Because everyone likes explosions.īook Reviews Futuristic Dreams Turn To Nightmare In 'Electric State'īut this book is sneaky. There's a tiny little bit of political worldbuilding, some brief technical jargon-swapping and some explosions. There's a company (called 'The Company,' no lie) that provides all the equipment for the scientists. Something goes terribly wrong for the second group, and it is up to the first (plus Murderbot) to figure out what happened before the terrible thing happens to them, too. There are these scientists on one side of an alien planet. The story itself is simple to the point of nonexistence. There's one Murderbot, some things for Murderbot to murder, and a neat, clean little mystery. They're fun, They're fast and they offer simple, easily digestible pleasures.Īnd Red plays that game. Novellas, when done well, are like the oversized appetizer of the literary world - like a giant plate of chicken wings or some little fried things with crab. Weird thing happened next: The book, somehow, glued itself to my hand. If someone is brave enough to put the word Murderbot right there on the cover - so unafraid of the schlock connotations, so willing to be lumped into the shallow end of the sci-fi trope pool - then I'm gonna have a look.' And I was thinking to myself, 'Well, hey. Also, because it had the word 'Murderbot' right there under the picture.

I'd picked it because there was a mean-looking robot on the cover and, obviously, I have a weakness for robot stories.

I picked up All Systems Red on a Wednesday morning, meaning to read for five minutes, maybe ten. Your purchase helps support NPR programming. Close overlay Buy Featured Book Title All Systems Red Author Martha Wells

Murderbot book