Book Review – All Systems Red by Martha Wells

This is the first of four novellas about an introverted android that is part machine and part human who absolutely hates being around people.  Unfortunately, his job is to be a security guard to protect humans while they are on different planets performing research.  He has hacked his own system so that has some independent thought and behavior.  Because he does not like to feel human emotions when they arise, his favorite thing to do is to ignore the emotions, tune out and obsessively watch his favorite tv show Sanctuary Moon.

When the book opens we discover that the android calls himself a Murderbot.  This is because on his last assignment he ended up killing some humans but he doesn’t remember exactly what happened.  He is haunted not knowing whether he killed these people just at will or whether his system was hacked and he had no control over his actions.

I have never been a big science fiction fan, but I really enjoyed this novella and the Murderbot character.  I will definitely be reading the remaining three novellas.