Rating-- 2.5I picked this book up after I watched a round table discussion of Urban Fantasy writers that included Jim Butcher. One of the authors, I can't remember who now, mentioned this book in response to a question about enjoyable debut novels for authors they loved now. I had never read any Star Trek extended universe novels, so I figured it would be fun. And it was. Reading characters you know so well from the TV Series was a lot fun, I could hear Dr. McCoy, Spock, and Checov's voices in my head as a I read, and it made me smile every time. I think she really nailed Spock and McCoy. The other characters were a bit iffy... I also enjoyed the dilema that prompts this "episode" of the starship Enterprise (ADF Synddrome) and the alien cat-like race that Kagan created. This was actually the reason that I kept reading- to solve the mystery of both the disease's cure and why the alien culture had split in two 2000 years ago. There was a lot of suspense. BUT, the book went on for so long the suspense kind of tired out and pure curiosity had to keep me goiong. My other complaint was that this novel is very "Mary Sue Wish Fulfillment" if you are familiar with that trope. The character of Dr. Evan Wilson (female) was created for this story. At first, I assumed this novel would revolve heavily around Uhura- her name is in the title! Exciting! And for the first few chapters, it does. We see Uhura and Spock working out the mystery of the alien species origins. But then, Uhura takes second seat and Dr Wilson, who I had assumed was a minor character meant to be a throw away love interest for the Captain, takes center stage for the rest of the novel. And she is perfect and can do everything great!She's a doctor who can sword fight, who's one of the guys with an easy friendship with McCoy and Scottie. At first the Captain doesn't like her, but that only lasts two chapters before she's his bossom buddy (we had to have some adversity, but she overcame it!). Then of course Dr. Evan dives right in and is great with the aliens, taking over the landing party and, of course, being perfect with First Contact, making friends with the aliens. She also fights for justice, never call anyone a derogatory name around her!There's obviously a certain amount of suspension of disbelief when reading a Star Trek novel, but as I read on, I found myself getting frustrated by Evan Wilson's pure capableness that disbelief was no longer able to be suspended, which really made me disengage from the book. There was a lot of eye-rolling. And suddenly, Uhura became a retiring violet? So ladylike and in need of protection?At the very end of the novel, as Spock starts to solve the mystery of Dr. Evan's origins, I almost made peace with her Mary Sue perfection because (view spoiler)[ I thought Kagan was going to make her the incarnation of Cloudshape, the trickster goddess, come now to help save her Sivoan people. Makes sense, a god would be perfect. (hide spoiler)]
So Janet Kagan's a cat person, then. I had not read any Star Trek books in a while, so I picked up where I left off with this. Despite the overwhelming goofiness of this book, it did not make me regret my decision to read it or get back into Star Trek books. The book is a great example of the freedom and, again, goofiness of the early '80s numbered series era, in which authors could create new characters and do bizarre things provided they didn't change the "status quo" of the Star Trek universe. Why they changed that notion in the last few years is beyond me - every year, now, it seems the main goal is to change the Star Trek universe drastically, without letting us get used to anything. Kagan's book is flawed, though, in that despite her stated attempt (see the great Voyages of Imagination) to make Uhura a stronger, vibrant character, Uhura takes a backseat to Kagan's invented Dr. Evan Wilson, an unusual, quirky girl with some strange secrets. She takes over the story, even though Uhura's song (which isn't even hers, really) does play a key role in getting the conflict resolved. Another odd thing of this book is that it starts out with great danger and immediacy: the threatening plague strikes quickly and dangerously, but then the Enterprise goes on a mostly laid-back journey to camp with the cat people for a week. Though the passage of time makes it believable that the days are slow, the ubiquitous smiles, cat-tail hijinks, and "wicked grins" betray the seriousness of the mission at large. The odd, rapid passage of time in the final chapter during the perhaps overly-long resolution is even more bemusing after the lengthy but faster-paced middle two hundred pages. It's one of those books that, by the time you're on page 150, you can't believe you aren't quite halfway done. By page 250 you're not sure how there could possibly be 100 more pages. By the end, you feel a tinge of regret that the book is over, since it was a fairly stress-free book, without a lot of the nonsensical extra-dramatic conflicts with which many other Star Trek books feel the need to suffuse their stories.
What do You think about Uhura's Song (2000)?
This ranks among my top five Star Trek books. Kagan gives us a mix of drama, cultural food-for-thought, and quite a few laugh-out-loud moments. Her writing wears a little thin at points, especially when she tries too hard to emphasize the pathos of a given situation, but since it's otherwise very good and the plot is excellent I'm inclined to cut her a little slack.The story captures everything I love about TOS - the idealist belief that human beings can be learn to be open-minded, to rejoice in differences, to work together patiently despite those differences in order to solve their problems. Sure, it's occasionally a little cheesy, but in a good way.It's really fun to explore the idea of a first contact in such great detail. The Sivaoans are a very well-developed race; Kagan put quite a bit of thought into creating their world and their culture, and it paid off.I disagree with some other reviewers about the supposed "Mary Sue" - that's an easy dismissal of a character who was actually quite interesting, important to the storyline, and just plain fun to read about. While she's clearly the kind of larger-than-life character that you secretly wish you could be, you could say that about almost any TOS character as well, and she isn't over-the-top in the absurd way that the term usually indicates. While she was definitely a main character in the story, I didn't judge it to be at the expense of the other characters.In short, a very fun romp with an interesting new alien culture, with a few moments that will make you think.
—Laura
This is my go-to book when I want something familiar, comforting and sweet and fun both. I'm rereading it right now while home with my sick son and dealing with hot flashes at night. Why is this so wonderful? It deals with so many of my favorite subjects: cats, medicine, history and the consequences of history. It doesn't really have a particularly horrible scary villain, unless a disease qualifies as such (which it can: read about the Bubonic Plague AKA Black Death in great detail if you want n
—Joan
I dearly loved this book. It has a compelling plot, great pace, equal parts adventure, drama with adorable funny moments. The characterisation is remarkable, especially for the Enterprise members se get to see more of. I especially love how the author wrote the friendship and team work between Uhura and Spock, and Kirk and Spock. The alien races are a blast. If I absolutely had to complain about something, I'd say the Enterprise original character took up a bit too much "screen time". Other than that, full marks for Janet Kagan.
—Priscila
