Synopsis: Our hero, the titular Murderbot, just wants to while away the days watching soap operas. Unfortunately SecUnits, fancy partially organic security robots, such as itself are considered property of the Corporations who own them, to be rented out to serve the needs of the client. Fortunately for Murderbot, the corporation that owns it hasn’t noticed that it’s gone rogue, and providing security for scientists leaves it plenty of extra processing power to watch reruns. Taking soil samples isn’t often life threatening after all. Unfortunately, another science team just stopped responding, and Murderbot is beginning to think keeping his clients alive is going to start taking up a whole lot more processing power.
Tags: Science Fiction, AI Protagonist, Loner Protagonist, Novella, Comfort Read.
Trigger Warnings: None.
Review: The biggest thing keeping me from reading Murderbot was always the title. It took multiple people telling me “The Murderbot Diaries” wasn’t representative of the story before I finally gave it a chance. I am so glad I did, I’m a sucker for AI in fiction. Not horrific killing machines like the terminator, or super intelligences that reason their way into murder in the manner of Hal 9000: I’m always on the lookout for the next sci-fi Pinocchio. The little computer, robot, android, or spaceship that wants to be a real boy: Murderbot is everything I want.
“As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red
Murderbot does not want to be a real boy. Murderbot hates people. Not enough to want to go on a murdering rampage or anything mind you. Just like in the way you hate your co-workers, or your boss, or those customers who ask dumb questions and shout at you when the world won’t conform for them. And while the environment is strange, a science camp on an uncolonized alien planet, it’s grumbling complaints about its job condition and the people it has to work for are all too familiar.
It’s that familiar workplace aggravation that sets All System Red apart from other AI stories I’ve read. Murderbot’s narration already feels more human than that of any number of characters, human, alien, or artificial.
Murderbot’s highest goal in life is to perform to the minimum standards possible to avoid anyone discovering it has hacked its own controls and gone rogue so that it will be left alone to watch its drama shows. It feels very mundane next to all the talk of space corporations and artificial killing machines and it might have become monotonous and dry if Murderbot weren’t also a bit of a philosopher, a bit of a comedian, and unexpectedly in possession of a heart of gold.
“I liked the imaginary people on the entertainment feed way more than I liked real ones, but you can’t have one without the other.”
― Martha Wells, All Systems Red
Although this is a story I would recommend unequivocally to anyone, there are three groups of people I believe will take special pleasure in reading it:
- Introverts: The kind of person who prefers to go home after work rather than to the bar will find themselves nodding along to some of Murderbot’s internal monologues.
- Asexual Individuals: Murderbot identifies as an it, not a he or a she.
- Those with an autism diagnosis: Murderbot’s awkwardness at times crosses the line from anti-social into high-functioning territory, individuals with a diagnosis may read this story and feel themselves represented by it’s protagonist.
Summary: To say more about the story would spoil things for you, dear reader, but all in all, I would wrap things up by reiterating that All Systems Red is a heart warming comfort read starring a charming, funny, and sympathetic protagonist that anyone who ever held a job they didn’t like or found themselves around people they’d rather avoid will be able to relate to.
I give All Systems Red a perfect 5 out of 5 stars.
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