ALL SYSTEMS RED: Martha Wells: 1 (Murderbot Diaries)

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All Systems Red is the first entry in Martha Wells' New York Times and USA Today bestselling, and Hugo and Nebula award-winning science fiction series, The Murderbot Diaries. Q: How did The Murderbot series happen for you? What was the initial inspiration, how did it develop, and from All Systems Red to Exit Strategy, did the story go as planned from the beginning, or were important changes made along the way? This book takes place just after Network Effect, which is where I wanted to be, more on that later. Here we find our favorite, freed SecUnit and its working with ART. However, Murderbot seems to be having some issues other than the task which they have set their mind to. Murderbot is experiencing things like self-doubt and anxiety and it is a pleasure to behold. Not that I'd wish anything bad would happen to it, it's just that I love its human qualities and I'm glad to see more of them. I prefer stories that feature bots and constructs more than their human companions from the Murderbot universe. Still, I can see this story being a nice little treat for fans while they waited for the publication of the next book in the series.

It feels unfinished. Just a small plot bunny with some editing mistakes. But it was nice. I liked it. Told from Mensah‘s POV, seeing Murderbot from the outside, but really struggling with her internal landscape after the events of the last novella. Unusual! For fans... Robot Buddy: To Don Abene and the other humans in their group; Murderbot calls it their “pet robot”. It’s about being treated as a thing, isn’t it. Whether that thing is a hostage of conditional value, or a very expensively designed and equipped enslaved machine/organic intelligence. You’re a thing, and there is no safety. stars, rounding up (saving that half-star for eventual narration by Kevin R. Free; I can’t wait to hear his rendition of Murderbot/ART banter). Clever, inventive, brutal when it needs to be, and compassionate without ever being sentimental." —Kate Elliott, author of the Spirit Walker trilogy

Tlacey

Murderbot is now with Dr. Mensah and the other Preservation Station characters who Murderbot was protecting in the first book, All Systems Red, and the fourth, Exit Strategy. Preservation is an unusually liberal society in this universe, where single-minded, coldhearted corporate profit-making is the norm, and Mensah and her family and friends treat Murderbot, who they call “SecUnit,”as a person rather than as a possession. Mensah’s brother-in-law Thiago, however, is suspicious of Murderbot’s influence over Mensah, and Mensah’s adolescent daughter Amana considers Murderbot an annoyance, especially after it scared off someone she thought was a romantic interest (“Yes, it was hilarious”). And she tells herself: you’re being very foolish. Because you were a hostage for a period of days, and it was a minor inconvenience compared to what Murderbot— No, SecUnit; she’s never been given permission to use that private name. What SecUnit went through. Murderbot does not care about humans and just wants to have time alone to figure out who they are. However, when a mission close by goes dark, Murderbot may have to work along scientists to find out what truly happened. Will they get results? Read this book to find out! Corrupt Corporate Executive: Steals Maro, Rami, and Tapan's work, then tries to murder them to silence them.

In the story, an augmented human named Greggy is found dead on an education space station near Jupiter. Station manager Jixy investigates and finds Greggy has been brutally murdered and several augments from his body have been stolen by the killer. This story provides clues about the origins of SecUnits and the Corporate Rim society. Enemy Civil War: There is an ongoing conflict between the Targets who are more infected and the ones who have retained their minds. Sapient Ship: A fully formed consciousness housed in a spaceship, as opposed to the more primitive bot pilots that are typical for the setting.Villain Ball: Repeatedly gets an opportunity to cut her losses and simply get Maro, Rami, and Tapan get their files and finally out of her hair. Eventually, of course, all will become clear, but that's why it helps to have recently refreshed recall of Network Effect. I mean, we all have our favorite episodes, right? All Systems Red and Exit Strategy are my equivalents of Sanctuary Moon, so those don't need much refreshing for me. There are few better literary thrills than unexpectedly stumbling across a Murderbot story! Especially if it's an online freebie. Note: Although this book was the sixth published in the series, it is a prequel to book 5, Network Effect. [13]

The novel reads a lot like the shorter adventures, especially at the start, and in a way it just feels like it's longer because there are more events taking place so it takes more words to tell what happened, rather than that the author set out to specifically "write a novel" as opposed to a novella -- which is nice, because the tone and style and everything remain beautifully consistent throughout the whole series -- but at the same time, the fact that it DOES spend more time on one plot and one group of characters means there is a chance to get a little more in-depth with various things and people, and that's nice too. Some stories/series are more suited to one type of writing or another, but I feel like with the Murderbot Diaries there is no wrong length. Whether you're sitting down for ten minutes or ten hours, you're going to get the same delightfully enjoyable experience out of these books. You know that thing humans do where they think they’re being completely logical and they absolutely are not being logical at all, and on some level they know that, but can’t stop? Apparently it can happen to SecUnits, too.”————— The other continuing thread is the right of a sentient intelligent being to self-determination and personhood, the overarching theme of the entire series. Trigger-Happy: Doesn't exactly understand the concept of minimal force. Murderbot has to convince it not to resolve a hostage situation by blasting apart the vessel and then rescuing the hostages before they asphyxiate, then later the humans convince it not to rescue Murderbot by Colony Droping the villains along with everyone else in the city. Not only a fun, fast-paced space-thriller, but also a sharp, sometimes moving character study that will resonate with introverts even if they're not lethal AI machines.” —Malka Older, author of Infomocracy I was working on the last book in the The Books of Raksura series, The Harbors of the Sun, and as I finished that draft, I was getting all kinds of ideas for what I wanted to do next.Martha Wells’ Murderbot has been gathering enthusiastic fans (which would be certain to have Murderbot hiding behind its opaque armored faceplate), along with multiple Nebula, Hugo and other awards and nominations, as each of the first four novellas in the MURDERBOT DIARIES series has been published over the last three years. In Network Effect, the first full-length novel in this series, Wells is able to explore a more complex plot and to more fully develop Murderbot’s character and its relationships with others. The bot and AI characters — Murderbot, ART, and a couple of new ones — are absolutely fantastic. Murderbot’s and ART’s friendship (though Murderbot would be really reluctant to call it a friendship) gets a lot more complicated and real, especially after Murderbot thinks ART has betrayed it. One of the subplots features sentient killware, a lethal kind of spyware/malware, which was one of the best parts of this book, fascinating and unexpectedly poignant. Murderbot takes some substantial steps forward in its self-understanding and in deciding what it wants to do with its life. The right of self-determination for all sentient intelligences is an ongoing theme in Network Effect. Deliberately Cute Child: A variation; Art and Murderbot aren't beneath using their instinctive protectiveness of Amena to manipulate the other into doing what it wants. Do-Anything Robot: As the operating intelligence of a research ship, ART is quite notably a much more powerful and well-equipped AI than others, especially the much more common bot pilots seen on other ships. To the point that several human characters are confused when ART isn't a simple task unit. It becomes a plot point on more than one occasion. It also turns out to be a necessity, as "research ship" is more of a cover. I Just Want to Be Free: Struggles to figure out what it wants upon being bought out from the company, but one aspect is always clear. Well, two aspects. It wants to watch media in peace, and it doesn't want to be owned by anyone.