You should start by reading the stuff that xe has already written:
* http://blog.darknedgy.net/technology/2015/09/05/0/
* http://uselessd.darknedgy.net/ProSystemdAntiSystemd/
Another persons writings to read, for similar reasons, is Ian Sutton, who is the bloke who did SystemBSD:
Re:Debian Dropping the Linux Standard Base
by jcranmer on Friday October 09, 2015 @12:32PM
(#10361239)
Those don't cover the technical aspects, although to be fair, something like 70-90% of the systemd "debate" is about non-technical issues, like "the Unix philosophy" or "change for change's sake"--just read the comments here!
Re:Debian Dropping the Linux Standard Base
by vezzy-fnord on Friday October 09, 2015 @01:39PM
(#10361875)
Well no, I've never written a central architectural critique of systemd, only scattered criticisms across comments. I will nonetheless be remedying that soon.
There are other pages out there claiming to be neutral overviews, but they generally just take a neutral tone while rehashing the same long-debunked myths and spreading FUD.
The specific thing I like about systemd is the init replacement. It's just so much better! Automatically tracking daemon child processes, even detached ones. Supporting all the different modes daemons work, so I don't need to write yet another damn clean-up-all-the-children function in a SysVinit script. It's wonderful.
But systemd is a lot more than an init system and I don't really have strongly formed opinions on those.