In “The Vice President’s Black Wife: The Untold Life of Julia Chinn,” Dr. Amrita Chakrabarti Myers argues, “Lying at the crossroads of race, sex, and politics, Julia’s life illuminates how some Black women in the Old South utilized interracial partnerships to negotiate and acquire a modicum of power for themselves and their families while simultaneously highlighting the clear limits of that power: the farther away the Johnson women moved from home and their networks of privilege, the less authority they had” (p. 1). Dr. Myers thoroughly researches Julia Chinn’s family from the historical record, including what personal correspondence survive as well as contemporary letters and newspaper coverage, while also incorporating later popular historiography and family histories to contextualize Julia Chinn’s legacy. Acknowledging the gaps in the historical record, Dr. Myers acknowledges that “to reconstruct the lives of enslaved women, to write Black women back into the historical narrative,” she “must use materials created by white folks, white men, who never intended for their documents to highlight Black women’s voices” (p. 7). Dr. Myers argues, “Although sexual unions in the Old South between white slave owners and Black enslaved women were common, these ‘relationships’ were always complicated affairs, where enslaved women had limited options, none of which were good, and little choice in the matter because of the intersection of slavery, racism, and patriarchy” (p. 35). Julia Chinn’s narrative, then, should not be read as one of romance as there always existed a power imbalance between her and Richard Johnson while the society in which they lived inscribed its own rules on all relationships. As Dr. Myers notes, “The Johnsons’ relationship was…never a love story. Richard was always a slaveholder. Julia was always his property” (p. 85). Despite these constraints, Dr. Myers argues, “This was Julia Chinn’s main mission. Like Black mothers well before her and those who would come long after, every step she took was carefully planned so her descendants would rise up higher, and go much further, than she herself ever would” (p. 55). When Richard Johnson opened the Choctaw Academy on his property for Native American children, it revealed the complicated racial hierarchy that shaped the lives of white settlers, enslaved and free Black people, and Native Americans. Dr. Myers argues that the episode reveals “how settler colonialism and white supremacy warps everyone” (p. 88). Similarly, the liminal semi-public space of the church afforded another realm in which Julia Chinn and her daughters might enjoy an elevated position due to class within the confines of race due to the church’s place outside of civil governance (p. 91-115). Though most modern national histories may offer only a brief discussion of Richard Johnson’s political career, Dr. Myers reveals how his relationships played a critical role in shaping that career in his own time. She examines contemporary newspaper coverage and argues, “Having sex with a Black woman and fathering children of color hasn’t prevented other white men from running for political office in the United States… The problem for Richard, however, was that he… was open about his relationship with Julia. He never married a white woman for cover” (p. 132). Going public nearly derailed his national political ambitions. As it was, Johnson became the first – and only – Vice President elected under the Twelfth Amendment (p. 157-158). Even then, he could not secure a second term as Vice President. In death, his brothers sought to disavow his and Julia’s union as well as their children (p. 169). As a result, “National attitudes toward Blackness, slavery, and interracial sex all played a role in erasing Julia Chinn and her daughters, Imogene Johnson Pence and Adaline Johnson Scott, from US history textbooks as well as from the memories of their own families” (p. 189-190). Their descendants crossed the color line, though some retained an inkling of their family’s history. Dr. Myers’ book reveals the critical intersection of race and gender in U.S. history with a focus on local, state, and national politics. Julia Chinn’s connection to a Vice President of the United States makes this history all the more important as Johnson and Chinn’s connection was known in their own time, but has since faded into the mists of history. The Vice President’s Black Wife reveals the complicated narrative of U.S. history while recovering the story of a forgotten figure who helped shape that history. This book is critical reading for any historian of nineteenth-century America.

