Title : All Systems Red
Author : Martha Wells
Narrators : Kevin R. Free
Genre : Sci-fi
Publisher : Recorded Books
Listening Length : 3 hours 17 minutes
Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Narrator Rating : ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Don’t we all need a smart-talking, snarky robot in love with space operas? If you agree, read on!
All Systems Red is the first book of The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. It and the remaining 6 in the series are set in the future where humans have colonized many planets, jet about in sophisticated ships controlled by super smart AI constructs.
Our protagonist is one of many robots which are required for security when exploring a new planet. His private name for himself is “Murderbot”. Murderbot has disabled the system-installed “Governor module” – so he can’t be punished or forced to do anything – but still tries to do the right thing. He has all the qualities of a “good” human being, and is also witty and snarky! He is full of gumption and daring (and some bravado) and supremely confident of his abilities.
Funnily enough, he strongly dislikes face-to-face communication and hates it when some humans want to talk to it about “feelings”.
“Yes, talk to Murderbot about its feelings. The idea was so painful I dropped to 97 percent efficiency.”
He loves space operas and consumes a large number of TV series – the favorite being “The Rise and Fall of Sanctuary Moon”. He has definite opinions, likes and dislikes, and displays some very human like tendencies.
“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.”
In All Systems Red, we see Murderbot being contracted with Dr. Mensah’s team which is exploring a new planet. He must try and save them from attacks by the local fauna as well as another mysterious entity. The story is short and simple but juicy – there are the good guys and the bad guys, and the good guys need to win. There are great descriptions of ships, Hubsystems, sentient AIs, drones and violent battles. The easy-to-root-for protagonist and other interesting, well-sketched characters seal the deal.
I sped through this book and can’t wait to listen to the others. Narrator Kevin Free is a marvel!
