I was tempted to read the first six novels in the Murderbot series before reviewing All Systems Red. But I changed my mind. All Systems Red is science fiction. Our protagonist is ‘Murderbot,’ a self-aware security droid protecting a team of scientists during an exploratory mission on a potentially hostile planet.
Murderbot is hardly unique. Security droids like him accompany exploratory teams on missions all the time. However, Murderbot has a secret. He hacked and disabled his governor module, the device binding him to human control, gaining independence from his masters. Murderbot is content to play his role as an obedient security droid.
He prefers to hide in plain sight. But what happens when his humans learn the truth? Can they trust a machine outside their command to protect them when their mission takes a nasty turn? Maybe. Maybe not.
I don’t know whether that premise intrigued you, but the actual story is nothing special. Think of every science fiction film you have ever watched where a team of humans attempts to study an alien planet. This novel follows a similar structure. The plot is as predictable as you expect. So why do people love this novel? Because of Murderbot.
The character is a gem, a heartless killing machine too lazy to follow the path most rogue droids would take. In fact, Murderbot would rather watch telenovelas than commit genocide. The author’s biggest triumph in ‘All Systems Red’ is making Murderbot feel more relatable than most science fiction protagonists from recent years.
The scenes in which he pulls his helmet down because of the overwhelming discomfort he feels whenever the human characters stare, are genuinely amusing. But if Murderbot is so great, why is ‘All Systems Red’ a mixed bag? Well, it goes back to what I said earlier about trying to read the first six novels before dissecting this one.
‘All Systems Red’ is the shortest book I have ever come across. I feel like I read chapter one, blinked, and the book was over. I thought I had exaggerated my experience, and maybe I was sinking more hours into reading than I realized. But then I went to GoodReads and saw the page count.
This book is 144 pages! First of all, that explains every weakness I noticed. All Systems Red has a relatively large cast of humans, and they are all underdeveloped. I can’t even tell you their names, let alone who they are or what they did, because none of them stand out. And why would they?
You develop new characters by repeatedly throwing them into harrowing situations that allow us to appreciate their attributes and personalities. You can’t do that in 144 pages. Also, the book ends abruptly. Wells fails to deliver a satisfactory conclusion. This brings me to my second point.
I wouldn’t have bothered with All Systems Red if I had seen the page count beforehand. USD9 for a 144-page eBook feels unfair to me, and I am only reading book two now because I bought it before I realized how short these novels were. I am still tempted to finish the series.
According to diehard fans, the first six novellas are technically one book, and you can’t appreciate the story without reading them all. But that argument infuriates me; why not write one novel? From what I have read, this is a common tactic in publishing. Some authors break their stories into smaller chapters, selling them as independent novellas to maximize profits.
I have nothing against that strategy unless the author in question is selling each tiny novella at the price of a full-size book. I feel thoroughly cheated. 144 pages are not worth $9, but you guys may think differently. The novella is worth reading if you can find All Systems Red at a more reasonable price.
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