The very first book I read when I got my first E-reader on Christmas 2018 was a novella by Martha Wells called All Systems Red. It introduced the titular ‘Murderbot’ protagonist and namesake of the series, a sarcastic dour mess of a rogue security unit that was designed to protect and murder whatever its owners paid for, instead all it wanted to do was binge watch its shows. As someone who had just started working a soul crushing office job it was painfully relatable.
I loaded the novella up early in the afternoon while setting up my new device and finished before Christmas dinner later that evening. I devoured those digital E-ink pages with the ravenous hunger of Pokemon scalpers at a Costco restock and immediately craved more. The book just flowed right, the wit and humour as well as the action kept the book at just the right pace to manage to fit a satisfying amount of plot and character growth without feeling rushed. Something that I’ve often struggled to find in a novella.
Just recently a new TV adaptation was released on Apple+ TV and I came back to revisit this series. I can’t recommend both versions enough, however I feel that having read the novella, which is shown through the lens of Murderbots inner thoughts, and the lens of, well, the many many cameras it likes to watch people from to avoid eye contact, adds a layer of nuance and sometimes even comedy when watching the adaptation that is often shown from the lens of the third party camera and the eyes of the crew interacting with Murderbot. The expansion of seeing Gurathin more fleshed out and his point of views in general compared to Murderbot’s first person dismissal and annoyance of his existence is a specific point of brilliance in the adaptation. David Dastmalchian and Alexander Skarsgard completely steal the show in almost any scene that we get to watch their respective characters attempt to out disaster each other.
If you have seen the show and want to get into the series in reverse I would still recommend reading All Systems Red. It is definitely worth it for all of the same reasons mentioned above. The new softcover 2 in 1 releases are also fantastic as you can pick up the first book and either check out All System Red or skip straight to the sequel novella Artificial Condition to pick up straight from where the show left off. There’s no better time to jump in as well as the next installment releases this coming May. That's like one novella a month until then!
Just a point of order on the reading order, while Network Effect the first full length Murderbot Novel technically came out after the first four Novellas which complete the first major story arc it is actually set after the novellas Fugitive Telemetry and System Collapse. The new paperbacks acknowledge this by simply skipping the stand alone novel in their Vol 1-3 chronology. I personally somehow ended up reading Fugitive Telemetry then Network Effect then System Collapse and I can definitely advise avoiding that order, it was less than ideal.
We’ll be putting Murderbot Diaries on sale for 20% off for our November Book of the Month. If we don't have one of the versions you want in stock we'll order it in and as long as it was ordered in November we'll honor the 20% off whenever it arrives.