In “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine – A Stitch in Time,” author and actor Andrew J. Robinson explores the backstory of his character Elim Garak. The novel alternates between three different time periods. In the present, Garak is dictating a letter to Julian Bashir after the events of “What You Leave Behind” as he helps with the clean-up on Cardassia Prime, finally able to return to his homeworld but finding that it is no longer his home. In the recent past, Garak is struggling to decode Cardassian codes prior to the invasion of Cardassia. His meetings with Dr. Julain Bashir force him to examine what it would mean to return home while he hopes for a chance at redemption both for himself personally and for the Cardassian people after actions such as the occupation of Bajor. Odo similarly begins to wonder what it would mean to return to the Founders. Finally, in the distant past, Robinson explores Garak’s life from a young boy through his time in the Bamarren Institute of State Intelligence. Following the lessons he learns there, he goes on to the Obsidian Order, eventually learning the truth about his father Enabran Tain and becoming enmeshed in Tain’s webs of intrigue. Robinson reads this audiobook adaptation himself, bringing the author’s voice to his own story and adding a touch of verisimilitude to these entries as a voice message for Dr. Bashir. Of great delight is hearing Robinson switch from his melodious voice to imitations of Julian (Alexander Siddig), Quark (Armin Shimerman), and Odo (the late René Auberjonois). In addition to the regular “DS9” cast and recurring guests, he incorporates other Cardassian characters such as Gul Madred as portrayed by the late David Warner in the “Star Trek: The Next Generation” two-parter, “Chain of Command,” revealing that Madred survived the Dominion War and seeks a new position in the changing Cardassian society. Garak in Robinson’s writing does not understand Sisko’s guilt over the death of the Romulan senator – as seen in “In the Pale Moonlight” – but attributes Sisko’s breakdown at the end of “Tears of the Prophets” to a combination of these actions as well as the loss of Jadzia Dax. Seeing Garak’s side of these events is particularly poignant given the larger role his character took on in later seasons of “Deep Space Nine.” This novel is a must-read for any “DS9” fan with the audiobook being a particular treat!

Meg Cabot’s “Black Canary: Ignite” features art by Cara McGee, colors by Caitlin Quirk, and letters by Clayton Cowles. The story focuses on a middle-school-aged Dinah Lance who plays in a band with her friends Kat Van Dorn and Vee Ramirez. Dinah wants to eventually become a police officer like her father, but he worries about her as she begins showing signs of having powers when she can break things with her voice. Meanwhile, a mysterious figure lurks nearby observing her as a villain from Dinah’s mother’s past returns. Cabot delightfully introduces the Black Canary to a new generation of readers in this reimagining of the character. The story resembles the magical girl genre of manga, though with elements of punk rock akin to Marvel’s “Spider-Gwen.” McGee’s illustrations and Quirk’s colors perfectly match the energy of the story. This would be a fun book for DC fans to give to their younger children as well as to read themselves.

In “Dune: The Graphic Novel, Book 3 – The Prophet,” Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson conclude their adaptation of Frank Herbert’s “Dune” with art by Raúl Allén and Patricia Martín with Jesús R. Pastrana, and covers by Bill Sienkiewicz. The story begins approximately a year after Paul Muad’Dib Atreides joined the Fremen and learned their ways. He cements his power and his legacy as the Kwisatz Haderach when he summons a great worm to ride and drinks the waters of life. Meanwhile, Baron Harkonnen continues to lose his grasp on Arrakis and faces increasing pressure from Emperor Shaddam IV. Paul’s mother, the Lady Jessica, acts as the spiritual leader of the Fremen and an advisor to Paul alongside Chani. Paul’s sister, Alia, unsettles the Fremen as she was changed in-utero when her mother drank the waters of life. The conflict comes to a head as Paul reunites with Gurney Halleck and draws the Emperor to Arrakis. This graphic novel continues to faithfully adapt the story of “Dune,” including elements that the film and miniseries adaptations left out due to time constraints. Fans of the series will enjoy Allén, Martín, and Pastrana’s art as they neatly compliment the story and action. A must-read for fans and a great way for new readers to explore the world of “Dune.”

In “Challenger: A True Story of Heroism and Disaster on the Edge of Space,” Adam Higginbotham examines the history of the Space Shuttle from its initial concept and early experiments conducted by Maxime Faget and Dottie Lee through the selection of Astronaut Group 8, nicknamed “TFNG,” which included the first American woman in space with Sally Ride, the first African-American man in space with Guion Bluford, the first American woman to perform a spacewalk with Kathryn Sullivan, and the first Asian-American in space with Ellison Onizuka. After the wind-down from Apollo and the Moon, the Shuttle opened up a new way for Americans to envision space. Despite technical and historic achievements, the portrayal of the Shuttle as safe and entirely reliable by NASA, its contractors, and politicians belied the complex system at the Shuttle’s heart and how thoroughly it depended upon new technologies with little to no room for error. Higginbotham continues to demonstrate how Morton Thiokol underestimated the danger of their O-ring system at a management level while NASA’s own management sought to meet impossible launch schedules in order to appease government and private interests. Of a Morton Thiokol presentation on O-rings, Higginbotham writes, “obscured amid the blizzard of charts, data-filled binders, and Viewgraph slides, the rocket engineers failed to realize that they had reached a critical inflection point. Over the course of the years they had been developing and flying the solid rocket motors, the men at Thiokol and Marshall had slowly expanded the parameters of what they regarded as acceptable risk in the joints” (p. 206). Even when the quick-thinking of Jenny Howard saved a Shuttle launch with an abort-to-orbit, NASA did not pause to seriously examine and reconsider every part of the launch equipment (p. 239). In the end, Richard Feynman’s conclusion proved particularly prescient given the latter disaster involving the Columbia: “For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations… for nature cannot be fooled” (p. 450). Higginbotham’s book is an authoritative account of the Challenger disaster for those who don’t remember it or who want a book that explains the technical information without aiming for a technical audience. Eminently readable, he manages to balance a cast of hundreds and weave their narratives together as part of an organic whole that inexorably led to disaster amid institutional failures. “Challenger” is a warning to all such institutions to carefully examine their systems and avoid allowing outside pressures from business or politics to influence their decision-making away from safety.

