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A review by mediaevalmuse
All Systems Red by Martha Wells
3.0
I’m a little torn about this book because on the one hand, I loved the humor and sarcasm of Murderbot, and in general, the main conflict is an interesting premise. There was a lot of potential for some interesting character development and the growth of whether or not Murderbot was invested in humanity. On the other hand, I found some things to be lacking and the prose to be generally plain. It was a fun read, and one that I’d recommend, but it didn’t blow me away as much as I hoped it would.
Things I Liked
1. Premise: The idea of a droid or robot hacking its own security system and needing to keep it a secret is exciting to me. I love stories about rogue robots or droids that end up being more complex than just “I overrode my protocols so now I’m a killing machine.” In that regard, All Systems Red is a fresh take on the rogue droid narrative and presents interesting questions about what motivates the main character without a system to mandate its choices.
2. Murderbot: Murderbot’s personality is exactly the kind I love in a protagonist. It’s witty, sarcastic, somewhat indifferent to humanity, and just wants to watch tv instead of interacting with people.
3. Complexity of Gender Identity and Sexuality: I really picked up on the fact that Murderbot was not gendered and that a lot of humans in this universe were part of polyamorous marriages. Although not the main foci of the story, it was just the kind of richness that I love in my sci fi.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Narrative: I was a tad annoyed that for most of the book, the antagonist was theorized and alluded to without being seen (or without proof of existence). In general, I don’t really like this method of storytelling because it doesn’t quite show that there’s a real threat until the bad guy actually shows up. When we did finally see the antagonist, the conflict was too brief to be meaningful for me, and readers don’t even get to see how it is resolved. Overall, everything felt very rushed.
2. Emphasis: I was kind of hoping that more emphasis would be placed on the implications of Murderbot’s hacked security drive, but it seemed to just be a matter-of-fact character trait. Given the setting, it seems like it would be a bigger deal, especially if the company is anything like our current corporations.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in robots, droids, artificial intelligence, rogue robots/droids, space capitalism and corporations, exploration missions, planet science, and books with sarcasm/humor.
Things I Liked
1. Premise: The idea of a droid or robot hacking its own security system and needing to keep it a secret is exciting to me. I love stories about rogue robots or droids that end up being more complex than just “I overrode my protocols so now I’m a killing machine.” In that regard, All Systems Red is a fresh take on the rogue droid narrative and presents interesting questions about what motivates the main character without a system to mandate its choices.
2. Murderbot: Murderbot’s personality is exactly the kind I love in a protagonist. It’s witty, sarcastic, somewhat indifferent to humanity, and just wants to watch tv instead of interacting with people.
3. Complexity of Gender Identity and Sexuality: I really picked up on the fact that Murderbot was not gendered and that a lot of humans in this universe were part of polyamorous marriages. Although not the main foci of the story, it was just the kind of richness that I love in my sci fi.
Things I Didn’t Like
1. Narrative: I was a tad annoyed that for most of the book, the antagonist was theorized and alluded to without being seen (or without proof of existence). In general, I don’t really like this method of storytelling because it doesn’t quite show that there’s a real threat until the bad guy actually shows up. When we did finally see the antagonist, the conflict was too brief to be meaningful for me, and readers don’t even get to see how it is resolved. Overall, everything felt very rushed.
2. Emphasis: I was kind of hoping that more emphasis would be placed on the implications of Murderbot’s hacked security drive, but it seemed to just be a matter-of-fact character trait. Given the setting, it seems like it would be a bigger deal, especially if the company is anything like our current corporations.
Recommendations: I would recommend this book if you’re interested in robots, droids, artificial intelligence, rogue robots/droids, space capitalism and corporations, exploration missions, planet science, and books with sarcasm/humor.