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A review by aksmith92
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
adventurous
funny
mysterious
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
3.5
I did love the idea of Murderbot!
The setup: Murderbot (but only to itself - to others, it's known as SecUnit) is a Company-supplied security android made to protect certain people who buy (or rent) it. It's made specifically for security detail but also follows Company rules via the governor module. After a past incident that left Murderbot scornful of humans, it also decides to hack its own governor module to play by its own rules. So now, Murderbot, self-aware and annoyed at the world, wants to be left alone by a team of scientists and only wants to watch (essentially) the soap operas it downloaded.
However, things start to go a bit wrong when conducting surface tests on the planet. The team of scientists notice discrepancies in their data and decides to investigate the issue(s) with the neighboring society. One thing leads to the next, and the team decides to figure out the truth of what's going on.
Even though Murderbot wants to sit down and watch its TV, it also begins to have human emotions with the team that it has been assigned to, especially as they begin to piece together a rather intriguing mystery.
What I liked: This was a quick and easy read while still packing a punch as we got to know Murderbot and its companions. The premise of them working through a space mystery was compelling and exciting and made me keep turning the pages (well, clicking on my Kindle). The novella was told from Murderbot's first-person point of view, and I felt it was great to get to know Murderbot, its past, and its rather complicated "feelings" for the situation and people at hand. I enjoyed Murderbot and the plot and thought it was an interesting take on science fiction. Additionally, many pieces of Murderbot's "person"ality were quite funny. It was complicated for a bot, yet at the same time, pretty emotionally distant.
What could have been better: Honestly, this book was a bit of world-building sliced between the novel's action (because it was so short!). While this needed to be done because of the book's shortness, it led to me needing clarification. This is a personal problem; it might not be your problem! All things considered, Martha Wells did an excellent job combining the two (action and world-building), but I was still slightly puzzled.
Additionally, the ending fell flat. I totally get that the purpose of this novel was told from Murderbot's perspective, so we only knew what Murderbot knew. We heard what Murderbot cared about, and if it didn't care about something, then we didn't get to know about it or hear more about it. With that said, the ending could have been fleshed out, and we only got small pieces about the aftermath of the significant action scene!
Overall, I was confused, leading to a 3.5. I was itching for more from this novel but plan to continue the series!
The setup: Murderbot (but only to itself - to others, it's known as SecUnit) is a Company-supplied security android made to protect certain people who buy (or rent) it. It's made specifically for security detail but also follows Company rules via the governor module. After a past incident that left Murderbot scornful of humans, it also decides to hack its own governor module to play by its own rules. So now, Murderbot, self-aware and annoyed at the world, wants to be left alone by a team of scientists and only wants to watch (essentially) the soap operas it downloaded.
However, things start to go a bit wrong when conducting surface tests on the planet. The team of scientists notice discrepancies in their data and decides to investigate the issue(s) with the neighboring society. One thing leads to the next, and the team decides to figure out the truth of what's going on.
Even though Murderbot wants to sit down and watch its TV, it also begins to have human emotions with the team that it has been assigned to, especially as they begin to piece together a rather intriguing mystery.
What I liked: This was a quick and easy read while still packing a punch as we got to know Murderbot and its companions. The premise of them working through a space mystery was compelling and exciting and made me keep turning the pages (well, clicking on my Kindle). The novella was told from Murderbot's first-person point of view, and I felt it was great to get to know Murderbot, its past, and its rather complicated "feelings" for the situation and people at hand. I enjoyed Murderbot and the plot and thought it was an interesting take on science fiction. Additionally, many pieces of Murderbot's "person"ality were quite funny. It was complicated for a bot, yet at the same time, pretty emotionally distant.
What could have been better: Honestly, this book was a bit of world-building sliced between the novel's action (because it was so short!). While this needed to be done because of the book's shortness, it led to me needing clarification. This is a personal problem; it might not be your problem! All things considered, Martha Wells did an excellent job combining the two (action and world-building), but I was still slightly puzzled.
Additionally, the ending fell flat. I totally get that the purpose of this novel was told from Murderbot's perspective, so we only knew what Murderbot knew. We heard what Murderbot cared about, and if it didn't care about something, then we didn't get to know about it or hear more about it. With that said, the ending could have been fleshed out, and we only got small pieces about the aftermath of the significant action scene!
Overall, I was confused, leading to a 3.5. I was itching for more from this novel but plan to continue the series!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail