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��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.��

What would you do if you were a powerful killing machine that suddenly had free will? If you are Murderbot, you’d do a half-ass job at work in order to get back to watching your tv series, and, okay fair, that is a great choice. Welcome to All Systems Red by Martha Wells, a snarky good time of sci fi mystery and action when an expedition team discovers someone is trying to kill off any competition on the planet. But luckily they have Murderbot to protect th--��in their corner all they had was Murderbot, who just wanted everyone to shut up and leave it alone so it could watch the entertainment feed all day��--erm, okay yea but at least Murderbot will mostly help and do it while being ��indifferent and vaguely annoyed.�� With which I can TOTALLY EMPATHIZE (sorry to anyone who has ever needed a library card while I was reading a book…I mean, doing important work on my computer). This book also has a fascinating look at emotions and interpersonal interactions, and while an AI feeling emotions and people wondering if they deserve human rights or not may not be a fresh idea, but Wells explores them in interesting and unique ways that does. All Systems Red is a blast, being way more fun and thought provoking than you’d expect from its tiny length and as gripping as Murderbot’s mechanical hands prying open the mouth of some carnivorous alien in order to save the crew.

��It’s not like I cared about them personally, but it would look bad on my record, and my record was already pretty terrible.��

There hasn’t been a robot this badass and heroic since . Murderbot (a name they have self-selected, mind you) is a security unit programmed to protect and murder that gets sent out on contract jobs, but as they admit ��we’re cheaply produced and we suck.�� But still good enough to murder, or discover how to hack their governor and give themself free will.

��I could have become a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realized I could access the combined feed of entertainment channels carried on the company satellites. It had been well over 35,000 hours or so since then, with still not much murdering, but probably, I don't know, a little under 35,000 hours of movies, serials, books, plays, and music consumed. As a heartless killing machine, I was a terrible failure.��

The narration in this book is just a delight as Murderbot is snarky as fuck and drags their feet through everything despite showing up and being awesome when needed. There are so many great one liners and admissions like ��I didn’t want to get into how little I pay attention to my job,�� and how much they just sort of don’t care unless they are required too. Good news, without the governor they don’t have to care about anything and ��you may have noticed that when I do manage to care, I’m a pessimist.�� Wouldn’t have thought I’d relate so hard to a robot killing machine but HERE WE ARE. I love it.

��It took a tremendous effort for me not to rip his arm off, and I’d like that noted for the record, please.��

The real spice of this book is all of Murderbot’s internal anxieties over talking with people because on one hand, they have to ensure they don’t reveal they are free from their programming and on the other, they simply don’t want to. ��I can’t do even the half-assed version of this stupid job if I have to talk to humans,�� because ��murderbot + actual human = awkwardness.�� This is only made worse by the fact that the team with Murderbot happens to come from a planet that gives AI rights and has an interest in speaking with them, which Murderbot can only register with pure horror. Murderbot happens to have organic human features under the armor and being out of it is a great metaphor on vulnerability as it also ‘humanizes�� them to the humans and makes everything more awkward.

��So, I’m awkward with actual humans. It’s not paranoia about my hacked governor module, and it’s not them; it’s me. I know I’m a horrifying murderbot, and they know it, and it makes both of us nervous, which makes me even more nervous.��

I’ve heard several people mention this book seems to nudge at ideas of , which makes sense and if so it feels like respectful and positive representation. I also love how the book constantly reminds you Murderbot is, in fact, an AI machine with constant precise data (Murderbot will tell you a human paused for 2.4 seconds, for instance) or their system going offline during a fight and leaving you with gaps in the story. It’s all super creative and well done.

All the ideas in this book are great and the interpersonal anxieties might steal the show, but the actual plot that carries the ideas is quite excellent as well. ��These weren’t intrepid galactic explorers,�� Murderbot reminds us when shit hits the fan, ��they were people who were doing a job and suddenly found themselves in a terrible situation.�� And so we are treated to Murderbot having to save the day—half begrudgingly—and let me tell you did I crack up when they admit all their planning was just based on how they saw things go down in tv shows. It is a fun story with a lot of giggles to be had, and while it does end rather abruptly and feel far too short, it also just feels like a pilot episode establishing character and prepping to launch more. Which there is, the Murderbot Diaries is still going strong with a Hugo Award for best series and another book coming out this year. I think I’ll be catching up for it.

So if you enjoy things that are good, All Systems Red is for you. If you enjoy things that suck, well, All Systems Red is still probably for you and its cool, I enjoy things that suck too. Besides, Murderbot admits their system sucks because they are the cheap model. But when it comes down to it, Murderbot has a lot of heart and through this sentient AI, Wells explores the ideas of what it is to be human. It’s all very clever and rather heartwarming. This is a fun story with a lot of laughs and some great ideas at play. I can’t wait to read more.

4/5