All Systems Red by Martha Wells

 

I listened to the unabridged audio version of All Systems Red by Martha Wells, which is narrated by Kevin R. Free. I wasn't a fan of Kevin R. Free's narration of this work, so probably won't seek out other books he has narrated.

Listening time for All Systems Red by Martha Wells is 3 hours, 17 minutes making it a very quick read for me!!

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is short, science fiction novella that's been on my reading wishlist since 2018 or 2019. I was thrilled to have finally listened to All Systems Red recently as I was intrigued by the storyline.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells has a lot of positive reviews and seems to be really well received by many readers. All Systems Red also won both the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novella and the 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novella. So with its intriguing storyline, the fact that it had won two major literary awards and had been nominated for other literary awards, and is well liked by readers, I wanted to read All Systems Red. 

What I loved about All Systems Red is that it is told through the perspective of a cyborg who has been able to override its original programming and is essentially autonomous. However, its creators do not know this and the cyborg (who calls itself, Murderbot) still works as a SecUnit, a security unit, that has been designed to to protect humans on research missions. I enjoyed reading how human like Murderbot seems to be in many ways, especially after more time spent interacting with other human beings. Murderbot actually loves watching soap operas, which I found humorous. I also loved the world building for All Systems Red as well as the character interactions and how the humans respond to the cyborg once they find out it is autonomous.

However, with all the hype and accolades surrounding, All Systems Red, I was hoping to love it as much as other readers did. But, alas, I didn't love it like I hoped I would. This doesn't mean that I didn't enjoy reading All Systems Red. I did like it, but just didn't love it.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells is also the first book in a series. I do not intend to continue reading the series.

Below is the publisher's summary for All Systems Red by Martha Wells, which I found on Chirp's website:

All Systems Red is the first tense science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells’ series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld and Ex Machina. All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie’s Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks’ Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. In a corporate-dominated spacefaring 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.

I am giving All Systems Red by Martha Wells a rating of 3 stars out of 5 stars.

Until my next post, happy reading!!