All Systems Red

Written by:
Martha Wells
Narrated by:
Kevin R. Free

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
197
Narrator
82
Release Date
October 2017
Duration
3 hours 18 minutes
Summary
All Systems Red is the first tense science fiction adventure novella in Martha Wells' series The Murderbot Diaries. For fans of Westworld and Ex Machina. All Systems Red by Martha Wells begins The Murderbot Diaries, a new science fiction action and adventure series that tackles questions of the ethics of sentient robotics. It appeals to fans of Westworld, Ex Machina, Ann Leckie's Imperial Raadch series, or Iain M. Banks' Culture novels. The main character is a deadly security droid that has bucked its restrictive programming and is balanced between contemplative self-discovery and an idle instinct to kill all humans. 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.
Reviews
Profile Avatar
Caitlyn K.

Love the narrator. Engaging and fast paced story with lots of moments of humor.

Profile Avatar
Kathryn A.

I liked this. It was shorter than most I listen to. It could have easily been made longer with this interesting story idea. I really did enjoy it though and the narrators voice was a very good pick for this bots personality.

Profile Avatar
Caroline P.

THE best robot ever. Love the perspective as he observes and critiques those crazy humans! Well written and well read.

Profile Avatar
Nikki A.

Awesome! Great quick read.

Profile Avatar
G R.

Such a great story. Murderbot is hilarious, and these stories are such a joy to listen to.

Profile Avatar
Description Label

This was very enjoyable.

Profile Avatar
Anonymous

Not what I would like to read.

Profile Avatar
Brandon R.

nice small story to listen to.

Profile Avatar
Thorn

I liked it. I could relate to the characters, and can look forward to the following episodes

Profile Avatar
Bship1004

Robocop meets the Terminator…….

Profile Avatar
Mark Pout

A nice introduction to murder bot .. Would have liked the story to be longer ..

Profile Avatar
Amber L.

surprisingly good

Profile Avatar
JK

I loved how the story started. The only gripe I have is its length. Its too short and I wish the writer and her publishing company hadn't divided the book into novellas like this.

Profile Avatar
Anonymous

This is an awful book. I wish I had my money back. It goes nowhere!! You do not care about the main bot. it's garbage and a waste of $15

Profile Avatar
Sue P.

I like this

Profile Avatar
Pete T.

great narrator

Profile Avatar
Anthony Spangler

Really great book! I was happy to learn that in the end, Murderbot had been purchased by the Preservation client..but then for him to still slip away and go rogue! Looking forward to next book.

Profile Avatar
Timur K.

Great book. Definitely one of my top 5 sci fi works. The beginning was difficult to get into and im glad chose audiobook over text. But apart from that everything was good. I loved the pace and the simplicity peppered with sci fi lingo. The story is simple yet intriguing. It felt like watching a movie in bladerunner universe. Seems like the narrator was getting into the text as well.

Profile Avatar
Anonymous

absolutely love this book series

Profile Avatar
Alexander A.

So I realize the 3hr length might deter some readers, so I recommend just biting the bullet and spending a credit on the monthly fantasy/sci-fi club subscription. It'll be worthwhile since the series is so addicting that only reading this first book isn't possible. This is most definitely a binge reading opportunity at it's finest.

Profile Avatar
Les R.

Terrific. Often stories run beyond their effectiveness. And it’s more often not the story but the author’s lack of facility. I’d have loved this to have gone on longer but it works so perfectly for me I’d be fearful the story and character impact would be lost.

Profile Avatar
Corey O.

Wonderfully written and read. It is definitely a Hugo winning novella. My only criticism is that I was expecting the main character to be less human at the start, but at the end of the book it seems like all types of "bots" are at human level, if not greater, of emotional maturity. It takes an pretty emotional person to enjoy 700+ hours of sitcoms and defend their plots with a ".... is a Fucking Lie!!"

Profile Avatar
Adrienne E.

This book was alright. I gave it a quick listen at the suggestion of another reader when I said I was re-reading HGTTG. It had some entertaining moments listening to the internal dialog of bot, whose POV the story is told from, but in the end, I think sci-fi is mostly just not for me. I've also read some Asimov, and I feel like this book really didn't give me much to think about, except for plot holes and the cognitive dissonance it created... E.g. This bot hacked its own governance module and continued to do its job, but repeatedly said it didn't care and was just programmed to carry out tasks. If this robot really had as much self-awareness as this book tried to make us think it did, why didn't it hack other parts of itself to dismantle that programming to see what would happen? I feel like repeatedly saying, "I don't care" was just a way to not delve into those kinds of questions. I appreciate the thought that people put into exploring the unknown regarding artificial intelligence, feelings, and actions, but it just feels so incongruent.

1 book added to cart
Subtotal
$10.99
View Cart