And Kirk said, "Do you mean, a song to help you remember - not only the symptoms - but the cure for the disease? You know the cure to ADF?"
It was as if he had struck her, but she only said, "There is no cure on Eeiauo, Captain. The last verse is missing. Sunfall ended the song there, and her ears drooped and tail... I can't describe it, sir. She looked at me in despair, and she told me it was a song for another world, not hers."
Well... I can certainly see why this was considered a 'giant novel' when released in the UK!
It was as if he had struck her, but she only said, "There is no cure on Eeiauo, Captain. The last verse is missing. Sunfall ended the song there, and her ears drooped and tail... I can't describe it, sir. She looked at me in despair, and she told me it was a song for another world, not hers."
Well... I can certainly see why this was considered a 'giant novel' when released in the UK!
Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan (#21 Pocket, Giant Novel - Titan) (1985) is... a long book. I mean, in the scheme of things and compared to other science fiction novels (like those written by Peter F Hamilton) it isn't that long but... it's certainly long for a Star Trek novel of this era.
... Yep. Definitely long.
It isn't quite pulling teeth to read long, but it is overly... long.
Did I mention it's long?
It isn't 'bad' per se, but it misses out on being 'actually good' by a fair margin. This is actually a real shame, as it started with a lot of potential, certainly with a lot of passion but just lost the plot, if you'll allow me to quip.
Let me get this big niggle out the way real quick before I launch into this properly, but you'd think, you'd think, that a book called Uhura's Song would have Uhura playing the lead role (instead of an epitome of a Mary Sue). I mean, it's not like Tears of the Singers, her name is in the title for pity's sake. I also completely disagree with the review in Star Trek: Adventures in Time and Space (1999) the Uhura's Song as one of two defining novels for Uhura (together with Tears of the Singers) which "gave Uhura the chance to expand her range beyond hailing frequencies". Uhura is defined with much more clarity and direction in books not toted as Uhura centric, and frankly if these are the best representations of Uhura, they can keep them! I don't really think she's portrayed particularly well in either of them, however Uhura's Song gives her a better characterisation, but she's pretty quickly overshadowed by the shameless Mary Sue Evan Wilson.
So what is Uhura's Song about anyway?
Put simply: Space Ebola, the Odyssey, Folklore, Memory, coming of age.
A plague has broken out in the Federation amongst a feline species (it's pretty much like mange), previous outbreaks had been handled by the people themselves, however as the latest outbreak pushes them to breaking point they ask for Federation help. Unfortunately, the disease affects humans as well, but it progresses faster through a human victim. Leonard McCoy and Christine Chapel are already infected and reports are coming in from across the Federation of outbreaks... Kirk and his crew are tasked with finding a cure for this deadly disease with only a song Uhura was taught by a member of the feline species as a clue to find their lost planet of origin... and a cure.
As you might imagine, Uhura has a prominent part to play... initially. She works with Spock to decipher the astrological clues the song leaves to finding the home planet of the Eeouians. Her attributes as a driven and talented linguist are emphasised. However, once the initial detective work is finished she starts to move into the background and although she is part of the action (theoretically) it's very easy to forget she's there, even when she's in an away team on a perilous mission. That being said her characterisation is very strong when she's the focus. I actually really enjoyed the way she was presented working with Spock, she was competent but also slightly unsure; someone who is excellent at what she does suddenly being told to get results in a field she has never really explored. There is a subtleness here which is quite charming, I wish Kagan could have continued this development to the end of the novel, instead of relying on an OC 'Mary-Sue' to smooth over any narrative difficulties she would face.
After Spock and Uhura locate the planet, they beam down to meet the local inhabitants... this is where Uhura's Song turns into sci-fi anthropology novel and actually, this section stands rather well on its own. Kagan really manages to build a believable society which doesn't buckle under close scrutiny and despite the sheer length of it managed to hold my attention. It helps that I like cats I suppose and the characterisation of the species is ultimately endearing. I kept checking how many pages of this section I had read, and was often pleasantly surprised at how much I had read and yet it didn't feel like it was dragging. However, after the world and society building had being completed and the narrative started to step up a gear again I started to get restless. Uhura was pushed into the background, and the previously background Kirk stepped forward - not a problem for me - as did Spock. Chekov was also pretty busy, which was nice to see, I think his characterisation was fitting, if not a bit too competent. However, three OCs took the foreground, two of which I am happy with (they were of the cousin species of the Eeiauons), and one which essentially ruins the novel utterly.
Evan Wilson... A female character who is incredibly important to this novel... and who could be edited out with a little bit of thought and the story would be significantly better for it. There is virtually no reason why every incredible action she takes couldn't have been done by another of the landing party. There is no reason to have her there to make the required leaps of logic, between Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and Chekov there is no need for her - even her leap of medical knowledge could have been made by someone not 'in the know'. In fact, Uhura would have and should have been the one to solve the mystery.
As it happens, the answer to the problem was in the songs all along, and the terrible disease was only a 'child's disease' with a simple cure. It apparently needed Evan Wilson to see this... despite that Uhura was well versed and more than qualified to make these inferences.
