COUNTESS

Chanté McCormick narrates this queer, anti-colonial sci-fi novella. Virika struggles to thrive on a colonized space planet under the control of an empire in the same way that her ancestors struggled to get ahead when the British Empire ruled the British West Indies. She worked hard to succeed in the Merchant Marines, but when her captain dies, she is convicted of treason for his murder. She escapes from prison and vows revenge for the empire's betrayal of her loyalty. McCormick employs a West Indies accent for Virika's mother, but she loses the accent for Virika to capture her assimilation into the dominant culture. McCormick makes clear the condescension of the prosecutor and judge in her trial and the insidious discrimination of society in general. J.E.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2024]