User Profile

This is the first novel by James that I have ever read, so I was not entirely sure what to expect. I enjoyed tremendously James's close attention to detail to the characters, their appearance, their surroundings, and the turmoil of their inner lives. James establishes early on the independence of the heroine, Isabel Archer. In this exchange, Isabel says:

"I always want to know the things one shouldn't do." "So as to do them?" asked her aunt. "So as to choose," said Isabel.

In rejecting her various suitors, Isabel is determined to live life in the way that she sees best and not peremptorily close off any possible routes. Do we need spoiler alerts for books published in 1881? Let's just say that things do not develop as Isabel intends, and James keeps the reader's interest by not closing off possible outcomes and carefully considering each character's actions and motivations.

Armin Shimerman has noted that it was his "personal agenda" in DS9 to make the Ferengi a more three-dimensional race than they were portrayed in TNG (trekmovie.com/2018/03/21/armin-shimerman-feels-responsible-for-failed-ferengi-introduction-on-star-trek-the-next-generation/). This book might be seen as part of that effort, as Shimerman gives depth to Quark's interior life in this novel. But there's a lot more going on here than just one character. The novel sets up a conflict between Bajor and Ferenginar in an interesting way, contrasting their spiritual and materialistic societies. And we see some of the lasting horrors of the Cardassian occupation on Bajoran lives. Good moments for all the DS9 characters here, who Shimerman clearly knows inside and out. Weighs in at 450 pages, but I was never bored. Great book by an author clearly invested in the subject.

This is probably the least compelling of the DS9 books that I've read. Still a good yarn with a secret mission to the Gamma Quadrant and a host of aliens who can more easily exist in the imaginations of novelists than on screen. There's some good material here with a planet in the Gamma Quadrant. Glad I read it, but not top-shelf Trek.

Calarco brings together both heartbreaking anecdotes and reliable data to underscore how the uncompensated labor of women has become the de facto safety net in this country. She briefly traces the history of how businessmen fought to prevent the United States from having robust social protections. But for me the most damning part of the book are the interviews with husbands, who almost carelessly take their wives' labor for granted, all the while feigning admiration. Men, if you have ever said "I don't know how she does it," Calarco's riposte ("you could ask") should give you pause.

Book does exactly what the subtitle implies: provides a serviceable overview of the institution of slavery in Texas prior to the Civil War.