All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Like many of you, my days are packed full of holiday planning, shopping, baking, scheduling, and everything else that still needs to get done in a day. With my head nearly ready to spin off, I was able to find a few minutes to decompress with one of the funniest and most original books I’ve read in a long time.

All Systems Red is the first of four novellas that make up the Murderbot Diaries. Now, if you’re anything like me, I was sold at Murderbot Diaries. Murderbot, who has named itself after hacking it’s software, is a security robot that is hired to protect a team of scientists on a research mission. Martha Wells has created an absolutely excellent character in Murderbot and I’m in love with his journey. But here’s the thing-Murderbot finds humans very annoying and really just wants to watch t.v. Yep. T.V. Set in a future run by the Company, it’s full of murder, mystery, politics, and self-discovery.

Since it’s a novella, I don’t want to risk giving anything away by discussing too much of the storyline. Just know that it’s very funny, very original, and the writing is excellent. It also comes from Tor and I have yet to come across a book from them that hasn’t been amazing. They definitely know how to pick high quality science fiction. I really enjoyed it and I passed up the Library Holds list and just bought them for myself as a Christmas present.

If you’d like to treat yourself, or your favorite sci-fi fan, you can pick up a copy and help support the site here: