All Systems Red Book Review- Murderbot Diaries 1 - The Fantasy Review

All Systems Red Book Review- Murderbot Diaries 1

All Systems Red Book Review – Spoiler Free

All Systems Red is Martha Wells‘ first novella in The Murderbot Diaries. Murderbot has gained a lot of popularity in the last few months. I first heard about this series through booktuber Daniel Greene. I read this novella as part of acouplereads book club last month. All Systems Red was written in first person from the perspective of a sec unit called Murderbot.

All Systems Red is a 149 page story about a sec unit who hacked his governor module and works on contract for a group of scientists on a research mission. Not all things appear as they seem…..

I really enjoyed the story Martha Wells crafted here. It was simple and to the point. At times this story had vibes similar to the movie Alien (1979).

All Systems Red Book Review

Murderbot is a fantastic character!

The entire story feels like a character study. The one thing that is interesting about the story is we don’t have a gender for Murderbot. I read the story like Murderbot was a he and it reminded me a lot Alan Tudyk’s impression of K-2SO in Star Wars Rogue One. Some people read the story as if Murderbot was a female. I love things that are open to interpretation which gave this story another dimension.

“Seriously, I don’t know why I didn’t just say you’re welcome and please get out of my cubicle so I can sit here and leak in peace.

All Systems Red is a story that puts character ahead of things like worldbuilding. While worldbuilding is present, it’s only handled in very small quantities.

Final Thoughts

I highly recommend this story if you have never tried Sci-Fi. It’s short and still gives you that hardcore Sci-Fi feel without going overboard. Martha Well has created something truly special!

4.5/5 Stars


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