I have gone whole years without reading a science fiction book, but in the past couple years I’ve read multiple SF books.

Of course, 93% of those have been Murderbot reads, listens, and rereads. (I just calculated; I’ve read 30 SF books since 2020, and all but two of them were Murderbot.)

The other two books were Claire O’Dell’s Janet Watson series.

The Hound of Justice (2019) by Claire O’Dell

Cover design by Richard L. Aquan. Cover illustration by Chris McGrath

Published by Harper Voyager (Harper Collins)

This cover has the same feel as A Study in Honor. Everything is soft edged and you can’t clearly see what is happening, but the two women are clearly in a fight or flight situation. Even more importantly, both models match how the women are described in the book, and Sara looks pretty much how I’d have expected her to in that situation.

The cover gives you the sci-fi / mystery feel of the book, which is how I ended up reading the first book, wanting to see if the book read how it felt.

I fear that there shan’t be another book in this series, since it’s been four years, but the stories were interesting, even if they were SF bordering on dystopia.

The Janet Watson Chronicles: A Study in Honor (2018), The Hound of Justice (2019)

System Collapse (2023) by Martha Wells

Cover art by Jaime Jones

Published by Tordotcom (Macmillan)

There is nothing exceptional about this cover, except you know at a glance: MURDERBOT!

These covers don’t really give you the complete feel of the story–there is no sense of the humor and the snark–but you do get the sense of action and adventure.

Mostly I’m just pleased that after the series blew up they didn’t try to change the covers to something more… blockbustery.

The Murderbot Diaries: All Systems Red (2017), Artificial Condition (2018), Rogue Protocol (2018), Exit Strategy (2018), Network Effect (2020), Fugitive Telemetry (2021), Compulsory (2023), System Collapse (2023)

The Books of 2023: Yearly Reading Roundup