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A review by eesh25
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
4.0
Reread Update: Yeah, loved it the second time as well. Muderbot is such a great protagonists. And I feel like I was unnecessarily critical of the world-building last time. There's nothing wrong with it, we just don't get a lot because this is a short book focused on making sure we get to know Muderbot well, which we do. I'm excited to finally continue the series.
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I was pleasantly surprised by this novella. Even though the synopsis sounded really cool, I didn't have many expectations. It's about a robot, but since it also has organic parts, I'm thinking more of a cyborg. But that's beside the point. The protagonist, and narrator, refers to itself as Murderbot. It's managed to hack into its system and sever the part which makes it obligated to obey the company that created it. The first line of the novella is this:
I mean, how awesome is that? Anyone who decides to forgo mass murder because there are so many book and TV shows to watch... that's my kind of person.
Then there's the fact that it genuinely does not give a fuck about anyone. It just wants to watch the shows and be left alone. It only does a half-assed job whenever it's assigned to accompany a team of employers for their survey on a planet, acting as monitor and security. This time, there's another team, people who actually seem nice. Not that it cares. It usually avoids people. But then stuff starts to go wrong and our beloved Murderbot may be the only chance of the team's survival.
It's a good plot. And the side characters are likable. I especially liked the team leader and the one guy who didn't like our Murderbot. The world building could use work. I still can't get a clear picture of what kind of world the novella is set in. If it weren't for the protagonist being as brilliant as it is, the novella wouldn't have been as good.
Back to Murderbot. I love this it. In fact, I have a couple more quotes from the novella.
How could you not love it?! I can't wait to see where it will go next, especially after that ending, which I also loved. I highly recommend this novella, if only just so you can get to know Murderbot.
*********************************************
I was pleasantly surprised by this novella. Even though the synopsis sounded really cool, I didn't have many expectations. It's about a robot, but since it also has organic parts, I'm thinking more of a cyborg. But that's beside the point. The protagonist, and narrator, refers to itself as Murderbot. It's managed to hack into its system and sever the part which makes it obligated to obey the company that created it. The first line of the novella is this:
I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites.
I mean, how awesome is that? Anyone who decides to forgo mass murder because there are so many book and TV shows to watch... that's my kind of person.
Then there's the fact that it genuinely does not give a fuck about anyone. It just wants to watch the shows and be left alone. It only does a half-assed job whenever it's assigned to accompany a team of employers for their survey on a planet, acting as monitor and security. This time, there's another team, people who actually seem nice. Not that it cares. It usually avoids people. But then stuff starts to go wrong and our beloved Murderbot may be the only chance of the team's survival.
It's a good plot. And the side characters are likable. I especially liked the team leader and the one guy who didn't like our Murderbot. The world building could use work. I still can't get a clear picture of what kind of world the novella is set in. If it weren't for the protagonist being as brilliant as it is, the novella wouldn't have been as good.
Back to Murderbot. I love this it. In fact, I have a couple more quotes from the novella.
"Are you all right?"
That was too much attention. I turned around and walked into the corner, facing away from them.
I liked the imaginary people on the entertainment feed way more than I liked the real ones, but you can't have one without the other.
How could you not love it?! I can't wait to see where it will go next, especially after that ending, which I also loved. I highly recommend this novella, if only just so you can get to know Murderbot.