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 neighbouring mission goes dark, it's up to the scientists and their Murderbot to get to the truth.
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I COULD HAVE BECOME a mass murderer after I hacked my governor module, but then I realised I could access the combined feed and entertainment channels carried on company satellites. CHAPTER ONE
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(@torbooks, 2 May 2017, ebook, 156 pages, borrowed from @GlasgowLib via @OverDriveInc, # POPSUGARReadingChallenge, a Hugo Award winner)
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This is a new author for me. I really enjoyed All Systems Red. It's a short book so I read it in one setting. This book could have gone in a very different direction with the so-called Murderbot living up its name. I've read books with a similar premise and the AI is usually shown to be the bad guy. I liked the way the author took the book in a different direction. This was refreshing.
