All Systems Red
Review
All Systems Red, by , is the first book in the The Murderbot Diaries. It introduces us to Murderbot as it saves a team of scientists.
In All Systems Red we’re introduced to Murderbot as it protects a group of scientists on an alien planet. They soon realize that another group—GrayCris—is trying to kill them to cover up the fact that there are alien ruins on the planet. Murderbot has to figure out how to save its people and escape.
All Systems Red is a fun, quick read. There’s a good mix of humor and action, and Murderbot is surprisingly relatable for a… murderbot. It’s depressed, anxious, and mostly wants to binge-watch TV, but it has a (boring) job to do first. It doesn’t like being around people, is kind of horrified when they’re nice to it, but still feels compelled to protect them.
All Systems Red reminded me of ’s Bolo series.1 Both feature intelligent weapon systems that often seem more human than the people around them. Murderbot and the tanks of the Dinochrome Brigade share a sense of duty to their humans—but while Bolos are hardwired for loyalty, Murderbot chooses to care. The book also echoes ’s works—like Stranger in a Strange Land and The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress—in its depiction of group marriages and communal living. And like ’s We Are Legion (We Are Bob), All Systems Red follows an AI that breaks free from its programming to gain freedom.
I finished the book in a day and jumped right into Artificial Condition.
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Bolo: Annals of the Dinochrome Brigade, Rogue Bolo, etc. ↩