Spoilers TOS: Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan Review Thread

[Avro Arrow]

Blurb:
Years ago, Lt. Uhura befriended a diplomat from Eeiauo, the land of graceful, cat-like beings. The two women exchanged songs and promised never to reveal their secret—but now, those songs may be the only hope to save the planets from a deadly epidemic.

The U.S.S. Enterprise™ is orbiting Eeiauo in a desperate race to save the inhabitants before a deadly plague destroys them. Uhura's secret songs may hold the key to a cure—but the clues are veiled in layers of mystery and the inhabitants of Eeiauo aren't what they seem. But the plague is killing humans, threatening other planets—and Kirk must crack the code before the Starship Enterprise succumbs!

About the Author:
Janet Kagan (1946–2008) was the author of two science fiction novels—Uhura's Song and Hellspark—and numerous short science fiction and fantasy stories, featured in publications such as Analog Science Fiction and Fact and Asimov's Science Fiction. She has been nominated and won several awards for her short stories, including the Asimov's Reader Poll award for best Novelette and the Hugo award.

https://www.simonandschuster.com/bo...n/Star-Trek-The-Original-Series/9780743419727

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Based on a suggestion by @David cgc , I've set up a retro review thread for this book, since it is one of the 99 cent ebook deals this month. I know there are a couple other older books in the sale that don't have review threads either, but I wasn't sure how much interest there would be. So I thought we could at least start with one, and see how the response goes.

 

[Avro Arrow]

As for my personal thoughts on this one... I remember absolutely loving this story when I was younger! But I'm a little wary about actually voting in the poll, because I haven't read this in many, many years. I always worry that things might not hold up that well now that I am more mature chronologically older, and things I loved back then might not get rated quite so favourably if I reread them now.

I should probably give this one a reread at some point, but to be honest... I'm not entirely sure how a book with a global pandemic as the background would hit these days.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

It might not get an outstanding out of me if it were competing with some of the stuff CLB and GC are writing today, but by the standards of its era, it bloody well is outstanding (and if it were brand new, it would certainly be above average).

I have re-read it many times, and given a copy as a gift to a relative, and it's never not held up.

Along with the works of Diane Duane and of John Ford, it was one of the Brightspots of its era. And may anybody who disputes that come down with an acute case of noisy-baby!

 

[Markonian]

This novel got me into reading TOS novels to begin with, and I enjoyed it. It combined high stakes with a sense of adventure without the former killing the joy of the latter.

I had picked it up for the focus on Uhura, a character usually underrepresented in various media.

Despite knowing Caitians and Kzinti, this is when I realised the appeal of cat people within the franchise.

 

[Therin of Andor]

Despite knowing Caitians and Kzinti, this is when I realised the appeal of cat people within the franchise.

I was fortunate to strike up a correspondence with Janet Kagan and was so sad when she passed away. When I first read the book, soon after its publication, I thought I was being very clever in identifying the impish character of Dr Evan Wilson as being based upon fandom's first lady, Bjo Trimble. The description in the novel seemed just like her. She even had Bjo's freckles. I also wondered why Janet hadn't make use of M'Ress the Caitian (of TAS) when the Enterprise was trying to solve a medical problem among a newly-encountered felinoid race. (She did use Snnanagfashtalli, a felinoid Enterprise officer created by Vonda McIntyre for "The Entropy Effect", and borrowed by AC Crispin in "Time for Yesterday".)

Janet told me that, no, she had never actually met Bjo (at the time of writing the book), and that Dr Wilson was based on Janet's own mother. And that Janet had never watched Filmation's TAS - it wasn't even playing on TV when she was researching - so using M'Ress to give insights into McCoy's investigation had never occurred to her.

 

[mastadge]

One of my all-time favorite Trek novels. The characters all have a moment to shine, and the joy and wonder of discovery are palpable. Written in solid prose, too. This would be an easy crossover recommendation for someone who doesn't think tie-in novels are worth their time, and also an easy recommendation to Trekkies who are looking for a standalone read.

 

[Daddy Todd]

I'm quite definitely the outlier here, but I found Evan annoyingly precious. Whether or not she's based on Bjo, who I deeply respect for what she's done for SF Fandom as well as Star Trek Fandom, I thought Evan was an overload of cute.

