All Systems Red by Martha Wells (2017)

Half human, half robot, cyborg, android, "construct," call it what you will but it calls itself Murderbot and seeks its own life while protecting those annoying and pesky humans.

SciFi Review: All Systems Red, the first in a series, is fun, light, and a quick read. It's SciFi, it's a mystery, it's a thriller. There's a whole lotta fun packed into this novella. Murderbot is a security unit protecting a human advance team exploring a newly discovered planet. All Systems Red won the Nebula Award (2017) and Hugo Award (2018) for best novella, but while wonderfully entertaining, it's not that amazing: it's what a good SciFi story should be. The key to All Systems Red is Murderbot's reclusive, idiosyncratic, half-robot personality. Will appeal to the misanthropic introvert in so many of us ("when I do manage to care, I'm a pessimist"). Like any good millennial, it just wants to binge on Netflix. My only quibbles are that the ending is too neat and tidy, and Murderbot's dialog with humans is too human. That's explained within the story, but it still felt jarring, like any two humans interacting. On the other hand, I found Murderbot's internal monologue to be charming and irresistible. Much like my own. Hmm, I hope I'm not identifying a little too much ... .  [3½★]