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Janet Kagan (1946–2008)

Author of Uhura's Song

20+ Works 1,661 Members 36 Reviews 19 Favorited

About the Author

Includes the names: Janet Hagan, Janet Kagan, Hagan Janet

Image credit: Janet Kagan

Works by Janet Kagan

Associated Works

The Year's Best Science Fiction: Seventh Annual Collection (1990) — Contributor — 280 copies
Alternate Presidents (1992) — Contributor — 241 copies
The Good New Stuff: Adventure in SF in the Grand Tradition (1999) — Contributor — 113 copies
The New Hugo Winners, Volume IV (1997) — Contributor — 113 copies
Phases in Chaos (1991) — Contributor — 86 copies
Unnatural Diplomacy (1992) — Contributor — 83 copies
Hotel Andromeda (1994) — Contributor — 79 copies
Aladdin: Master of the Lamp (1992) — Contributor — 66 copies
More Whatdunits (1993) — Contributor — 62 copies
Unicorns II (1992) — Contributor — 57 copies
Christmas Magic (1994) — Contributor — 55 copies
Isaac Asimov's Christmas (1656) — Contributor — 48 copies
By Any Other Fame (1994) — Contributor — 42 copies
Season of Wonder (2012) — Contributor — 40 copies
Absolute Magnitude (1997) — Contributor — 35 copies
Christmas Forever (1993) — Contributor — 25 copies
Asimov's Science Fiction: Vol. 21, No. 12 [December 1997] (1997) — Contributor — 10 copies

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* Janet Kagan (8) 2008s (6) aliens (14) cats (8) collection (13) combining done (7) ebook (21) fantasy (16) fiction (135) hardcover (11) Kindle (18) linguistics (14) media tie-in (10) mirabile (6) mmpb (20) music (9) mystery (11) novel (18) own (12) owned (9) paperback (31) read (19) science fiction (376) Science Fiction/Fantasy (11) series (8) sf (111) sff (31) short stories (26) signed (7) space opera (10) speculative fiction (9) Star Trek (261) Star Trek: The Original Series (43) television (15) tie-in (9) to-read (70) TOS (28) tv tie-in (8) unread (20) wishlist (6)

Common Knowledge

Canonical name
Kagan, Janet
Legal name
Kagan, Janet Megson
Birthdate
1946-04-18
Date of death
2008-03-01
Gender
female
Nationality
USA
Birthplace
New Jersey, USA
Cause of death
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

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Discussions

Reviews

Kagan did Warrior Cats before Warrior Cats did Warrior Cats
 
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hannerwell | 15 other reviews | Feb 24, 2024 |
Why is it all th BEST stuff I find from authors who only publish a couple books?
 
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acb13adm | 8 other reviews | Sep 13, 2023 |
Not without it's issues (Mary Sue character), but I still hold a place in my heart for it.
 
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jmvilches | 15 other reviews | Aug 8, 2023 |
I'll admit upfront this is a nostalgic favorite. I think it's also very good.

Early in her career, Lt. Uhura met a young diplomat from the world of Eeiauo. The two women bonded over music, singing, and the songs of their respective peoples and cultures. The graceful, catlike Sunfall of Ennian even shares songs with Uhura, and the Old Tongue they are sung in, that are not to shared except with other bards,

Years later, Uhura is now communications officer on the USS Enterprise, which is on a mission of mercy to Eeiauo, where a terrible plague has broken out. The infected individuals become weak, their fur (or hair, as they make the unhappy discovery it also affects humans), become stiff and achy, fall into comas, and die. One of those dying is Uhura's old friend, Sunfall.

McCoy and others are on the surface working directly with Eeiauoan medical personnel. Chapel is among the humans who have fallen ill.

Spock works out that the Eeiauoans can't be native to their current world. Uhura has reached the same conclusion from reexamining the songs Sunfall taught her. Together they set to work figuring out where their homeworld is. The Eeiauoans can't, or rather won't, help them, because they left their homeworld for what the consider deeply shameful reasons. They don't even want it being said that there was a homeworld.

McCoy and others on the planet look for a successful treatment or cure. Kirk and the Enterprise, with Spock and Uhura still working the information they have to locate the homeworld, head off to find it.
We get alternating sections following McCoy and his colleagues, and, when they find the planet, Kirk, Uhura, Spock, Chekov, the interim Medical Director Evan Wilson, and Sulu beam down to the planet to make contact. What follows is a wonderful tale of worldbuilding, a very interesting alien culture, and the unraveling of a very knotty problem.

The natives on the Eeiauoans' homeworld, the Savaoans, are also deeply ashamed of the events that led to the exile of the Eeiauoans. They are not going to talk, even to save lives, until the landing party figures out the reason they won't talk. It's complex and fascinating and frustrating.

The ending is quite satisfying, and then there's a sort of epilogue, that you may like or loathe.

I bought this book.
… (more)
 
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LisCarey | 15 other reviews | Apr 3, 2023 |

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Statistics

Works
20
Also by
20
Members
1,661
Popularity
#15,474
Rating
4.0
Reviews
36
ISBNs
19
Languages
2
Favorited
19

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