Evan just doesn't work for me. And as she's such a major player in the book, it dragged the book all the way down to "below average" for me..

 

[mastadge]

Interestingly, the character didn't bother me at all and I had no idea, when reading it, that she was rumored to be "inspired by" anyone. I was curious whether she would turn out to be *someone*, but also the galaxy is a big place and there are colorful characters cavorting around it and it just didn't seem all that weird that one would cross paths with the Enterprise crew.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

impish character of Dr Evan Wilson

I found Evan annoyingly precious

That's "Dr. Tail-Kinker to-Ennien," to both you!

 

[Reanok]

I voted outstanding. I always have liked this book and Doctor Evan Wilson is a great character. One of my all time favorite new characters that appeared in a Star Trek Tos book.

 

[Daddy Todd]

That's "Dr. Tail-Kinker to-Ennien," to both you!

Even MORE annoying.

 

[dupersuper]

I'm quite definitely the outlier here, but I found Evan annoyingly precious. Whether or not she's based on Bjo, who I deeply respect for what she's done for SF Fandom as well as Star Trek Fandom, I thought Evan was an overload of cute.

Evan just doesn't work for me. And as she's such a major player in the book, it dragged the book all the way down to "below average" for me..

I didn't find her as annoying as you seemed to, but I was rolling my eyes occasionally. I found the book overall to be...fine. Not great, not bad, just a fun enough Star Trek adventure.

 

[Desert Kris]

I should probably give this one a reread at some point, but to be honest... I'm not entirely sure how a book with a global pandemic as the background would hit these days.

In the spirit of visiting older Trek novels, and also along the lines you're talking about, I read two novels from the 80's last year and the end of the year before that. Bloodthirst dealt with a quarantine/contamination issue, which I read in December of 2020. Normally I breeze through books by JM Dillard, but life was heavy with the pandemic, and...other anxieties. I think it took me most of the month to get through Bloodthirst.

The IDIC Epidemic I read several months later, as things started changing in a seemingly more hopeful direction. I was able to connect with friends again. And even though The IDIC Epidemic was more similar to what was happening in real life, the hope in the real world meant I was able to enjoy IDIC and read through it at a more familiar speed.

I read them because they were what was up in my TBR pile for Star Trek reading. My Stephen King reading schedule has been adjusted for the last couple years, mind. Although I want to eventually, I'm in no hurry just now to read The Stand. It's really, really long; compared to those ST books.

That's just my experience. I definitely felt trepidation approaching Bloodthirst and IDIC. I know everyone is different.

 

[Cake Is Eternal]

“We’re looking for a planet on the strength of a song.”

https://warpfactortrek.com/uhuras-song-review/

 

[Falconer]

I am 135 pages (out of 370) into Uhura’s Song by Janet Kagan. The first 35 pages present a mystery and a search for a lost planet. That part was pretty great! But once the landing party beams down, the following 100 pages have been just an absolute slog, as the landing party wanders around meeting one after another after another indistinguishable cat-person*, and learn another tedious detail of their “noble savage” culture.

(Snarl the cat-person from McIntyre’s The Entropy Effect also appears in this novel, and is stated to be unrelated to Kagan’s cat-people. I have to wonder if McIntyre and/or Kagan had ever intended to use Caitains and were told by an editor to remove that word.)

The story has been absolutely dominated a new Starfleet character named Evan Wilson, who is just freakishly amazing and brilliant all the time. I was disappointed and low-key shocked that Uhura was so sidelined in her own novel. I never thought I’d say this, but so far I actually prefer The Tears of the Singers because it features Uhura more prominently and gives her lots of opportunities to be kickass in lots of different ways.

Another pet peeve of mine is that the book refers constantly to ballads, yet someone was apparently allergic to actually printing any poetry in the book. Just once in a while Uhura chimes in, “Oh yes, the song mentions that.” Am I the only one who thinks that’s really lazy and weak? It seems like a no-brainer to provide the reader with the titular Song near the front so they can look for clues, too.

The novel’s central riddle, such as it is, is paper-thin, and I fear the next 235 pages will be just so much padding before someone finally spits out the answer. The story is just likable enough that I wouldn’t mind listening to an abridged audiobook, but there isn’t one.

