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34.9k reviews for:

All Systems Red

Martha Wells

4.11 AVERAGE

adventurous funny fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
fast-paced

Audiobook read.
Very fun. The usual “sarcastic pessimistic wiseass who knows better than everyone else” narrator but a bearable amount. Autistic-coded robot which is usually iffy but I didn’t hate it. Decent world building.

All I knew about this series going into it is that it was a bit divisive, but beloved by most who usually read science fiction and knew what they were getting into. I also heard of some comparisons of Murderbot's experiences with those on the spectrum, so I was curious to explore that as well.

I enjoyed listening to the dramatized adaptation, the voice actors all had pleasing voices and performed well, even though Murderbot's inner monologues took up about 90% of the story. It took some time to catch all the characters, but the Murderbot's thinking and feelings were quite relatable and at times a bit quirky in a sweet way (no offense).

I liked the detective-type storyline, but honestly did not connect much with the other characters, and by the end of this book I kind of understood why that might have been the case (I wouldn't like to spoil this too much for whoever might be reading this).

I've seen a lot of negative reviews just DNF-ing this perhaps too soon, some finding it a bit juvenile (Murderbot just got himself hacked, so I perceive him like a teenager on the emotional level even if he's intellectually capable), and most just did not care about the characters or found the story incomplete - but I quite enjoy short reads where not everything is revealed and spelled out for the reader, so it was a good fit for me.

It did take ne time to get into this book, but it was worth it. I might consider re-reading this at some point, for a fuller experience.
adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
adventurous funny tense fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Yes
adventurous fast-paced
lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I was really excited to read this books but found it poorly executed. By the end of the book i felt like i barely knew any more about the world and characters than i did in the first chapter. Plus i felt like there was no resolution at the end. I’m fine with cliffhanger but you have to resolve at least a few aspects of the story. 
adventurous lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No