Book · 2017
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)
by Martha Wells
A security android with no interest in gender, romance, or heroics just wants to watch its shows, and ends up saving its clients from a conspiracy anyway.
What does Reddit think of All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)?
20,833 mentions is enough that Murderbot basically doesn't need this synthesis, but the breakdown is still worth reading. r/Fantasy runs warmer, and its top comment calls the amount of philosophical thought "surprising" from a protagonist with no reproductive organs and no interest in acquiring any (↑543). Fans keep picturing Murderbot as more feminine despite the text's insistence otherwise (↑380), and one thread worries the upcoming Apple TV+ adaptation will strip out the internal monologue that makes the character work, leaving "some decent" TV at best (↑397). One comment is just "Murderbot murderbot murderbot," calling the series a favorite of all time without needing to say more (↑351). A Hugo-voter-count aside (↑424) is a fair reminder that awards measure something narrower than readership.
Evidence, not a rating
Recommendation receipt
A compact, source-linked answer derived from the same Reddit sample and editorial synthesis as this page.
Editorial summary
20,833 mentions is enough that Murderbot basically doesn't need this synthesis, but the breakdown is still worth reading. r/Fantasy runs warmer, and its top comment calls the amount of philosophical thought "surprising" from a protagonist with no reproductive organs and no interest in acquiring any (↑543).
Read if
This is for readers who want their AI protagonist deadpan, not brooding: Murderbot would rather watch its shows than save the day, and somehow ends up doing both anyway. Drop any expectation of a redemption arc, and bring patience for a genderless, asexual narrator that some readers still can't help picturing as more feminine (↑380) — that tension is part of the read.
Skip or borrow first if
That same cautiously-optimistic comment still worries the show will strip out the internal monologue that makes the character work, leaving "some decent" TV at best (↑397).
Strongest published evidence
“The Murderbot Diaries protagonist is human/bot hybrid with no reproductive organs and no desire for them. There is a surprising amount of philosophical thoughts instead”r/Fantasy source · score 543 ↗
Dissent & strongest caveat
That same cautiously-optimistic comment still worries the show will strip out the internal monologue that makes the character work, leaving "some decent" TV at best (↑397).
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · A gender-ambiguous AI protagonist read against reader expectation
- · Found family between a security unit and its humans
- · Sarcastic, media-obsessed first-person narration
- · Awards recognition versus actual readership size
- · Adaptation anxiety around internal monologue
Common praise
- + The Fantasy crowd calls the philosophical thought "surprising" for a book this short, given a protagonist with no reproductive organs and no desire for them (↑543).
- + One commenter is "cautiously optimistic" about the Apple TV+ adaptation, pointing to the studio's decent track record with prior shows (↑397).
- + Another thread just says "Murderbot murderbot murderbot" and calls the series one of its favorites of all time, no further argument needed (↑351).
Common criticism
- − That same cautiously-optimistic comment still worries the show will strip out the internal monologue that makes the character work, leaving "some decent" TV at best (↑397).
- − A separate thread notes the Hugo comes down to about 1,093 nominating voters, a reminder that the award reflects a narrow slice of readers, not the whole genre (↑424).
- − Despite being non-binary and without reproductive organs, readers keep defaulting to picturing Murderbot as more feminine (↑380) — the text's ambiguity doesn't always land.
Who it's for
This is for readers who want their AI protagonist deadpan, not brooding: Murderbot would rather watch its shows than save the day, and somehow ends up doing both anyway. Drop any expectation of a redemption arc, and bring patience for a genderless, asexual narrator that some readers still can't help picturing as more feminine (↑380) — that tension is part of the read. If awards sway you, know the Hugo pool is smaller than the fanbase (↑424); if adaptations worry you, know Reddit already worries about the same internal-monologue problem the show will have to solve (↑397). Otherwise, it's short, funny, and apparently rewatchable in prose form.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
- r/suggestmeabook 9,347
- r/Fantasy 3,947
- r/printSF 3,761
- r/booksuggestions 3,440
- r/RomanceBooks 180
- r/YAlit 94
- r/horrorlit 54
- r/TrueLit 14
Which Reddit comments matter for All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“Apple TV+ actually has a pretty decent track record with shows, so I'm cautiously optimistic. My biggest worry is that what makes Murderbot special is the internal dialogue, and I'm not sure how you are gonna do that effectively on TV. And if you strip that away, the series is just some decent, but …
“Murderbot! Murderbot murderbot murderbot. Probably one of my favorite series of all time. A security unit has all kinds of adventures with friends both bot and human, but really just wants to watch its favorite shows.
