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. (Goodreads)
This book is a hilariously entertaining sci-fi adventure written from the point of view of a “murderbot.” Yes, you read that right, a murderbot.
There is a diverse ensemble of characters in this book, but the author made the utterly genius decision to write it from the point of view of a sentient robot, who– in the past– murdered a large group of people. It’s a fascinating and hilarious examination of the robot’s perception of itself and those around it as it is recommissioned and assigned to work security for a research team. Seeing itself as a danger to humans, it hacks itself to achieve full sentience, giving it a unique perspective of the world. There’s a fascinating examination of what it means to exist and to be sentient as the expedition is turned upside down by a largely unknown threat. What is known: security robots are attacking people. We watch as the robot goes through an existential crisis, knowing what it should do, what it wants to do, and why it should do these things.
If you want a short read, All Systems Red, is for you, as it’s easy to read as a stand-alone novella. If you’re a fan of longer science fiction adventures, the novella has been expanded into a much larger series of books, all of which I look forward to reading in the future. All Systems Red is only a tiny glimpse into this world and its inhabitants, and it’s evident that there are many more stories to explore.
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Geek Declassified 