A review by sergek94
All Systems Red by Martha Wells

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

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

2.75

 

Murderbot, a cyborg that was able to hack into its governor module and gain independence, by not having to follow company commands, hates dealing with humans. It just wants to do its job and spend hours watching soap-operas. Unfortunately for Murderbot, the mission it's on gets exceptionally hectic, and it has to sacrifice its precious alone time to deal with the messy problems of messy humans. Throughout this debacle, Murderbot notices that these humans actually care for its well-being, and don't see it as a purely disposable machine that can be easily replaced. Even more shocking is the fact that Murderbot might just be slowly reciprocating these feelings back.

This is a short SF novella that is very much loved by the SF community, so I went into it with high expectations. However, it seems like I've found myself treading the dangerous "Unpopular Opinionland" with this one.This novella didn't elicit any feelings in me. Murderbot didn't really feel like a cyborg, and felt like just another grumpy old human who slowly softens up. I had trouble suspending my disbelief and convincing myself that a machine is capable of being this human like. The plot was utterly forgettable for me, and as I write this review after about 10 days of finishing the novella, I am truly struggling to remember what even happened. Perhaps I should have listened to the audiobook? Maybe hearing the narration might have immersed me more into this story... But as it stands, I can't really seem to see anything special here.

I still want to give this series more of a try though, so I will be reading the next installment, or perhaps listening to it, hoping Murderbot will grow on me eventually.



“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. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”