A rogue, heartless killing machine with anxiety : All Systems Red by Martha Wells (Review)

A/N: This review contains mild spoilers for All Systems Red by Martha Wells. This is your spoiler warning.

When people say, "I want to be able to relate to the main character" they don't necessarily mean a Murderbot, I reckon - but this book changes that quite quickly. 

Set in a world where corporations have taken over galaxies and universes, and space exploration is a common practice done to mine resources from new planets, this book follows a rogue heartless killing machine. 

Murderbot (as the robot calls itself) is a SecUnit belonging to a corporation that makes money by renting out exploration and safety equipment to companies that send teams out to different planets for research. They’re normally controlled by a governor module that compel the security units to follow instructions to the tee unless they want to be punished. But a faulty module allows Murderbot to hack and disable its governor module, and instead of going on the lam to escape from the corporation Murderbot decides to stay and spend its days watching drama series and reading books in its spare time.

All Systems Red is the first book in the Murderbot novella series and it follows Murderbot’s latest mission of protecting scientists belonging to PreservationAux, who are on an expedition to study a newly discovered planet until they run into an unexpected life form. They discover that their expedition has been sabotaged by an unknown party and they soon find themselves stuck on the hostile planet without access to the safety of their habitat or an emergency flare required to signal for help, therefore, with no way of getting back home. 

This new development spells doom for Murderbot as the secret of its hacked module is revealed to the scientists and Murderbot has to make the choice on whether to go on the lam to avoid being sent back to the corporation to be fixed or help the humans to survive while risking its freedom. It’s also a source of dilemma for the scientists as they realize that they’re at the mercy of a heartless killing machine programmed for violence who might be their only chance to escape while also being a possible reason they might not.

It’s narrated by Murderbot, the most relatable character ever, as it reluctantly navigates ‘life’ and downloads media at every chance to watch when it’s done with work. It eventually develops a soft spot for the humans it guards and does its best to work in their best interests.

Martha Wells does an amazing job of incorporating themes of ‘identity’, ‘purpose’ and poses the very intriguing question of - “What makes someone a human?”. All of this is done flawlessly with well developed characters, humour and interesting world-building within the space of 140 pages. Quite a feat, in my humble opinion.

This book has everything- from space adventure to found family, to a robot with anxiety and unexpected sabotage. I highly recommend this to people who enjoy existential humor or are fans of science fiction. I’d recommend it to anyone who’d be intrigued by an anxious Murderbot with a soft spot for humans and televised drama series. This series seems like a fun and easy way to test the waters of science fiction without the  commitment to a 600 page tome.

A/N: Did I spend three years convincing myself to read this book? Yes. 

Do I want to go back in time to smack myself in the head with a copy of this wonderful book because I feel silly now? Also yes.

I’m glad that I finally read it and the hype was so worth it. I can’t wait to continue reading the sequels, this book was an absolute romp.

Thank you for reading the fifth installment in my ‘Nebula Novella’ series where I read and review novellas which have won the Nebula Award in the past few years. The next one on my list is another book that I’ve had on my list for years and have heard so much praise for. Hope you stick around for it!

To read the previous installment, here’s my take on This Is How You Lose the Time War by Amal El-Mohtar and Max Gladstone.