Reviews

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

yunooooo's review against another edition

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4.0

Such a quick, short and fun read.

I really came to love our bot. His sense of humor is to die for. I found myself laughing out loud at the quirkiness and wittiness of his tone. How i wish i had a robot of my own!!

The plot is fairly interesting to me with a sense of mystery, and this book also has the theme of found family which I really love. Not to mention, the ending totally shifted my entire perspective. So, this is like a journal or dairy entries by our Murderbot, and i only realized this after it ended. I can’t wait to read further stories from this collection.

-> 4.5 ⭐️ in terms of novellas!!

kara_bianca_reads's review against another edition

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4.0

Summary:
All Systems Red follows MurderBot, a SecUnit (security unit) with artificial intelligence, that has hacked its own system to be in control of its own actions. This is a funny and gripping sci-fi short story, following a space conspiracy, which is one of my favorite sci-fi tropes.

Characters 4/5:
MurderBot has a great narrative voice. He's very dry and witty and to me reads as if he has quite a few autistic tendencies -- whether an artificial intelligence unit can be said to have ASD is another matter entirely. He's learning how to behave around people and how to read social situations while having superior intellect and physical capacity beyond the humans he is employed by. This short loses a star in characters for me because I didn't feel particularly connected to any of the supporting characters. I think this is part of the detachment that MurderBot feels, but it just made it hard for me to give the characters 5 stars.

Plot 4/5:
This was a fun, engaging plot. I love the high stakes life or death problems that result from conspiracies in space (think Illuminae) and this definitely was that, but on a small scale, because of the length of the novella. I kind of enjoy when the tech stuff goes a LITTLE over my head, but it feels like the characters know what they're doing, and I just really enjoyed this little adventure. It's a great friggin' time.

Setting and atmosphere 3.5/5:
This novella relied a lot on the classic space sci-fi tropes, with advanced technology, terraforming etc. It wasn't anything new in this sense, but I think it did a pretty good job of entrenching itself well within those tropes and using those tropes to build a complete world. I never felt like the world was isolated, but I would maybe have liked a little more time dedicated to worldbuilding.

Writing style 4.5/5:
I really appreciated Martha Wells writing style in this. The way MurderBot's narrative and voice all work together to build this story and this AI character that you absolutely feel for is spectacular. I can't wait to read more in this series and see more of MurderBot's adventures!

hebrin's review against another edition

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5.0

I thoroughly enjoyed it. I had the pleasure of listening to the audiobook, and the narrator was perfect. The title "The MurderBot Diaries" can be a little off-putting, but it's not like a senseless murder spree bot story. It's funny, suspenseful, and the action quick and effective. I'm definitely going to read the complete series.

geminica's review against another edition

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5.0

Murderbot is the right series for when you feel isolated and sad and can't cope with much, but you also desperately need to laugh and get outside your head. It has been perfect pandemic reading for me.

After finishing All Systems Red in February, I picked up something else and enjoyed it but wasn't able to stay away from Murderbot. I kept returning for the next book and the next... just finished book #5 last night. Looking forward to the next one; not because of hooks or cliffhangers, but because it just feels good to inhabit these books.

ijshapiro's review against another edition

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5.0

Decided to give this a re-read since I was kinda zoned out the first time and I wanted to brush up so that I can dig into the rest of the series. I think it really helped to read the physical book since the story was so fast paced (which was probably why I missed some details during the audiobook the first time around).

I stand by my original opinion, which is that I love how ~relatable~ a murderous security robot can be. Like yeah, it could kill everyone, but it would really rather just watch TV and not make eye contact with anyone.

I think this first novella was a really interesting setup. I was invested in the plot, and reflecting on it now I’m really interested to learn more about the mysterious company, and how our Murderbot grows and continues to learn about itself.

sarahbb_'s review against another edition

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4.0

So enjoyable! Second time reading.

madlovenovelist's review against another edition

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5.0

Actual rating 4.75 stars.

What an incredible start to the series. ‘All Systems Red’ is a wonderful surprise. I was instantly sucked into Murderbot’s world and did not come out until I finished this novella. It has a distinct tone and voice that really adds to the narrative and perspective. Plus, Murderbot is hilarious without even trying. This was such a pleasurable reading experience in a genre I adore.

We hit the ground running as our protagonist Murderbot is on the job making sure the human employers are not harmed or killed in a precarious occupation from competitive companies that will do anything for a profit. Wells manages to weave in story, character development, and humour in a minimal number of pages; I am totally envious of her writing skill. The undertone of the discovery of self and identity is a slow building one, but something that grounds the story and makes it relatable.

I got surprises. I got my sci-fi fix. I got interesting characters and a cracking pace! All wrapped up in a quick read, in the form of a novella.

Not a lot I can say without giving away too much of the story – and this is more of an episodic plot, each book in the series builds the world more and more. All I can say is- read the book! Am already excited to read as much of the series as I can! Next up ‘Exit Strategy.’

tiffanyskidmore's review against another edition

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4.0

Very quick read, entertaining, laugh-out-loud funny at points, and has a really interesting protagonist. With the novella length in mind, my partner and I are going to try this out as a read a loud before bed—taking turns reading to each other. It looks like there will be a mini series about it as well! Fun!

anotherfangirl's review against another edition

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4.0

A robot with a conscience. I like that idea since I watched the movie I, Robot when I was younger.

This was a great read, just what I was looking for. Nicely written, an interesting and fast-paced plot and good characters. Especially Murderbot itself was really likeable and fascinating. It was surprising to see that I identified so much with the protagonist.

The only reason I gave it four instead of five stars was that it was a novella and not a full-length novel. The ending felt too abrupt and it seemed like the story could have easily been expanded into a full novel.

I can’t wait for the second part in May 2018.

mickeyg's review against another edition

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3.0

Fun, quick read. Felt like I jumped in the middle,as not a ton of world building, but enough to follow the plot.