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All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1)
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Buddy Reads > IBR - All Systems Red by Martha Wells

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message 1: by Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger (last edited 18 hours, 57 min ago) (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ashley Basile (smashreads) | 5644 comments Mod


ORIGINAL Members Starting the BR: Quill Questers
Challenge: Book Quest Adventures

REOPENED for: Char, C, and Beth
Challenge: Toys/Objects Roundup

Book: All Systems Red by Martha Wells
All Systems Red (The Murderbot Diaries, #1) by Martha Wells

Anyone is free to join in this Buddy Read! Happy Reading!


Janeylou | 2028 comments Starting today .
Well i have started and put it down already , not used to audio and finding i still need to sit and concentrate , was hoping i could do a bit of multitasking ..but no !!!


Janeylou | 2028 comments First things first ..do we have the same narrater Kevin R Free...i dont like his voice , very bland .im use to putting my own voice to the charater. Do people really listen to anything higher than 1.5 speed ...its just gobbledygook, cant make out anything .
Bit boring at the moment , but then i dont like sci fi ..we'll see


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments I don’t mind Kevin R Free for some stuff (I liked him for Sorcerer yesterday) but he is a little flat sometimes.

And I listen between 3-4x speed…I can’t pay attention if it’s slower 😂


Janeylou | 2028 comments No way .😳😳😳.fastest mine goes is 3.4 and i cant understand it


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments I have pretty severe ADHD which makes reading and audiobooks my superpower (everything else not so much lol)

I will be starting this one today too. I’ve read it before and only 3 stars but everyone absolutely raves about this series so I want to try again


Jackie | 1489 comments I don’t know how you listen to audio at 3 or higher, Amanda. 2.0 is my norm unless the accent is strong, then 1.5.


Jackie | 1489 comments I like this series and love Kevin Free’s narration. Seems perfect for a robot to me.


Kirsten | 1245 comments I can't listen to audiobooks (also ADHD and I read like crazy because of it) because I read so fast and they are so slow. I know you say you listen super fast, but I'm just not sure how that would be enjoyable for me. Reading fast I can still pay attention and savor, but I don't think I can do it with the squeaky high pitch.

But then again, I've never tried. I just know that regular speed KILLS me and I love reading and blocking out everything else (the only thing that does).


Jackie | 1489 comments I can't tolerate regular speed either. It's painful.


Janeylou | 2028 comments Theres a lot of strange names in this one and terms ive not come across/ sci fi words and im struggling to understand whats going on as i cant see the words ( does that make sense).
I like to go back and re- read if i dont understand something but finding it difficult with audio


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments Does your library maybe have a copy? I know it’s really popular so they might have it.

I think it might be more like a serial than a true novel so some of it might be described later (but I never read past book one lol)


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments I’m a couple chapters in and I’m enjoying Murderbot’s snarkiness. I like him really trying to do everything he can to not talk to anyone.


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments I really don’t know why this one’s hitting me different than the first time I read it but I’m almost done and see why people are obsessed. I feel like murderbot is just saying what every antisocial introvert is thinking lol


Janeylou | 2028 comments I am getting into it a bit more and yes i do have a soft spot for Murderbot ..still not sure ill read the others though 😄😄


Jackie | 1489 comments The rest of the series is really good. Murderbot is a great character and his “relationship” with the other characters evolves. The snarkiness is a mainstay though.


Jackie | 1489 comments Amanda wrote: "I really don’t know why this one’s hitting me different than the first time I read it but I’m almost done and see why people are obsessed. I feel like murderbot is just saying what every antisocial..."

So true. Lol


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments I actually really want to pick up the others now. Maybe you just have to read it twice to get the full effect


message 19: by Janeylou (last edited Apr 04, 2025 08:22AM) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Janeylou | 2028 comments I think if i had read the book i would proberly enjoyed it more . It was the audio experience i didnt enjoy , im presuming its one of those things that gets better the more you do it .

Im always flicking back in my books and re- reading / checking and you ( well i ) couldnt do that with audio.

Id like to know how he gets on in the other books ,and ill check out Amandas idea of our library but if not i think ill wait for one of you to let me know 😄😄
Ive read somwhere , it is going to be a tv programme ..and released in May .


Kirsten | 1245 comments I'm almost exactly half through--Murderbot was just attacked and shot himself!!!

I love this and it's moving so fast. I'm reading of course (and yes, I use the search function all the time, Janine, to remind me who all the characters are/where I've seen them before).

I love that all he wants to do is watch soap operas. It's like me--all I want to do is read romance novels.


Jackie | 1489 comments I've got to finish my Red Dragon books and then I should get to this one.


Kirsten | 1245 comments I loved it--so fast and so good. I'm pretty sure he'll be back, despite his running away. What a great character, and such an exciting book.


Jackie | 1489 comments I’ve started. Excited to reread this one.


Jackie | 1489 comments Finished and enjoyed it more than before. There are so many good lines from Murderbot in the book. I've always listened to the audio and love Kevin Free's narration but some time I want to read the ebook so I can underline these quotes.


Jackie | 1489 comments I love the fact that he uses his videos to help him figure out how to interact with the humans. Such a great character!

For anyone continuing the series, I've read all of the books, some more than once, and they're all excellent.


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments I will definitely be continuing and am mad they don't fit anywhere in my challenges so far!


Amanda (bookoutbelow) | 1482 comments Jackie wrote: "Finished and enjoyed it more than before. There are so many good lines from Murderbot in the book. I've always listened to the audio and love Kevin Free's narration but some time I want to read the..."

I also felt like I noticed so many amazing quotes this time around


Kirsten | 1245 comments I am also hoping to work these into challenges, Amanda!


message 29: by MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method (last edited Apr 07, 2025 01:32PM) (new) - rated it 4 stars

MN Lisa (lisa713mn) | 1819 comments Mod
This one is pretty cute. A self-conscious robot who doesn't want to interact with humans.

Gotta say the way Mensah talks to the Murderbot is how I sometimes "talk" to chat GPT...LOL

I did get the Dramatized Adaptation of the Audio books so its kinda cool


message 30: by MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method (new) - rated it 4 stars

MN Lisa (lisa713mn) | 1819 comments Mod
and the obsession with the reality tv is awesome.


Kirsten | 1245 comments Yes!!!


message 32: by MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method (new) - rated it 4 stars

MN Lisa (lisa713mn) | 1819 comments Mod
I love that he relates these humans to characters in his shows.


message 33: by MN Lisa, Mistress of Mayhem with a Method (new) - rated it 4 stars

MN Lisa (lisa713mn) | 1819 comments Mod
I can't believe he left them! Ugh. Gotta read more. This was great.


message 34: by Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ashley Basile (smashreads) | 5644 comments Mod
***This Buddy Read has been archived! If you would like to have this thread re-opened for use, please let a mod know by commenting below!***


message 35: by Ashley, The Tipsy Challenger (new) - rated it 5 stars

Ashley Basile (smashreads) | 5644 comments Mod


REOPENED for: Char, C, and Beth
Challenge: Toys/Objects Roundup


message 36: by Beth (new) - rated it 4 stars

Beth | 106 comments This is a reread for me. I read the entire series in 2023. For me, the first one was the best, and the series got a bit away from Murderbot himself and leaned more into the sci fi (which isn't a typical genre for me).


message 37: by Janeylou (last edited 3 hours, 51 min ago) (new) - rated it 3 stars

Janeylou | 2028 comments We are reading book 2 this month as well if you have time to join us in that after this one
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...


message 38: by Beth (new) - rated it 4 stars

Beth | 106 comments Thanks!


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