Countess
by Suzan Palumbo
Reviewed by Galen Strickland
Posted March 19, 2025
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A Nebula finalist for Best Novella, Suzan Palumbo's Countess is a retelling of two different stories, one historical, the other fiction. Palumbo was born on Trinidad, currently living in Ontario, Canada. Part of this story is in honor of her Caribbean heritage, of the struggles of the indigeneous and enslaved, and of rebellions against the British and French. The title should give you a clue as to which fictional work it also addresses: Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo. One way it is not like that story is its brevity, and that is the main reason I didn't like it as much as I had hoped.
Several elements make it very relevant today; the subjugation of a minority by the powerful elite, as well as a lesbian main character who has to contend with societal taboos. It is not exactly illegal, but definitely frowned upon, and a possible roadblock to success. Up to a certain point, Virika Sameroo had been on a fast track to success within the Ęcerbot Empire's merchant marine, attaining the post of lieutenant on an interstellar cargo ship. Then her life starts to unravel shortly after advancing to acting captain when the ship's captain falls gravely ill. Another lieutenant had resented her promotion over him, the major reason being her heritage, that of a minority population mainly relegated to indentured servitude on various mining or agricultural planets, which are aptly named the Exterran Antilles. Just as her ancestors had been in the Caribbean on Earth, under the yoke of the British. That lietuenant plants evidence which leads to Virika being accused of poisoning her captain, along with sedition, then murder when the captain dies.
This deserved to be a novel, if not the first in a longer series, even though I do like stand-alone books too. Years are glossed over in just a few pages, with Virika sentenced to a harsh prison planet, where her only contact is with masked guards who bring her food, and occasionally accompany her for exercize in the yard. Yet one day, years later, one of the guards admits sympathy for her plight, even removes her mask inside Virika's cell, the first human face she has seen in ten years. If you've read Monte Cristo you may be able to figure out what happens next, but I won't reveal it. I wish there had been more details of Virika's parent's plight, stories of their ancestors on Earth, and more of Virika's childhood, and why she chose to align with the empire rather than fight it, although that came later. I did like her, but most of the other characters were not developed sufficiently, including the one who figures prominently in a tragic event late in the story. Plus, unless that tragic event turns out to have been a ruse which will setup a sequel, it is very disappointing. That is not to say there are not good things about the book, just that it was lacking in developing the story sufficiently. Not in what Palumbo gave us, only in what was withheld. As in all things, YMMV.
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