“What a great article! I had no idea she was from Texas. Sad to hear she had a signing that no one went to (I guess that is sort of a right of passage for authors?), I would have gone lol! Hope her cancer status is stable. Get your mammograms, people! The Murderbot diaries have been some of my fa…
“I am really skeptical about how they're gonna execute this because I was hoping for a more androgynous casting (I always pictured it as robo Brienne of Tarth) and most of what I think makes the books special is the characterization, which happens inside Murderbot's head... hopefully it does the seri…
“Nona Grey isn't just my favorite character in Book of the Ancestor, she is one of my favorite characters of all time. Sabriel is the best part of her eponymous, extremely fantastic novel. Murderbot would not be Murderbot without Murderbot.
“I've only read the first one, but you could knock out the first 3 Murderbot Diaries books.
“I read this, The Murderbot Diaries, and A Wizard's Guide to Defensive Baking all relatively close to each other in time and realized it's possibly my favorite writing style.
“Two days from now I will be reunited with my Lord and Savior, Murderbot. So there's that. Also, I was one of those people who was pretty damn hyped for Deathly Hallows.
“Martha Wells has a sci-fi series of novellas titled *Murderbot Diaries*. Each of them can be read in a matter of hours. They follow a deadpan-humored cyborg that hires out as protection to humans at the edge of the galaxy. Quick-paced, action-packed, minimal world-building. The first one is **All S…
“Not everything is for everyone. Its ok. Murderbot doesn’t like us either.
“Scifi: The Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells. There are multiple genders depicted in the series, the protagonist is agender, there are women in prominent positions of authority (team leaders, pilots, law enforcement, politicians, etc), and this is all treated as completely casual normality by the na…
“It's episodic so idk if it counts, but Murderbot is consistently good imo.
“- Susanna Clarke. *Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell* is her best-known work, I also love her short story collection *The Ladies of Grace Adieu*. - NK Jemisin. I would start with *The Broken Earth* trilogy. - Martha Wells. *Murderbot*!! Or *The Books of the Raksura* if you prefer fantasy rather than…
“> possibly because the concept of a book from the perspective of a killer robot didn't seem very interesting to me. This was exactly it for me! That, and not loving SF in general. I wish someone had told me that the name was a savage bit of irony from Murderbot itself and that the stories are reall…
“Does Murderbot seem like a well-adjusted, non-traumatized being to you?
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Readers also mention
All books like All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) →Books that share discussion threads with All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) — counted from the comments, not curated.
Guides featuring All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries)
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries) — frequently asked
Is All Systems Red worth reading before the Apple TV+ Murderbot show?+
Yes, and Reddit's own worry about the show is an argument for it. A top Fantasy comment (↑397) frets that adapting the internal monologue is the hard part, and that stripping it away leaves "some decent" TV at best. Reading the book first is the only way to get the version everyone agrees is the actual point.
Is All Systems Red's Hugo win proof that it's the best book of its year?+
Not really, and Reddit says so itself. A highly upvoted Fantasy comment (↑424) points out the Hugo shortlist comes down to roughly 1,093 nominating voters, a small, self-selecting group. Twenty thousand-plus mentions across eight subreddits is a better signal of actual reach than one award panel.
Is the protagonist of All Systems Red male or female?+
Neither, per the text: a Fantasy thread notes Murderbot has no reproductive organs and no interest in the categories at all (↑543). That doesn't stop readers from defaulting to picturing it as more feminine anyway (↑380), which the same community treats as a minor, half-acknowledged inconsistency rather than a real dispute.
Do all those All Systems Red mentions mean Reddit agrees it's great?+
No, mention volume and agreement aren't the same thing here. High reach, uneven enthusiasm: read the per-subreddit split before assuming a landslide of consensus.