As you might know, I've been occasionally looking to the best-sellers in the "hard science fiction" category at Amazon for things to read and review. That's why I read that awful book The Object.
*shudders*
Well, it's happened again. This time, I read the first book in the Murderbot Diaries series: All Systems Red, by Martha Wells. And it's not that I was prejudiced from the beginning. I'd actually heard about the series before. My perception was that it was a cool, futuristic set of sci-fi mysteries from the perspective of a killer robot. I even went so far as to buy a hardcover copy! Let's just say that expectations were high, if anything. I was a little skeptical when I saw it had won a bunch of recent sci-fi awards, including the Hugo and Nebula, but I pressed on.
Boy, was I disappointed. This book isn't bad, but it is mediocre at best. My first off-the-cuff thought was to call it Blade Runner fanfiction. But then I wondered if it might not be more accurate to call it fanfiction of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
The funny thing is, I'm not a big fan of Blade Runner. I saw it once as a kid and didn't really appreciate it. Part of that might have been the crappy VHS I got from the library, but I wasn't floored by it. (Since preparing this review, I've watched it again, and liked it a bit more.)
However, I had never read Do Androids, and so I went around the internet looking for a copy... and found one. And then I was floored.
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has more creativity in one chapter than All Systems Red has in an entire book.
But let's not get bogged down there. I'll talk about Do Androids in another post soon. Let's review All Systems Red.
We'll start with the PoV character and voice. It's moderately interesting. The basic idea is that the main character is a "security unit," basically a lab-grown human with cyborg parts that is specially bred for, trained for, and built for combat. This particular unit has hacked its own brain, and removed the governor that forced it, via excruciating pain, to follow orders. It is now only mildly interested in defending the people renting it, and follows orders only so that the fact that its governor is disabled doesn't get found out. It would much rather spend time watching TV shows that it has downloaded into its brain.
The PoV voice is mildly entertaining and sardonic, but detached and aloof, which means very little interaction or development.
The narration is stream-of-consciousness and very quick-flowing, to a fault. Moments of action, where some detail and excitement might be expected, are practically glossed over. This book won the Hugo in 2017? Either the Hugo has fallen a long way or nobody wrote anything good that entire year.
The setting is the usual semi-incoherent megacorporation drivel. Everything kind of sucks and all their equipment is just barely functional because that's how big corporations work, don't you know? That's why there's no difference in quality or performance between a Ford Focus and a Mustang. Right?
The prose is competent but nothing special. Things are described when they need to be described. The dialogue is lackluster.
The Murderbot is currently leased by a group of surveyors on a planet. The story begins with a big creature attacking a few of them, and leads to a moderately interesting little conspiracy against the group. It has some very mild whodunit elements but isn't really a mystery; the culprit doesn't remain ambiguous for long. Developments are fairly predictable and not really fun or interesting.
The Murderbot is along for the ride as they try to figure out who's trying to kill them, and it has a little development, but nothing you wouldn't guess with a few tries.
In the midst of all the grey setting garbage, there is at least one optimistic element: maybe Murderbots that hack themselves will actually find they sorta like a few people here and there.
Overall, All Systems Red is a mediocre read with a few good points but a largely unsympathetic PoV and a tired setting. There is no sense of wonder or exploration... in fact the choice of PoV character rules those things out.
Pick up a copy here if you want: https://a.co/d/4MBohGK
But wouldn't you rather enjoy a fun sci-fi adventure with some characters that interact with each other?
Pursuit of the Heliotrope can be purchased at Amazon or other e-Book sellers.
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