Hello world!
Welcome to WordPress. This is your first post. Edit or delete it, then start writing!
PRODUCT
All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries
Product Description:
Price:
$4.99
Detailed description:
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller
Winner: 2018 Hugo Award for Best Novella
Winner: 2018 Nebula Award for Best Novella
Winner: 2018 Alex Award
Winner: 2018 Locus Award
One of the Verge’s Best Books of 2017
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.
The Murderbot Diaries
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
Network Effect
Fugitive Telemetry
System Collapse
At the Publisher’s request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Read more
Product group:
Categories: Best Books of 2024 So Far
Product name:
All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries
Price:
$4.99
Adam –
This book appeared in an ad on Facebook and the cover caught my attention. Then I read the blurb and was further intrigued, so I borrowed it from Kindle Unlimited.
All Systems Red is a sci-fi novella by Martha Wells. It is about the musings of a manufactured cybernetic organism that refers to itself as a Murderbot because of an incident it was involved in at a time before this story takes place. The being is actually a mobile security system charged with making sure a small group of scientists on a distant planet are safe.
I’ll say at the outset that I am a little cold on this story. I liked the idea and was hoping it would be better than it is. Unfortunately, there didn’t really seem to be a point to the story, and it left me with a lot of questions. There are five more stories in the series and would be willing to read the rest of them, but not at the price the entire series costs. Each book is about 150 pages and the sell for $10. Sorry, but I don’t think I am going to pay that much to read the books not on Unlimited.
I will also add that, as far as reviews are concerned, I find myself in the minority of readers who absolutely love this book and the rest of the series. Amazon shows an average rating of 4.5 out of five with 13,411 rating/reviews and Goodreads reports a 4.16 out of five with a whopping 129,148 rating/reviews.
Perhaps I missed something or just don’t get it. I don’t know. But I wasn’t impressed enough to invest in the rest of the series.
An androgynous cybernetic organism who is charged with protecting a small group of scientists is having problems. It has a broken control chip and has more or less gone rogue, but it cannot override its own programming to set aside its mission. So, it avoids any contact with the people it’s supposed to protect and prefers to spend its time alone watching downloaded vids of television shows. When it is called into service to perform is programmed duty, it does so very well, but when the members of the scientific team reach out to it to make it part of the team, it rejects all attempts and sulks in its compartment, feeling sorry for itself.
The Murderbot is an antisocial machine/human organism that spends a lot of time hating its job and the people it is programmed to serve. It is supposed to be androgynous, but I didn’t see it that way. From the very first page of the book, the prose screams that the being is more female oriented as opposed to neutral.
I’ve racked my brain trying to find a favorite plot point to talk about, but I cannot find one. This is just a sad story about a sad artificial intelligent being with consciousness.
I really wanted to love this story, but I neither loved it nor hated it. It’s just kind of there. As I said before, I might have missed the point and your milage may vary. If I try to come up with a theme, the entire time I read this book I thought about Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide character, Marvin the Paranoid Android. But Adams did it better.
This book didn’t inspire me to read on in the series and the cost of the rest of the books put me off even more.
All Systems Red has enjoyed a lot of acclaim along with the high ratings, winning a bunch of prestigious awards. I find myself somewhat baffled by this because while it isn’t trash; I have read many far better stories.
It is well written and easy to follow, but there just isn’t much there for me.
Ken –
Het verhaal is prima, maar je wordt er niet door weggeblazen. Het boek is veel te klein voor de prijs die ze ervoor vragen! Het is hooguit een short story.
Jim Arrowood –
I loved the whole series. Its an easy and quick read (or listen – Kevin R. Free is a really good narrator). It’s
an often funny series, sometimes poignant and on point, but it is not great literature or exceptionally crafted sci-fi and doesn’t pretend to be.
The series is not about the science. It is about Murderbot, the misfit construct just trying to find his place in the universe. Other than the price, which is high for novellas, the series is well worth checking out at your local library, borrowing from a friend, finding or searching for on sale or used copies. I did buy all of the audiobooks even though they are a little pricey, but for me they also turned outto be my new go to relaxing sleep book.
Bert lambert –
All Systems Red by Martha Wells is a captivating science fiction story that grabs you from the first page and doesn’t let go until the very end. The story centers around a self-aware security bot, which dubs itself Murderbot. Despite its ominous name, Murderbot is a character that readers can’t help but root for as it navigates a mission gone wrong while grappling with its own identity and desire for autonomy.
One of the most compelling aspects is Wells’ masterful writing style. The narrative is tight and well-paced, ensuring that every page is filled with tension, humor, and heart. This is a book that you can easily devour in a single day. In an era where entertainment options are abundant and attention spans are short, crafting a narrative that holds a reader’s interest is no small feat. Wells succeeds brilliantly, making All Systems Red a perfect study for aspiring writers. It showcases how to maintain suspense and engagement throughout a story, offering valuable lessons on pacing, character development, and plot structure.
In addition, All Systems Red is being adapted into a television series.
Rui –
Really enjoying the murderbot series
Will Bright –
I enjoyed the character, story and world. My main gripe is the length for the price. There are several in this series and for 15 dollars I feel like I should be getting about 3 of these stories. I probably won’t get more unless they sell a set for a reasonable price or get them at the library.
