All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries

Winner of the Hugo, Nebula, and Locus Award for Best Novella
Winner of the Alex Award
A New York Times and USA Today Bestseller

Now an Apple Original series from Academy Award nominees Paul Weitz and Chris Weitz and starring Emmy Award winner Alexander Skarsgård.


A murderous android discovers itself in All Systems Red, a tense science fiction adventure by Martha Wells that interrogates the roots of consciousness through Artificial Intelligence.

“As a heartless killing machine, I was a complete failure.”

In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own safety.

But in a society where contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder, safety isn’t a primary concern.

On a distant planet, a team of scientists are conducting surface tests, shadowed by their Company-supplied ‘droid—a self-aware SecUnit that has hacked its own governor module, and refers to itself (though never out loud) as “Murderbot.” Scornful of humans, all it really wants is to be left alone long enough to figure out who it is.

But when a neighboring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.

The Murderbot Diaries
All Systems Red
Artificial Condition
Rogue Protocol
Exit Strategy
Network Effect
Fugitive Telemetry
System Collapse

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Published May 2, 2017

160 pages

Average rating: 7.83

524 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

raeallic
Oct 09, 2025
8/10 stars
Very enjoyable, intense, and quirky. Has a great sense of humor.
abookwanderer
Oct 09, 2025
8/10 stars
I enjoyed this start to the Murderbot Diaries. It's innovative and snarky, and quick to read, too. I do think I went into it with super high expectations because so many of my fellow bloggers have raved about it. And it was good, but didn't quite live up to the hype for me. Sci-Fi is also not a genre I read often, but I'm glad I finally picked it up.

#popsugarreadingchallenge2022 (prompt #27 - A Hugo Award Winner)
Dorthy
Oct 01, 2025
I love Murderbot
CheriF
Sep 25, 2025
8/10 stars
Very fun, quick read. Liked Murderbot a lot. Think I'll read at least one more of the series.
MadocMattox
Aug 14, 2025
8/10 stars
This was a great introduction to a world and character with great complexity.

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