Welcome back to another review of short science fiction! This week I take a look at Martha Wells's 2017 novella "All Systems Red" - the first in a series called The Murderbot Diaries. Ooh - sounds kinda spooky!
Non-Spoiler Summary
This story is about a cyborg security unit assigned to protect a group of explorers on a recently discovered world. The cyborg has named himself "Murderbot" because, well, he kinda flipped out on a previous expedition and killed a bunch of people! But he is alright now because the security company wiped and reset his brain. Oh, and he also figured out how to hack his own governing protocols - although nobody knows about that! Now all he really wants to do is watch movies while interacting with humans as little as possible. He gets really uncomfortable around humans - especially if they do stupid things, like trying to talk to him. I would almost call him shy, but I think it is deeper than that.
Anyway, one day while the humans are excavating a site they are attacked by a large native animal / monster. Although Murderbot saves the injured humans, this event sets in motion a chain of revealing discoveries - like the fact that parts of their maps are intentionally missing, and that something has happened to the other expedition team on the far side of the planet! Once Murderbot and the humans figure out that something is seriously amiss, they start making plans to protect themselves and get rescued. However things don't always go according to plan, and there is a lot of improvising as they all just try to survive. But can Murderbot keep his own secrets while trying to protect the humans from other threats like himself? Well, that will take a delicate bit of negotiating. It's a good thing at least one of the humans has excellent social and leadership skills!
My Two Cents
- "All Systems Red" was nominated for a ton of awards, and won many of them, including the 2018 Hugo, Nebula, Alex and Locus awards for Best Novella! I figure that is a pretty good résumé!
- Story:
- While it is not completely unique, the story-line is still quite good. It has explorers on a new, dangerous planet, cyborgs with dark secrets, and mysterious groups of people who are trying to bully their way to the top - what's not to love?!
- Writing:
- Martha Wells is a great writer, and it really shows in this story. The writing flows nicely, and there aren't any of those jarring dialogues that take you out of your willing suspension of disbelief. That's always a good thing.
- Fun Factor: - I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story. A good story with interesting characters and loads of intriguing secrets kept me turning the (virtual) pages quickly!
Where To Find All Systems Red
- Unfortunately this story isn't available for free, but you can purchase a nice copy (either virtual or hardcopy) of "All Systems Red" at Amazon.com.†
Want More Stories Like This One?
If you liked "All Systems Red" then I have a few suggestions for you:
- This is only the first book in a whole series about Murderbot! Be sure to check out the sequels: "Artificial Condition", "Rogue Protocol" and "Exit Strategy".†
- Murderbot reminds me of the robot in another story I read earlier this year: "Fandom for Robots by Vina Jie-Min Prasad. If you haven't read it then be sure to check out that fantastic yarn about a vintage, living computer addicted to Japanese anime!
- I actually got a free copy of this wonderful novella by being signed up for Reactor's newsletter. If you aren't part of it then I recommend you sign up - they are constantly giving away some great fantasy and science fiction ebooks for free!
† - These are affiliate links. Learn more on my Privacy & Disclosure page.
(This is a revised version of a post which was originally published on BestScienceFictionStories.com on Nov 16th, 2018.)