Of course... all is revealed later when we learn that Evan Wilson is not in fact Evan Wilson... we don't learn her real name... we do learn that she's a secret space operative / pirate who wears foppish shirts, who is a mechanical genius, who is also apparently a medical genius, who everyone liked, and Kirk probably wanted to 'romance' (he was very disappointed when it turned out he couldn't have R&R time with her...)...
Honest to goodness, this character broke the whole book for me. What a mess.
Despite the above mentioned character, it's still a book I'd recommend for the sake of Uhura and the careful thought that went into the creation of the different felinoid societies. The other characters are well written, and the writing itself isn't without merit. Just... the whole story is terribly let down by one very poor character choice, one which some editorial guidance should have caught and reversed.
2/5 - Space Ebola.
As a side note, I've lost my Pocket Books edition of Uhura's Song, so I had to switch to my Titan Books edition. I swear these books grow legs.
Also, I'm sorry for this sorry excuse of a review... the Mary-Sue pulled my tail! I'm like... fixated on her!
Perhaps when I feel more energetic I'll add to this review... but the book miffed me off so much that I don't really want to talk about it :/ And I don't want to rip it apart (which I'd usually do) because aside from the Mary-Sue it wasn't bad... urgh...
So what is Uhura's Song about anyway?
Put simply: Space Ebola, the Odyssey, Folklore, Memory, coming of age.
A plague has broken out in the Federation amongst a feline species (it's pretty much like mange), previous outbreaks had been handled by the people themselves, however as the latest outbreak pushes them to breaking point they ask for Federation help. Unfortunately, the disease affects humans as well, but it progresses faster through a human victim. Leonard McCoy and Christine Chapel are already infected and reports are coming in from across the Federation of outbreaks... Kirk and his crew are tasked with finding a cure for this deadly disease with only a song Uhura was taught by a member of the feline species as a clue to find their lost planet of origin... and a cure.
As you might imagine, Uhura has a prominent part to play... initially. She works with Spock to decipher the astrological clues the song leaves to finding the home planet of the Eeouians. Her attributes as a driven and talented linguist are emphasised. However, once the initial detective work is finished she starts to move into the background and although she is part of the action (theoretically) it's very easy to forget she's there, even when she's in an away team on a perilous mission. That being said her characterisation is very strong when she's the focus. I actually really enjoyed the way she was presented working with Spock, she was competent but also slightly unsure; someone who is excellent at what she does suddenly being told to get results in a field she has never really explored. There is a subtleness here which is quite charming, I wish Kagan could have continued this development to the end of the novel, instead of relying on an OC 'Mary-Sue' to smooth over any narrative difficulties she would face.
After Spock and Uhura locate the planet, they beam down to meet the local inhabitants... this is where Uhura's Song turns into sci-fi anthropology novel and actually, this section stands rather well on its own. Kagan really manages to build a believable society which doesn't buckle under close scrutiny and despite the sheer length of it managed to hold my attention. It helps that I like cats I suppose and the characterisation of the species is ultimately endearing. I kept checking how many pages of this section I had read, and was often pleasantly surprised at how much I had read and yet it didn't feel like it was dragging. However, after the world and society building had being completed and the narrative started to step up a gear again I started to get restless. Uhura was pushed into the background, and the previously background Kirk stepped forward - not a problem for me - as did Spock. Chekov was also pretty busy, which was nice to see, I think his characterisation was fitting, if not a bit too competent. However, three OCs took the foreground, two of which I am happy with (they were of the cousin species of the Eeiauons), and one which essentially ruins the novel utterly.
Evan Wilson... A female character who is incredibly important to this novel... and who could be edited out with a little bit of thought and the story would be significantly better for it. There is virtually no reason why every incredible action she takes couldn't have been done by another of the landing party. There is no reason to have her there to make the required leaps of logic, between Kirk, Spock, Uhura, and Chekov there is no need for her - even her leap of medical knowledge could have been made by someone not 'in the know'. In fact, Uhura would have and should have been the one to solve the mystery.
As it happens, the answer to the problem was in the songs all along, and the terrible disease was only a 'child's disease' with a simple cure. It apparently needed Evan Wilson to see this... despite that Uhura was well versed and more than qualified to make these inferences.
Of course... all is revealed later when we learn that Evan Wilson is not in fact Evan Wilson... we don't learn her real name... we do learn that she's a secret space operative / pirate who wears foppish shirts, who is a mechanical genius, who is also apparently a medical genius, who everyone liked, and Kirk probably wanted to 'romance' (he was very disappointed when it turned out he couldn't have R&R time with her...)...
Honest to goodness, this character broke the whole book for me. What a mess.
Despite the above mentioned character, it's still a book I'd recommend for the sake of Uhura and the careful thought that went into the creation of the different felinoid societies. The other characters are well written, and the writing itself isn't without merit. Just... the whole story is terribly let down by one very poor character choice, one which some editorial guidance should have caught and reversed.
2/5 - Space Ebola.
As a side note, I've lost my Pocket Books edition of Uhura's Song, so I had to switch to my Titan Books edition. I swear these books grow legs.
Also, I'm sorry for this sorry excuse of a review... the Mary-Sue pulled my tail! I'm like... fixated on her!
Perhaps when I feel more energetic I'll add to this review... but the book miffed me off so much that I don't really want to talk about it :/ And I don't want to rip it apart (which I'd usually do) because aside from the Mary-Sue it wasn't bad... urgh...
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