It loves watching television and cares about its survival – it knows the consequences of being found out are being scavenged for parts and extinction, so why take that chance at all?
Murderbot is such a lovable character! In a short book it is not possible to build the whole world and planetary order that exists but Martha Wells does a fantastic job of slipping in details about the history of space exploration through the characters. Murderbot is supposed to be a security android, rather than a combat android but when the situation demands it, it is able to step up and use its calmness and sharp mental facilities to keep the crew safe.
Murderbot is surprised to like its clients and while it does not want to interact with them, it does understand through hours spent watching TV, that connection is important for humans and it is possible to care for them in a unique Murderbot manner.
I loved the technological diversity in this novel! There are humans, augmented humans, a Company that has strict policies for exploration of planets as well as confederations out there where bots like Murderbot are free to do as they please. While Murderbot is used to their stories from the media, this isn’t something it has given much thought to. As it works more with Bharadwaj, Mensah, Volescu, Pin-Lee, Ratthi and the others, it starts to adjust to being part of the crew and having its opinions and ideas heard. The efficiency of the team, their knowledge of their own weaknesses as humans and their intelligence are all key to helping them survive an attack on their lives and mission.
I am looking forward to the next book in the series and seeing what adventures Murderbot goes on next!
I am currently on book 5 of this series and quite enjoying it. I will be posting a review per month so stay tuned to read my thoughts on Artificial Condition next month. Next in the series, System Collapse, is scheduled to be published in November 2023.
This has been on my TBR for so long! I didn’t realize how short it was. 3 hour audio?! I listen to audios on 2x speed so I can finish that while making dinner lol
Yes you can! The length is what finally got me started on the series. 🙂 happy reading!