All Systems Red

by Martha Wells

Paperback, 152 pages

English language

Published May 2, 2017 by Tor.com.

ISBN:: 978-0-7653-9753-9
OCLC Number:: 984130324
ISFDB ID:: 2278585

(16 reviews)

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 …

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.”

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

2 editions

Gary reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Good story and beginning of a series

4 stars

This book was just a simple joy to read, a lot like traditional first-person sci-fi from an intelligent robot's perspective. Of course, by the title of the series, you probably will figure out quickly that this robot is a murderbot, and he's having some emotions about things he's done in the past... and the story evolves quickly with the team he is contracted to work for, with a bit of a twist. Overall, this was a fun and interesting story. It evolved quickly and read like a simple first-person descriptive tale of the bot's experiences and thoughts, but it leaves me wanting just a little bit more. Of cousre, it's a series, so I'll read more and expect that desire will be satisfied as I learn more about Mr Murderbot. I recommend this book!

ju reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Short and fun

4 stars

I was surprised that it was only the length of a novella, but it's a fun read.

Mark de Vries reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Quick reread

4 stars

As I’m doing a reread of the Murderbot Diaries book 1-3 before starting on the rest, this was book 1. It’s fairly short, straightforward and fastpaced. Read it within the day. On to the next

laundry0099@bookwyrm.social reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Review of 'All Systems Red' on 'Storygraph'

5 stars

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.

Tyler reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Murderbot

5 stars

Decided to reread Murderbot diaries due to finding the @murderbotbot@botsin.space account. I've really missed good dark humor.

Dee 📖 (book aspect) reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

Go Murderbot

4 stars

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.

polymerwitch reviewed All Systems Red by Martha Wells (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)

relatable

4 stars

A socially awkward, traumatized by PTSD, has executive dysfunction, and just wants to be free and watch entertainment streams ... Murderbot is very relatable.