Review: ALL SYSTEMS RED by Martha Wells

Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1
Genre: Science Fiction
Publisher: Tor.com
Pages: 144
Release date: May 2nd 2017

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.

All Systems Red is a delightfully murderous novella. The fast pace and unique world-building make this an entertaining read, but the characters are the ones who steal the show. Told from Murderbot’s POV, the story is filled with action, snarky humor, and one bot’s quest to find himself.

Martha Wells sets up an engrossing and fun beginning to this series. The writing is good and the humor is on point, as well as the tension that fills some of the scenes. One would think it would be hard for an author to make readers relate to a Murderbot, but Wells succeeds in just that and so much more.

I loved this! The first chapter is a bit confusing, as the reader is kind of dropped into this new world without any kind of explanation about all of this new words we’re being introduced to. But as the world-building is developed, it’s so easy to fall head first into this story.

Murderbot as a narrator is such a delight. It has a very unique voice , and you can really connect to it as the story progresses. The character development is also incredible, from Murderbot’s person struggles to the change the team goes through as they get to know him better.

There is a lot of tension and action throughout the story. This is such a short novella, but Wells hits all the spots and balances the danger with some funny character moments. The ending also pulls at all of your heart strings and really makes you wonder about what is going to happen next.

All Systems Red is an amazing novella. The characters, the action, the world-building all contribute to make this a quick and super fun read. Definitely recommend it to all Sci-Fi fans, especially those who like defiant narrators and the perspective of non-human characters.

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