All Systems Red

There is something about winter storms that allow one to catch up on their reading list.  And when one has a delightful book to read, it makes the snow and bitter cold feel very far away.  That being said, I should warn my dear readers that during this last plunge of the temperature into the negative numbers, I read four books.  Not sure if I am going to write reviews for all of them, but this one,  All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells, was to good to not share.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”  -Murderbot

All Systems Red is the first of four novels in the Murderbot Diaries Series written by Martha Wells.  Exploring the theme of what it means to be human, this book introduces us to Murderbot and the futuristic time that it lives in.

“In a corporate dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company.  Exploratory Teams are accompanied by Company supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company supplied ‘droid – a self aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as ‘Murderbot.’  Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it’s up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.”  – All Systems Red book cover

The novel is narrated by Murderbot, who is made of half organic material and half machine.  Murderbot is also extremely uncomfortable with the humans it is tasked to protect.

“So, I’m awkward with actual humans.  It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me.  I know that I am a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes us both nervous, which makes me even more nervous.”  -Murderbot

I found the premise of this book intriguing.  And because I am always looking for a good book to read, upon reading the description of All Systems Red, I had to have it and find out what it was all about.

All Systems Red is a fascinating story.  I literally read this book in one sitting.  It is an amazing introduction to the series.  What makes this book such a delightful read is Murderbot and the internal dialogue of the character.  The series of events that are happening to the characters can’t help but pull the reader in.  I highly recommend this book and I can’t wait to read the rest of the books in the Murderbot Diaries Series.