Book Description
From All Systems Red (Murderbot Diaries #1)
“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”
In a corporate-dominated space-faring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. For their own safety, exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids. 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 is 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, Murderbot 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 Murderbot to get to the truth.
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An Editor’s Book Review
Character Development
As a series of novellas written in first person (I, me, etc.), the most important character is Murderbot. I think readers can really connect with Murderbot’s search for an identity, desire to move past unpleasant events, and need to watch TV series to block out the world. The main character can be a bit inhuman, but its struggles seem like the most human part of the entire series.
Pacing
The majority of the Murderbot books (save one) are novellas (~180 pages). I could typically read one in just a few hours. They are very fast paced, perhaps a bit formulaic. There is typically an inciting incident, a problem to be solved, and a number of people stopping Murderbot from reaching that goal. The pace moves so fast that some of my favorite scenes are the slower ones, where the main character tries to figure out what it wants to be.
Writing Style
It’s hard to overstate the irony and snark in this book. The publisher liked the last line of the first paragraph for the quote to put on the back cover. I think the first line is a better approximation of the humor in the book.
I could have become a mass murderer after hacking my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites.
Martha Wells, All Systems Red
Of course, what you can also seen from this line is that there are a lot assumptions made about the reader understanding the world. If you’re a regular sci-fi reader, it’s not a problem. My husband has only read The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy so I think some of the technology references may have gone over his head. If you don’t know what an “ansible” is, it may be not be the best fit for you.
If you liked this book, you might like The Galaxy and Ground Within by Becky Chambers.