Cannonball Read 17

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time

Murderbot: I finally read it.

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

by 1 Comment

This book has been reviewed so many times!  Everyone loves it!  And I liked it.  I’m glad I read it.  It didn’t change my life, but it is a well-crafted and fresh novella, easy to read, with great worldbuilding and endearing characters, especially for a novella. Our narrator, the Murderbot, is a sarcastic, socially awkward robot.  Murderbot has hacked the software that controls its actions — space robot gone rogue!  Well, kinda – but this Murderbot just wants to watch videos and avoid people, mostly.  […]

This would be an excellent introduction to science fiction

All Systems Red by Martha Wells

Artificial Condition by Martha Wells

Rogue Protocol by Martha Wells

Exit Strategy by Martha Wells

by 3 Comments

#CBR12Bingo: Gateway (this would work as an excellent gateway into sci-fi fiction) All Systems Red – 4.5 stars I have reviewed this first novella before, back in 2018, and my original post can be found here. I decided to re-read this first Murderbot story and then read the following three novellas in preparation of the full novel about everyone’s favourite misanthropic sec unit, being released in May 2020. By now, when I’ve finally gotten around to writing my review, the book has of course been out for […]

If HAL was good and tells its own story

All Systems Red THe Murderbot Diaries by Martha Wells

by Leave a Comment

Since there’s a lot of travel involved for me over the winter holidays, I like to take along a variety of reading so I can adjust to time and genre/style I feel like at a given time. All Systems Red: The Murderbot Diaries was an unexpectedly good choice. This is volume 1 of a series of novellas, and I was not totally sure I’d like it because I haven’t had awesome luck with that type of story before. Usually I end up dissatisfied with lack […]

Murderbot is the depressed and anxious android you’ve always needed. (CBR10 Bingo 10 & 11)

by 2 Comments

Bless Cannonball Read, praise be for friends who you know share a similar taste in books, and let the world rejoice for Murderbot. Because November is a busy time here at Cannonball Read (I still have half the assignment emails for Book Exchange to send out) I’ll be using a slightly modified plot summary from Goodreads: In a corporate-dominated spacefaring future, planetary missions must be approved and supplied by the Company. Exploratory teams are (required to be) accompanied by Company-supplied security androids, for their own […]

I love you, Murderbot. But I would never actually tell you that, because of the intense awkwardness that would cause you

by 2 Comments

4.5 stars From Goodreads: 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 […]

True Equality Is When Robots Can Be Just As Apathetic As Humans

by 2 Comments

I don’t think I can add much to this one beyond what has already been said.  The narrator is a SecUnit belonging to a large powerful corporation that owns the rights to various planets and rents out survey rights and equipment at exorbitant prices while only investing in the cheapest technology themselves.  The narrator has hacked its governor module, and can function independently though all it wants is to be left alone and watch its stories. When things start going wrong on the mission, Murderbot, […]



Help Our Mission

You can donate to CBR via:

  1. PayPal
  2. Venmo