A review by shanaqui
All Systems Red by Martha Wells

adventurous funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

 Ah, my favourite Murderbot (even counting Legion from Mass Effect). I'm revisiting partly before reading Fugitive Telemetry, partly for SciFiMonth, and partly because sometimes you just need a little bit of Murderbot in your lives. All it wants to do is settle down quietly to watch its media, and honestly, I agree (although I'd be reading and not watching).

It's also pretty relatable how much it hates having feelings and everything to do with feelings. Like, darn humans, darn organic parts, I just want to watch my media and not have feelings. Yep, Murderbot, I feel you. I also feel your connections to your humans, and how you can't quite stop yourself trying to do a good job for them, even when you think the Company is shit and your skills are shit and the clients are shit.

The other nice thing about Murderbot is that the books are so bitesize. 150 pages is a good size for an episodic sort of story, and also for the amount of thinking my brain's up for at the moment. There's enough here to chew on and to feel satisfying, and each book builds on the last, but still... it's a bit Monster of the Week, and I enjoy that Wells uses the format well like that.