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A review by tyrshand
The Collected Kagan by Janet Kagan
5.0
It's such a bittersweet feeling to finish all of an author's published works after they've passed away. I'm not quite there, as I have Uhura's Song to go (and I wonder if it will sit on my shelf unread with my last Octavia Butler books...), but I'm nearing that feeling, you know? Just one step more before I have no more Kagan to read...
So I get the impression that this collection is just what was out there to be published. Maybe there are stories that didn't make the cut, but I'd be surprised if that were the case. See, this isn't a unified collection either in style or tone. My favorites are the ones that lie somewhere between her Miracle and Hellspark novels in type. These are the fascinating explorations of alien cultures and have varying levels of humor. She does tend towards joy and humor, however, even when satirizing the politics of the day (not that all those political issues and prejudices have vanished today). In fact, that level of joy is so prevalent that the a story near the end left the "clean" nature of the others and explored a porn set, I quickly stopped being surprised and began waiting for the twist of joy that would enter the plot (and it did). A few of the stories are darker because of their subject matter, but these typically made me feel that Kagan is someone I would have liked to know. And then there was one political one that didn't resonate with me at all -- it centered on a politician from my childhood, so I did not really have more than vague context for him. However, with recent news stories, that particular story resonates better because I could easily sort in some current politicians and it would work perfectly.
I guess other than the very few stories that didn't pull me in completely, my only real critique is that I wouldn't have chosen to order the stories in the same way. The beginning had more of the stories that didn't wow me, so I'd have sprinkled them throughout a bit more (they're still worth reading, for sure!) and maybe moved a couple of the amazing alien tales up more.
So I get the impression that this collection is just what was out there to be published. Maybe there are stories that didn't make the cut, but I'd be surprised if that were the case. See, this isn't a unified collection either in style or tone. My favorites are the ones that lie somewhere between her Miracle and Hellspark novels in type. These are the fascinating explorations of alien cultures and have varying levels of humor. She does tend towards joy and humor, however, even when satirizing the politics of the day (not that all those political issues and prejudices have vanished today). In fact, that level of joy is so prevalent that the a story near the end left the "clean" nature of the others and explored a porn set, I quickly stopped being surprised and began waiting for the twist of joy that would enter the plot (and it did). A few of the stories are darker because of their subject matter, but these typically made me feel that Kagan is someone I would have liked to know. And then there was one political one that didn't resonate with me at all -- it centered on a politician from my childhood, so I did not really have more than vague context for him. However, with recent news stories, that particular story resonates better because I could easily sort in some current politicians and it would work perfectly.
I guess other than the very few stories that didn't pull me in completely, my only real critique is that I wouldn't have chosen to order the stories in the same way. The beginning had more of the stories that didn't wow me, so I'd have sprinkled them throughout a bit more (they're still worth reading, for sure!) and maybe moved a couple of the amazing alien tales up more.