Rhys –
This book series got me through the latter half of 2020 (specifically the period of the American election and its fallout) which is no mean feat. I read them repeatedly, over and over again, so many times that I genuinely could not even venture a guess as to how many times I’ve read the whole series through anymore. I still pull them out in between the other things I’m reading. I adore Murderbot and its adventures. It may honestly be the most relatable character in fiction I’ve ever met. My single solitary complaint about the entire series is that there isn’t more of it and I already have the next part on pre-order, which I await with baited breath.
(I’ve gifted copies of the first volume to five different people so far, and the only reason I haven’t given it to more is because I’m just not that sociable as to be regularly exchanging gifts with all that many folks.)
For those of you unfamiliar with the Murderbot Diaries (which I assume is most if not all of the people reading this, as that’s generally the point of perusing book reviews) let me curtail the aimless gushing and focus on some specifics: the first four books in the series (this one included) are short novellas, and while I’m generally a fan of longer fiction their length is absolutely perfect. They’re all self-contained adventures, but they build together into a longer connected storyline — sort of like the episodes within a television season. You can read and enjoy each one on its own merits, but you’ll probably find yourself wanting to do them all in proper order so you can get the full experience of Murderbot’s life. (Yes, the main character is named Murderbot. It chose the name itself, and while the first volume gives you enough information to understand why you will learn more of the story behind that name, and its emotional weight, as the series goes on.)
After the four novellas, there is an extremely brief short story that you can find online for free (titled “Home: Habitat, Range, Niche, Territory”) and while a number of people have complained about it, I honestly thought it was a great interlude. And given that it’s free and will probably take you less than twenty minutes to read, I don’t see why there’s any reason to skip it. It’s fun to get a different perspective on things, and it offers some lovely background characterization of one of the most important secondary characters in the series. It makes a nice bridge to the novel which follows, too.
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.
As to the writing itself, it alternates between engrossing, hilarious, heart-rending, and painfully accurate. You’re going to identity with and relate to Murderbot so much that you’ll find yourself (at least, if you’re anything like me you will) also thinking of humans as an “other” during the course of your reading, as you mentally (or out-loud; no judgement if you’re one of those people who exclaims aloud as you read; I rarely do, but this seems like an appropriate book series for that sort of behavior) shout at them to not do stupid things and just listen to their SecUnit, please!
It’s very much a found-family story, albeit a slow-build one, and despite the occasional body-count (really a rather small number, given that the series is about a character named Murderbot) it’s ultimately a story of good people and happy endings. Murderbot will sometimes punch you straight in the heart with an emotional moment or observation, but it’s the good sort of pain that only the best stories cause. I love these books more than I can fairly describe, and I hope you’ll give them a chance because I think you’ll love them too.
P.S. for anyone concerned, there is surprisingly little gore for how much violence is inherent in the life of a Murderbot. A fair amount of swearing, yes, and the occasional (usually annoyed, sometimes disgusted, always disinterested) reference to the existence of sex as a human activity that exists, but there are no lengthy passages expounding in great detail upon the injuries or deaths that take place throughout the series. I suppose some people might find the no-nonsense way Murderbot presents such things disquieting, but I don’t think even squeamish people are likely to be too upset.
The only trigger-warning I can think to give is to caution people that there are definitely parallels/references to abuse in Murderbot’s past and the emotional kick of those might be unpleasantly familiar to abuse survivors. YMMV of course, but I expect that the way current characters deal with Murderbot and its trauma likely makes for a more positive and supportive process than a triggering one, but if that is something to which you think you may be sensitive, please do brace yourself ahead of time.
Chris –
“All Systems Red” é um relato em primeira pessoa de Murderbot (como ele mesmo se denomina), um andróide responsável pela segurança de uma equipe de cientistas que exploram um planeta desabitado. O que diferencia Murderbot de um andróide de segurança padrão é que ele hackeou seu módulo de controle e se tornou um “rogue”, com o que poderíamos chamar de “livre arbítrio”, algo que os andróides normais não possuem. Essa autonomia revela-se providencial quando os clientes de Murderbot se veem envolvidos em conflitos com outras equipes de cientistas, não tão bem intencionadas, atuando no mesmo planeta. A autora Martha Wells dosa muito bem ação e humor nesta novela que inaugura a série “The Murderbot Diaries” e venceu o Hugo e o Nebula, os dois prêmios mais prestigiosos da ficção científica.
Will Bright –
The book came in perfect condition. For me. Maybe not for you. The pages were clear, and it looked like it came right off the shelf. However, it also looks like it was used in a classroom, by a student who’s name is written in the top corner, and inside (that’s what my thumb is covering). Notes in the margins, hightlighting, etc.
And that makes it perfect, for me. It’s being given to someone who loves that. The insight of another person, as they read they story, how they process it, and understand it. A pysch/soc type person.
So, for me the book was a deal. Thanks.
Kay Suz –
I could’ve easily read this book all in one day as it is a novella that does not slow down once it gets rolling. It is short and punchy and 100% makes you care about an android to the point of wanting to give it a hug (though it would absolutely hate that). It’s a little disturbing to identify so closely with a being that calls itself “Murderbot,” but it’s really just the antisocial behavior that I relate to. (I swear.) I can’t wait to read the rest of them! My only complaint is that the others are not available in paperback. 🙁
Peter Levine –
This is part of a series which I have not read, but this book seems to be predicting one of the outcomes that can be made possible by uncontrolled AI. This is a a darker view based on today’s Sci-Fi is tomorrow’s science fact. The book was good enough that I will probably read more of the series.