Janet Kagan (1946–2008)

Now this is the kind of Star Trek story I'm looking for (and SF in general as well) - a first contact adventure that focuses on learning about and from the other culture, not on what to blow up next. From 1985, this is one of the original Pocket Trek novels that I hadn't gotten at the time, but I'd been looking to pick up for years. It's a medical mystery, where McCoy is stuck on a quarantined planet and the Enterprise, acting on information Lt. Uhura has learned from the society's ancient show more songs, must find the planet that they had originally come from in hope of finding a cure there. They find the world, based on constellations described in old children's songs, and introduce themselves to the felinoid beings there. Uhura's knowledge of the old songs in their original language again serving as a cultural bridge while the universal translator handles the basic speaking. Working within and around the taboos of the culture, they learn how to ask their questions and the doctor on the team, called Evan Wilson, works with a native doctor while Uhura exchanges songs with the local bard to learn history going back the thousands of years since the colonist group left, taking all knowledge of space flight technology with them. Solutions to several mysteries hinge on the songs and on the importance of perfect pitch to the Sivaoans . One aspect of the writing did annoy me though - writing out the accents in dialog, especially for Scotty and Chekov. Still, this book easily goes in the top few of my Trek favorites. No space battles, just conflict against the elements and against the rigid prejudices of an old society. show less

Really liked this one! I feel like I'm having a good run of Trek novels right now. I really liked that this introduced another feliniform race (besides Snarl's race) and that it spent a huge amount of time on their culture. It feels authentic in a way that most of the representations of alien cultures to this point haven't in the novels. I'm not such a huge fan of how we keep having to introduce Harry Mudd esque trickster characters. Evan Wilson was just fine, and I really appreciated that show more she wasn't posed in competition with Uhura or anyone else, but I didn't feel like she added that much to the story ; it would have been more exciting, in my opinion, if her character had been melded with Uhura's, and Uhura got to be the daring adventurer for once! show less

Janet Kagan's death in 2008 ended a brilliant but tragically short career. She wrote only three novels, Uhura's Song, Mirabile, and Hellspark. Although published almost a decade and a half ago, Hellspark remains as rich in fresh ideas and wonderful characters as when the ink was still wet on the pages. The story begins as a murder mystery, a pilot versed in languages enlisted to help solve the death of a member of a multi-cultural survey mission. As an outsider, Tocohl Susumo brings a new show more perspective to the community and the planet it is investigating, a wonderfully inventive world in which plants use lightning-generated electricity for energy. She also understands that language is more than words, it's culture, gestures, and proxemics as well. The pivotal question faced by the expedition is whether the native species, bird-like bipeds who echo human speech with uncanny accuracy, are sentient. Kagan's depiction of how different cultures view the same behavior through the filtering lenses of their own biases is fresh, startling, and ultimately satisfying. Highly recommended. show less

Star Trek novelisations: resistance is futile. I was under the misapprehension that Uhura's Song is one of the best Original Series spin-offs, but I must have downloaded the wrong copy. Janet Kagan might have been a perfectly accomplished author, but her lack of (a) understanding and (b) interest in the show is painfully obvious. She does have one or two flashes of comprehension, which I think say more about quality of the series than her research, but mostly the plot is one loooooong show more fantasy ramble through Planet Cat People, with Kirk, Spock, Chekov and - oh yes! - Uhura along for the rights. I mean 'ride'.

And oh my word, never I have encountered a Mary Sue like Evan Wilson, the stand-in doctor (I thought that was what M'Benga was for)/Manic Pixie Dream Girl who takes over the whole damn book, and might just probably maybe perhaps be based on the author herself. Evan can do everything - she's tough, unconventional, defiant, brave, and of course, everybody loves her (including Spock). Not even being a short arse can hold her back. And because the main Star Trek characters are so completely out of whack - Kirk walks around shouting 'People!' like some demented tour guide, and both Scotty and Chekov are reduced to exaggerated dialects - then the annoying author insert is even harder to ignore. Oh, and for all the hype, poor Uhura is shoved to the sidelines in her own novel, too.

The plot is insane, about two different species of cat people, one of whom has contracted some form of childhood illness that is killing them off, along with the human medics - including Bones and Christine Chapel - who have beamed down to treat the mysterious illness. I love cats, I really do, but the middle block of this story nearly turned me over to the dog side.

I really have no clue what other reviewers find to like in this dross. Star Trek novelisations are hardly classic fiction, but the Prime Directive of published fan fiction should always be an author who knows and loves the fandom. I'm sure Janet Kagan did her best - and I liked Uhura commenting on Spock's friendship with Kirk, and the suggestion, slightly out of character from Spock himself, that he and the Captain share a mental bond - but there just weren't enough familiar traits or interactions from the crew to maintain my interest. show less