T;LDR: A sci-fi novella set in an unexplored planet with a malfunctioning (on purpose) Security Unit bot, All Systems Red features humor and a possible answer to the question: Is AI humanesque and does the AI want to be?
My rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
A novella set in space, in a different time than ours, where intrepid explorers land on planets to study them. With every exploration group a SecUnit, or security unit bot, is assigned. All Systems Red is written from the point of view of Murderbot, the self-named SecUnit who has a faulty (intentionally so) governor module. What was supposed to be a routine research mission soon turns deadly.
Overall, it is a well-written book. Murderbot is hilarious, has some human-like features, but still remains a bot in many ways, and even with the brevity (149 tiny tiny pages), gives us likeable and warm characters with which to connect. For this reason, it gets my top rating — 5 out of 5 stars.
The Plot
As mentioned, a group of scientists are on a research mission to study an unexplored planet. In this future world, corporations dominate space exploration, which requires the Company to approve and supply any missions. Exploratory teams are assigned security units, SecUnits, (androids) to ensure their safety and protocols are kept. The SecUnits have a governor module, which as you can guess, governs the SecUnit’s behavior.
This particular group of scientists is small — only six in total — so they have just one SecUnit. Unbeknownst to them, however, their particular unit has self-hacked his governor module so that it can decide who it wants to be. It’s named itself Murderbot and spends a lot of its time watching entertainment vids. Murderbot doesn’t like interacting with humans, doesn’t like sitting with humans, and really just wants to go do its own thing.
Things get sticky after an unexpected incident where one of the team is almost eaten by giant worm-like creature. The Murderbot was given a command in opposition to what it decided to do — help the human. Upon investigation, the team soon realizes that not only are their maps incomplete, but there is someone else on this planet determined to be the only surviving team to survey it.
T;LDR: A self-aware SecUnit, who just wants to do its own thing while maintaining a modicum of professional performance, is soon caught up in a mystery that could destroy not only itself but also the entire team it is expected to protect. When a neighboring survey team goes dark, the stakes increase. Can Murderbot protect its team of humans while keeping its unique nature under wraps?
What I Liked & Liked Less
I really liked this book. It’s possible I liked it more because it was light reading relief from Titus Groan, which is a more complex prose and story structure, but I doubt it.
I love Murderbot. Not only is it hilarious, but the things that embarrass it or make it uncomfortable are funny and endearing. It finds itself doing things it doesn’t need to and even comes to like the humans in its care (much to its chagrin). The author did an amazing job keeping it a bot while exploring the edges of what an AI in a human form could be like if ungoverned.
I also liked the scientist team. Each character was unique, had depth, and had different reactions to not only their predicament, but also Murderbot’s idiosyncrasies. They never felt flat and while some, Dr. Mensah for example, had more air time than others, Pin-Lee, they all still felt like real people in a very short book.
The plot is basic, but eventful enough to keep you turning the pages. It really is about Murderbot and its reactions to what is happening, as well as its growth. But the author didn’t skimp on the plot.
Honestly, the only thing I didn’t like is how short it is. I can see where the author cut the story down — the ultimate showdown at the end — to keep it within a novella’s length. That was definitely a choice. This story could have been drawn out longer and been novel-length. Because I liked it so much, I wanted it to be just that — longer. But that is a personal feeling, rather than a critical thought about the book. It is perfect as it is and doesn’t need to be longer just to satisfy my longing for something with more pages.
And, it’s a six book series, so I’m not done with Murderbot just yet.
To Sum Up (Too Late!)
This is a fun, engaging, and surprisingly deep sci-fi novella about a Murderbot. The author tackles some of the tougher questions — what separates a human from an AI? — in a simple, yet satisfying way. Because it was indeed fun, easy to read, and had little actual issues, it gets my top score of five stars.
About the Author
Martha Wells has been an SF/F writer since her first fantasy novel was published in 1993, and her work includes The Books of the Raksura series, The Death of the Necromancer, the Fall of Ile-Rien trilogy, The Murderbot Diaries series, media tie-ins for Star Wars, Stargate: Atlantis, and Magic: the Gathering, as well as short fiction, YA novels, and non-fiction. She has won a Nebula Award, two Hugo Awards, two Locus Awards, and her work has appeared on the Philip K. Dick Award ballot, the BSFA Award ballot, the USA Today Bestseller List, and the New York Times Bestseller List. Her books have been published in eighteen languages.
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This book fulfills another square in my Fantasy Bingo Card — the square with First Person POV.
Originally published on Feedium.