Our Discussion of All Systems Red, by Martha Wells

Our group had a lively discussion about this science fiction novella, or “space opera” as it has been called in various reviews. Several members found the content to be difficult to grasp in the first pages; however, in subsequent reading, the plot became clearer as a story about emotions, feelings, and an understanding that humans do not control the universe.

The Murderbot theme revolving around a team concept was interesting. On a faraway planet, a team of scientists were doing surface tests, shadowed by their SecUnit, a Company-supplied ‘droid, referred to as Murderbot, who is not favorable toward humans and just wants to watch television shows and be alone.  

Members shared that many people think if sci-fi in the same light as Star Wars or Isaac Asimov books that involve a protagonist saving the world from aliens. In this book, the author did not use many graphical descriptions of scenes which would have helped the reader understand more about the story; however, more descriptive scenes may have bogged down the content.

Members commented that the book’s title and story line does not match up to the content or the ending. However, this may have been intentional by the author who wrote this space opera knowing this would be the first in a series. And the title most likely was selected by the publisher’s marketing team.

Our group really enjoyed this novel that they rated as 4.75 for how much they enjoyed this book and also gave the rating of 4.75 for how willing they are to recommend this book to others. The themes selected for this book Courage, Culture, Ethics, Friendship, Political, Relationships, and Setting.