Devin Grayson and Becca Farrow’s adaptation of Tamora Pierce’s “First Test: Protector of the Small – Book 1” faithfully adapts the first book of Pierce’s third Tortall quartet. The story introduces Keladry of Mindelan, who trains as a knight a decade after the events of the “Song of the Lioness” quartet in which Alanna trained and Jonathan of Conté made it legal for girls to train. Kel faces an uphill battle from the beginning with an added probationary period which other pages need not pass, though she seeks Lord Wyldon’s approval. Her sponsor, Nealan, sponsors her in the training and helps her learn the unofficial rules of training. Along the way, Kel discovers that she has a secret benefactor and makes friends while she challenges the systemic bullying at the school. Each of Pierce’s Tortall quartets may be read on their own and this works as an easy entry point for new readers, though some prior familiarity with “Song of the Lioness” and “Immortals” will help readers appreciate the world that Pierce built. “First Test” may appeal the most to new readers’ tastes, however, and what they expect from YA fantasy. Grayson’s adaptation honors the original text while taking into consideration the areas in which the art will tell the story. Farrow brilliantly compliments Pierce and Grayson’s writing with distinctive character designs and great visual world-building. Her art and Grayson’s adaptation will introduce new readers to Pierce’s writing and enhance their appreciation of Tortall. The book concludes with Farrow’s character sketches and a glossary of medieval and fantasy terms for newcomers. I look forward to Grayson and Farrow continuing to adapt the other books in the “Protector of the Small” quartet.

In “Docile: Memoirs of a Not-So-Perfect Asian Girl,” Hyeseung Song describes her life immigrating to Texas from Korea as a young child, growing up in poverty even while her family expects her to succeed. Her family struggles early on due to her father’s various failed business ideas and they only gain some security when her mother gets a job. The financial insecurity combined with her parents’ vastly different personalities leads to domestic violence, further adding to Hyeseung’s sense of uncertainty. Over time, she begins to make friends and find success at school, but her parents’ strict expectations leave her feeling adrift in her own home. She writes, “You learned love was entirely conditional, and you could vanish – even to your own mother – at any moment” (p. 72). Even getting into Princeton and succeeding at her classes isn’t enough to allay her feelings of displacement. Hyeseung writes, “Pinning everything on the nail of achievement had meant that failure was death and life was small. Ultimately, I had suffered anyway and my belief in this ontological structure had faltered” (p. 125). In her philosophy studies, Hyeseung found a way to describe what had been bothering her. She writes, “Descartes had devoted his life to locating contradictions and striking those that turned out to be false, in order to see if science were possible. But I wanted to know if I in any consistent way were possible. The solution up until then had been to amass achievement visible in both cultures, pursue a workable synthesis of beliefs, and shift my behavior depending on the local culture, while trying not to disappear through it all” (p. 165). Describing her mounting mental health struggles and how she perceived them during her combined law degree and philosophy PhD studies, Hyeseung writes, “My self-worth was tied to Work, as if Work were a star. Work and Worth were bound together and if one fell, then the other did, too” (p. 202). She links this to the added stress of her immigrant background and feelings of dual identities between her American and Korean cultural heritages, but this sense of self-worth will resonate with nearly anyone who has pursued graduate studies, particularly if their family treated their success or failure at these studies as reflective of the family’s worth. Hyeseung concludes, “In my life, I had tried to be a great daughter, a great student, a great wife, an American, a Korean, even a great artist – and through these pursuits, I had always chased an ought, forgetting to revel in what I actually already was” (p. 288). Song’s book will resonate with anyone who has felt torn between identities or struggled with their mental health. In particular, those with extensive experience in academia cannot help but find themselves in her words. Her honest narrative is a moving read for anyone who finds themselves feeling lost without the words to articulate the feeling.

