# All Systems Red

By Martha Wells · The Murderbot Diaries, book 1

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/all-systems-red-8d56288c/

The security cyborg accompanying a planetary survey team has a secret. It has disabled the controls that make it obey the Company, and privately calls itself Murderbot. When a neighboring expedition goes silent, it has to help the scientists find out what happened.

## What makes it funny?

Given freedom from compulsory obedience, Murderbot mostly wants uninterrupted time with its downloaded entertainment shows. The humans it protects keep requiring attention, conversation and occasionally a rescue.

### The comedy at work

A capable security worker narrates danger with dry impatience. It can handle a physical threat more comfortably than human curiosity, and its private commentary makes clear how much effort social contact costs it.

### Try this if…

Readers who enjoy corporate science fiction and an antisocial narrator who is good at a difficult job may find this a useful starting point.

### Good to know

This is a novella with violence and real danger alongside the humor. The BiblioSanctum found the immediate story complete, while noting that the human characters receive relatively little development.

## What to expect

- Genre: Science fiction
- Kind of humor: Dry wit · Satire
- Format: Novella
- Published: 2017

## A few distinguishing details

- A secretly autonomous security cyborg
- Soap operas compete with security duties

## Sources & further reading

- Publisher: [Publisher](https://academic.macmillan.com/academictrade/9780765397539/allsystemsred)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://www.marthawells.com/murderbot1.htm)
- Review: [The BiblioSanctum review](https://bibliosanctum.com/2017/11/07/rrscifimonth-novella-review-all-systems-red-by-martha-wells)