A Review: All Systems Red by Martha Wells

All Systems Red by Martha Wells has been in my to-read pile for a few years now because I don’t read fast enough to clear the hundreds of books that release every year. But I finally started this series because I thought it might be nice to have something quick to read as a palate cleanser between the weightier novels.

MurderBot-as it so affectionately refers to itself-a SecUnit with a deactivated governor has been contracted to work with a new survey team to access the profit viability of a planet. The group realizes that something is amiss when another team goes missing. Can the team and its SecUnit work together to survive an attempt at sabotage?

After reading the first installment, I understand a lot of the hype around this series. MurderBot is… cute? This might be a deep cut, but it kind of reminds me of watching Amy Winfrey’s Making Fiends web series when I was in high school. I’m not exactly sure why because I don’t think the story is absurdist like Winfrey’s work. There just seems to be something strangely adorable about a robot who couldn’t care less about the humans it works for-like a cat who sticks around because it has nothing better to do and would much rather nap than play.

Underneath the layers of hooks that this series uses to draw you in is the beginnings of an AI story of self-discovery. Absent of clear, self-identified purpose, the AI is depressed and withdrawn, and it reminded me of my own “walking depression” issues that were fully in bloom while working in manufacturing. Unlike most SciFi stories featuring sentient robots, the novel spends little if no time exploring what it means to be human and skips to the part about the place a free robot can play in the world. We don’t get a definitive answer, but I imagine the sequel explores this idea further.

If you think a space sci-fi mystery with a fair bit of action and featuring an AI protagonist is something you’d interested in reading, definitely read All Systems Red by Martha Wells. If you’re afraid of starting a new series because of the commitment, this one is not only short but also quite self-contained.

Originally published at https://www.jimwilbourne.com on April 11, 2023.