So there we are. Unless someone can encourage me to push through (i.e., let me know if you liked it for storytelling elements which began after page 135), this might be the first Star Trek book I set down unfinished as not worth my time. That’s extra surprising to me since its rating on Goodreads is higher than any Star Trek book I have read—so you’d expect it to be at least passable.

 

[Christopher]

(Snarl the cat-person from McIntyre’s The Entropy Effect also appears in this novel, and is stated to be unrelated to Kagan’s cat-people. I have to wonder if McIntyre and/or Kagan had ever intended to use Caitains and were told by an editor to remove that word.)

No, both books were written years before Richard Arnold imposed his anti-TAS sentiments on the novels. It's more likely that the authors were simply unfamiliar with Caitians, because TAS didn't come out on home video in the US until 1989 and was infrequently syndicated, so a lot of Trek novel and comics authors just hadn't seen it. Either that or they made their own individual choice not to count TAS, an opinion that wasn't uncommon.

Catlike aliens, after all, have been common in science fiction and fantasy for a long time, with Caitians being just one example out of many. So it's more likely just parallel creation. Lots of writers love cats.

So there we are. Unless someone can encourage me to push through (i.e., let me know if you liked it for storytelling elements which began after page 135), this might be the first Star Trek book I set down unfinished as not worth my time. That’s extra surprising to me since its rating on Goodreads is higher than any Star Trek book I have read—so you’d expect it to be at least passable.

I've always loved Uhura's Song, but I like a lot of the things you didn't, so my recommendation probably wouldn't count for much.

Kagan based Evan Wilson on her own mother, by the way, which is presumably why the novel centers on her to the extent it does. I've always found Evan quite a delightful character. It doesn't matter to me that she's a guest star; it was actually common in '60s and '70s TV for stories to center on their guest stars, with the regular cast existing mainly to support and catalyze the guest stars' journeys, because in purely episodic TV, guest stars could have complete, life-altering story arcs in ways that regulars couldn't. The myth has arisen that the "Mary Sue" label is a condemnation of any guest star who overshadows the leads, but it was actually created to mock cases where that common practice was done badly. And I've always felt that Evan Wilson was an example that was done quite well, a character who actually was engaging enough to deserve to be the center of attention.

 

[Falconer]

Thanks for the insights, Christopher.

Yeah, FASA was still using TAS species in this era, so that makes sense. Also I forgot there were references to “Yesteryear” in The Vulcan Academy Murders and to “The Time Trap” in The Tears of the Singers.

My issue with Evan is more that I expected a Uhura-centric novel. Her name’s in the title, her picture is on the cover, and the first 35 pages were mostly told from her point of view. Later it was 50-50; at this point it’s the Evan show. Maybe if, after this thread, I go back to the novel with recalibrated expectations, it will be more palatable.

 

[Christopher]

My issue with Evan is more that I expected a Uhura-centric novel. Her name’s in the title, her picture is on the cover, and the first 35 pages were mostly told from her point of view. Later it was 50-50; at this point it’s the Evan show. Maybe if, after this thread, I go back to the novel with recalibrated expectations, it will be more palatable.

Well, it's a long novel, so there's room for more than one focus character. It's not so much Uhura-centric as an ensemble piece in which Uhura plays a more sizeable role than usual. Indeed, it's the interplay among the ensemble that's one of the things I enjoy most in the book. That's another reason Evan isn't a Mary Sue -- she doesn't overshadow the regulars, she brings out the best in them through her engagement with them, her insights into them.

 

[hbquikcomjamesl]

I've also loved this opus. Then again, I'm a big Alan Dean Foster fan, so I'm used to books at a slower pace.

The novel’s central riddle, such as it is, is paper-thin

I'll bet you a bowl of tail-kinker stew that you'll find that it's not as thin as you think it is. And that you'll find that there is a great deal in this book that is not as it seems.

 

[Denise]

I loved this book, and I would encourage you to continue through to the end. What interested me is that the alien culture is interesting. They have some shame over something that happened years ago, and the shame is so deep they can't even speak about it.

I also liked the story of the youngsters who decide to help the Enterprise crew on what could be a deadly journey.

I did like Evan Wilson. I liked her even more at the end. And her relationship with Spock is fascinating!