The blurb:
Virika Sameroo lives in colonized space under the Æerbot Empire, much like her ancestors before her in the British West Indies. After years of working hard to rise through the ranks of the empire’s merchant marine, she’s finally become first lieutenant on an interstellar cargo vessel.
When her captain dies under suspicious circumstances, Virika is arrested for murder and charged with treason despite her lifelong loyalty to the empire. Her conviction and subsequent imprisonment set her on a path to justice, determined to take down the evil empire that wronged her, all while the fate of her people hangs in the balance.
Before I get going: there's a common complaint about novellas, with people marking them down because they're not as long as a novel. I want to make it clear up front, I knew this was a novella when I got it, I was expecting a novella-length read, I'm not complaining because it's a novella. I knew that going in. Novellas are their own art form; they're that length for a reason, because that's as long as the story needed to be told. It doesn't make them 'less' in any way than a novel.
Countess is a novella that deserved to be a novel—or at least to be wrapped up better than it was.
The worldbuilding is great; the characterisation is terrific; Palumbo's writing is exciting and lively, and all the things you want in an adventure story like this. I was really enjoying spending time in Virika's world. She had family, she had friends and colleauges, and conflicts and betrayals. Suzan Palumbo sets up a rich, complicated world, begins digging into the racism and suffering engendered by the colonialism that humanity took to the stars along with everything else. And then it just...ends.
This is a really clear case, I think, of a novella that needed more to finish it off properly; the story wasn't fully told by the time the author was done writing. And she had landed in a complex place; interplanetary negotiations are complicated, and the way they fell apart felt real enough. But the aftermath of that felt more like the author didn't really know where to go next, which was disappointing, because I was fully invested and along for the ride. I hope there's an expansion or a sequel novella because this feels quite rushed and chopped off without a proper conclusio.
Started: 24 August 2025
Finished: 26 August 2025
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