Audiobook
English language
Published Sept. 11, 2023 by Graphic Audio.
A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
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 …
A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.
"As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure."
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.
Performed by David Cui Cui, Khaya Fraites, Zeke Alton, Alejandro Ruiz, Aure Nash, Bradley Foster Smith, Holly Adams, Megan Dorminy, Natalie Van Sistine, Michael John Casey, Rayner Gabriel, Shanta Parasuraman, Tanja Milojevic and Wyn Delano.
I am reminded of one comment I read some time ago from somebody talking about machine intelligence - tehy weren't so much interested in what art a machine would make for humans, but what they would make for one another. To some extent, this series explores that.
it's hard to pull off a sardonic robot protagonist, and I think this did it
A fun, quick sci-fi read.
I enjoyed this one quite a bit. The idea is simple enough. "Murderbots" are engineered constructs comprised of biological and mechanical components. They're created to kill things and follow orders but are capable of more under certain circumstances, such as those created via a hacked or malfunctioning "governing module." This is the story of one such entity, caught up in an unusual scenario when a "simple planetary survey mission" goes sideways. It's a solid read and works, both as a standalone and as the setup for the "Murderbot Diaries" series it kicks off. Highly recommended for those seeking a fast-paced, charming, and generally-lighthearted (despite a few somewhat-grim moments) introduction to modern science fiction but veterans of the genre will likely find a lot to enjoy as well.
Fun, quick Science Fiction read. Sarcasm and adventure in spades.
It's good fun. Was a bit shorter than I expected so the ending felt a bit abrupt (reading it as part of a Tor ebook collection so couldn't see how long was left). Murderbot's an interesting character, and the story from their point of view is interesting, especially when there are so many hours of Sanctuary Moon left to be watched. The problem of that perspective is it makes it hard to distinguish the other characters from each other, but overall it's an enjoyable read.
A short sci-fi novel that kept me riveted is a five-star novel.
Murderbot is the grumpy, reclusive, crunchy outer shell with a golden marshmallow heart MC I've always dreamed of.
Violence: yes Sexual Scenes: no
Very cute and awww and generally great. I'll definitely be reading the rest of the series.
Violence: Yes Sexual scenes: No
Honestly, what can I say that everyone else hasn't already said? Go read this. Then do what I did - because I am late to the party - and get the rest of the series.
There's a reason that everyone says "I love Murderbot!"
Bit of a quick read, but not going to complain. Personally I liked the storyline, the humour of the murderbot too.
I may or may not be (read : I am currently) throwing money at the other books right now.
This was a quick read, and I spent most of it struggling to decide how I felt about a narrator that sounds so HUMAN, yet seemed so disinterested in the notion of being owned -- that is, until I realized that hacking the governor and avoiding humans was very much an act of autonomy, and that much of the struggle for Murderbot isn't "Do I want to be free?", it's "What kind of 'free' could I attain, and which of my options is least repulsive?", at least at the end.
All in all, not bad, but I didn't really find myself caring about the characters or their fates, and that was a big detractor.
Really good quick read. Narrated by Kevin R. Free of Night Vale fame, definitely recommend listening to.
https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9798890550521-all-systems-red-dramatized-adaptation-abridged.https://libro.fm/audiobooks/9798890550521-all-systems-red-dramatized-adaptation-abridged.