Audio Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells
Series: The Murderbot Diaries #1
Published by Graphic Audio LLC on 2017-05-02
Length: 156 pages
Length: 2 hours and 33 minutes
Listening Speed: 1.5x
Reviewing Audiobook, Kindle from My Book Shelf
Rating:
Reading Challenges: 2025 Audiobook Challenge, 2025 Beat the Backlist, 2025 SFF Reading Challenge

A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

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.

This was fun! All Systems Red by Martha Wells is the first novella in The Murderbot Diaries, which follows the story of a murderous android protecting a team of scientists on a remote planet. When things start going wrong planetside, its up to Murderbot and his humans to discover what is happening and why the neighboring mission has gone dark.

Murderbot, as he calls himself, is a SecUnit, a security android, tasked with protecting the team who rents him for use. Unbeknownst to his employers and the scientists he protects, he has hacked his governor module and has become self-aware. Murderbot continues to do his job, protecting the scientists, but enjoys the moments he gets to himself to binge watch episodes of his favorite shows. He’s ambivalent to humans as most of his interactions with them have been through the security of his mask. However, when his humans are threatened, he’s determined to keep them safe.

I devoured this one, listening to it in one sitting. I opted to listen to the graphic audio, and I’m so glad that I did. The cast is fantastic. I felt like I was on the planet with them. Murderbot is hilarious. His humor is offbeat, making you question if you should laugh or not, so it may not be for everyone. The tension and suspense of not knowing what is happening to the other group of scientists and their SecUnits ramps up the pace of the plot which we are dumped into as readers almost immediately.

Overall, I really enjoyed All Systems Red. Murderbot is great. The team he’s assigned to protect creates an interesting dynamic with lots of different personalities meshing together. I cannot wait to dive into book two soon. If you enjoy sci-fi adventure/thrills, I highly recommend it.

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