All Systems Red

I'd seen mention of the "Murderbot Diaries" some time back - they seemed to be fairly well-regarded modern scifi. I finally picked up the first one and I can see why. 

The story moves pretty well and the shy-yet-compassionate "Murderbot" makes for an interesting protagonist with a certain charm that's particularly relatable to introverts. As an artificial (though apparently able to pass for human without mounted armor) security guard who has hacked its own governor module, it has free will, a fear of discovery, awkwardness around humans, and an appetite for entertainment media. On the one hand, I like the character and seeing interactions with those around it.

On the other hand, I noticed I was going through it pretty fast and saw it was only 155 pages. For $4, though, I think that's in the realm of acceptable. What isn't was finding the sequels jump up to $11 for similar length. That doesn't seem right, especially when we're talking digital and don't have printing costs. For that amount of money, I find it more reasonable to expect a "full" book rather than a novella and I'm a touch surprised to feel so strongly about it.

But there we are. So I rate this book fairly highly and may never read the sequels...


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