A review by neuroqueer
All Systems Red by Martha Wells

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

5.0

Protagonists

  [ ] Hot garbage

  [ ] Boring boring boring

  [ ] Serviceable

  [ ] Likeable leads

  [x] I love them so much

Side Character

  [ ] Every character is terrible

  [ ] Characters commit sin of being boring/generic

  [ ] Enough interesting characters to balance out the few terrible ones

  [x] Likeable side characters

  [ ] Amazing characters all around

Antagonist(s)

  [ ] Hate them for the wrong reasons

  [ ] Cliché as hell

  [x] Serviceable

  [ ] Sympathetic or likeable enough that I don't want to hate them

  [ ] Love to hate them

Plot

  [ ] Average, generic plot

  [ ] Average plot made interesting with creativity

  [ ] Crazy plot that is either so bad it’s good or just plain bad

  [x] Unique plot that keeps you interested

Writing

  [ ] Terribly written

  [ ] Very simple but effective language

  [x] Average writing that does the job

  [ ] Beautiful but accessible writing

  [ ] Challenging

Short Summary:

This short book was very good. Set in the future where planets are being terraformed, this sci-fi story centers around a security robot who would rather just watch action movies and television dramas than focus and be around the people it has to protect. Murderbot is a fun character to follow around. It is awkward around humans but can throw out a clever comeback when it needs to. It tries to be cold and maintain distance with others but still reveals in thoughts and actions that it has grown attached to the group it was made to protect.

The other characters are fine. Out of the group of scientists that Murderbot has to protect, Mensah and Gurathin are the only ones given the most personality and conflict. The others are nice but that’s pretty much it - they are nice, forward-thinking people. I cared more about them mainly because Murderbot cared about them - not because of their own actions or personalities.

The plot itself is good - so many things are going wrong with their exploration of the planet. Is it just bad luck or is it sabotage? The answer feels weak to me (I don’t want to spoil it) but it wasn’t enough to make me want to throw the book away. I was still captivated after the reveal and was still hoping everything would work out for Murderbot and crew. The end of the book left me content. It made me look forward to the sequel.