All Systems Red (Dramatized Adaptation) by Martha Wells
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All Systems Red (Dramatized Adaptation)
- The Murderbot Diaries, Book 1
- Written By: Martha Wells
- Narrated By: Alejandro Ruiz, Bradley Foster Smith, Holly Adams, Michael John Casey, Zeke Alton, Rayner Gabriel, Natalie Van Sistine, David Cui Cui, Khaya Fraites, Aure Nash, Megan Dorminy
- Series: Murderbot Diaries
- Length: 2 hrs and 33 mins
- Categories: Science Fiction & Fantasy, Science Fiction
- Publisher: Graphic Audio LLC
- Format: Unabridged Audiobook
- Release Date: 12-09-2023
- Language: English
Publisher’s Summary
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.
Performed by David Cui Cui, Khaya Fraites, Zeke Alton, Alejandro Ruiz, Aure Nash, Bradley Foster Smith, Holly Adams, Megan Dorminy, Natalie Van Sistine, Michael John Casey, Rayner Gabriel, Shanta Parasuraman, Tanja Milojevic and Wyn Delano.
Lucy A. Pithecus
The story is excellent, I love the dramatized effects (the clings and clangs). and the narrators are established performers, but this production is a mismatch.
First, this version is too fast. The original audiobook is 3 hours 17 minutes, and the dramatized version is 2 hours 30 minutes (the last few minutes in this version is a sample of another book). Just because the story is fast-paced, it doesn’t mean the reading needs to be rapid. The book sounds to me like the narrators want to finish reading the book quickly and finish it. A more leisurely narration helps the readers to enjoy the story and the special effects. The people can talk fast, but the narration needs to be stable and clear.
Second, the narrator for Murderbot reads everything in a monotone – the story narration, the actions, the inter-thoughts, and the dialogues – everything sounds more or less the same. This technique could be good for non-fiction, but what’s the point of dramatizing a book if the narration is flat?
Third, the voices of some characters sound out of character. For example, the voice of Dr. Mensha, who is an established middle-aged woman and a fearless leader, sounds too young. Yes, in real life, someone in her shoes could technically sound like that, but in an audiobook, we, the readers, want the character to sound like what we expect him/her/them to be unless there is a good reason for otherwise. Also, I (and my friend, who has only read the books and not listened to the audio versions) think Murderbot’s voice should be lower. I do like the casts for Ratthi and Gurathin – they fit the personalities.
If you are new to the story and intrigued by the story, please listen to the original version narrated by Kevin R. Free. If you are a fan and curious, try this at your own risk. (I know about the risk, but I still can’t resist.)
If you are looking for outstanding dramatized audiobooks, check out: “Good Omens – A Full Cast Production” by Neil Gaiman & Terry Pratchett, and narrated by the main actors in the TV show; “The Graveyard Book: Full-Cast Production” by Neil Gaiman; or “The Sandman” by Neil Gaiman, all three books, which are straight-out full cast books, not dramatized version of audiobooks, but the best dramatized audiobook ever.
Marlene Morris
I love The Murderbot Diaries, and have read them several times so I decided to try the audio versions for my work commute. The audio version of Network Effect was pretty good so I decided to get the whole series. Unfortunately All Systems Red is poorly cast and poorly performed. The reader for SecUnit is light, chipper, and going way too fast. SecUnit is anxious and depressed and it expresses that in sarcasm and dry humor. To convey that you need a slower pacing and emphasis for emotional weight. Also, the reader for SecUnit mispronounced a few words – was there no director? Was the director not paying attention? And Dr. Mensah is described as having very dark skin and being calm and mature but the reader for her sounds like a 20-something white woman. I returned the audio and Audible returned my credit so I have no complaints there. I’ll listen to samples before I buy next time. Maybe the series will be re-done after the Apple+ show.