In “The Pharaoh Key,” Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child pick up with Gideon Crew who learns that his medical condition and its associated death sentence continue to hang over his head. Meanwhile, his former employer – Eli Glinn, of Effective Engineering Solutions – has shut down the company following their most recent mission. Gideon and his coworker, Manuel Garza, are given the chance to clear out the remainder of their property from the office. Garza fumes over the unceremonious end to their jobs while Gideon feels apathetic. They learn that a computer program recently decrypted the Phaistos Disc, an ancient object with unknown writing and symbols. Thinking that it holds the secret to a treasure and wanting some last measure of security, Garza and Gideon heist the translation and plan an expedition to recover and sell whatever treasure the disc leads them to. They travel to a remote region of Egypt and find more and more complications, from disasters surrounding their means of travel to a compelling Lara Croft-type character named Imogen Blackburn to the discovery of an extant Coptic village in a mist valley cut off from the outside world. The story is a great adventure story from Preston & Child, masters of the thriller. They instantly drop the reader in the adventure, making them care about these characters while they take them from cliffhanger to cliffhanger. The story has a great MacGuffin that works well as a main subject for the quest while Imogen Blackburn nicely balances out the Gideon-Garza dynamic. Even as the twists and turns resemble an adventure serial, Preston & Child keep the reader involved and pay off their MacGuffin in a satisfying way. David W. Collins does an admirable job reading the story, creating distinct voices for each character with particular emphasis on Garza’s NYC accent. The story will appeal to fans of Gideon Crew and to Preston & Child’s writing.

David Bushman and Ken Deep’s edited collection “The Companions of Doctor Who” features essays exploring the importance of the Doctor’s companions throughout the sixty-plus years of “Doctor Who.” They structure the book in reverse-chronological order beginning with Donna and Wilf as they appeared in the sixtieth anniversary specials, though those episodes had not yet aired when essayists Shaun Lyon and Joseph Dougherty wrote so they mostly focus on their time with the Tenth Doctor, alluding to the Fourteenth Doctor in their conclusions. From there, Mackenzie Flohr examines Yaz and the Thirteenth Doctor; Amanda-Rae Prescott looks at Bill Potts and the Twelfth Doctor; Scott Ryan examines the role of Clara Oswald; David Bushman takes a look at Amy Pond and the Eleventh Doctor; Dr. Gina Rosich explores the complicated legacy of Martha Jones and the Tenth Doctor; Joshua Lou Friedman takes a look at Rose’s time with the Ninth and Tenth Doctors as the first companion after Doctor Who’s revival in 2005. This first half of the book covers the revived “Doctor Who” while the second half begins with Yee Jee Tso looking back on his own character, Chang Lee, in the 1996 “Doctor Who” movie. Following Tso, Joshua Lou Friedman and Sophie Aldred write about Aldred’s character Ace and her time with the Seventh Doctor; Paul J. Salamoff examines Sarah Jane Smith, who traveled with the Third and Fourth Doctors before appearing in special episodes, spin-offs, the second series of the revived “Doctor Who,” and even her own show; Charlie Ross, Lucy Chase Williams, and Amy Krell all give insiders’ insight into Ian Marter, who portrayed Harry Sullivan alongside the Fourth doctor; Edwin Thrower writes about Jo Grant, who traveled with the Third Doctor before reappearing in the “Sarah Jane Adventures” and “Tales of the TARDIS”; Ken Deep discusses Jamie McCrimmon’s time with the Second Doctor; Barnaby Edwards writes about Ian Chesterton’s travels with the First Doctor as the model for other male companions, who are often outliers when many of the most well-known companions are women; and Ken Deep closes out the book with an interview with Carole An Ford, who played Susan Foreman alongside the First Doctor. The book is a nice companion to the franchise and a good introduction for newcomers who might feel overwhelmed by the Doctor’s long history and numerous companions. Each author brings their own insights and clearly writes about their favorites, so the chapters are a joy to read. A lovely volume for Whovians to purchase for themselves or as a gift for fellow fans.

Lauren Myracle’s “Victor and Nora: A Gotham Love Story” features art by Isaac Goodhart, colors by Cris Peter, and letters by Steve Wands. The story reimagines the meeting of Victor Fries and Nora Faria, both of whom have experienced tragedy in their seventeen years. Victor researches cryonics in order to treat disease after losing his older brother, Otto, in a fire when they were younger. Nora, suffering from chrysalisis, knows that her degenerative disease will inevitably lead her to lose herself before losing her life. Each touched by tragedy, they meet in a graveyard and find renewed life in each other’s company. Victor’s drive begins to extend to Nora, trying to give her perfect days while also researching ways to forestall the effects of her disease. The result is a great tragic retelling of Victor Fries and Nora set in the modern day. Goodhart’s art uses visual language to alternate between hope, with butterflies, and doom, with dark birds, flitting around the story. Peter’s colors similarly punctuate the story as she alternates between warm oranges and reds and colder blues and purples depending on the character or the scene. Myracle brings this classic comic book narrative into the modern era in the style of contemporary YA fiction as a great introduction to these characters for newcomers and a fun retelling for established fans.