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A review by chamomiledaydreams
Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan
5.0
I wouldn't consider myself a Star Trek fan. My only previous exposure to this series was through cultural osmosis (hearing friends talking about it and seeing it referenced in games such as Wizard101). In fact, I only read this book in the first place, because my grandmother saw a Warrior cats book in my room and said, "Oh, so you like cats? Well, do I have the story for you."
Even so, I loved every minute of this novel, especially the bits with Evan Wilson. She is now my favorite Star Trek character (although I found out from a friend that she doesn't exist outside the semi-canon world of this novel). My experience while reading this novel was just, "Wow, Evan gives off major trans energy! Still, I'm probably reading too much into it..." But then, everything she did only strengthened this connection: her insistence on using preferred names for characters such as Brightspot; her complex relationship with height and how others perceive her; her decision to declare a proper Sivaoan name for herself; her role in the story as a trickster-like figure, which calls to mind genderfluid deities such as Loki. Her ship is even named after James T. Barry, for crying out loud! I don't know whether Janet Kagan did all of this on purpose, but I am thankful, nevertheless.
That being said, I would recommend this book to practically anyone, regardless of how well they know Star Trek. Janet Kagan is an amazing writer, and I wish there were more Star Trek books written by her for me to explore. (The way she imagines the culture of cat aliens... The naming conventions and all of the unique idioms they use... Warrior cats wishes they had this level of thoughtfulness and tenderness written into their world.)
However, interested readers might benefit from being aware that the plot revolves heavily around a pandemic (though I don't think the imagery was too graphic or horrifying). This marks the third time I've accidentally stumbled across plague literature in the past two years, and it leaves me feeling unbalanced every time. That's why I took a relatively long time to read this book, in addition to the small shape and print of my edition, which was a little hard on the eyes at times. Still, so long as you are prepared for the fictional plague, I'd say you that are all set to try this novel, regardless of how well you know your Star Trek lore.
Even so, I loved every minute of this novel, especially the bits with Evan Wilson. She is now my favorite Star Trek character (although I found out from a friend that she doesn't exist outside the semi-canon world of this novel). My experience while reading this novel was just, "Wow, Evan gives off major trans energy! Still, I'm probably reading too much into it..." But then, everything she did only strengthened this connection: her insistence on using preferred names for characters such as Brightspot; her complex relationship with height and how others perceive her; her decision to declare a proper Sivaoan name for herself; her role in the story as a trickster-like figure, which calls to mind genderfluid deities such as Loki. Her ship is even named after James T. Barry, for crying out loud! I don't know whether Janet Kagan did all of this on purpose, but I am thankful, nevertheless.
That being said, I would recommend this book to practically anyone, regardless of how well they know Star Trek. Janet Kagan is an amazing writer, and I wish there were more Star Trek books written by her for me to explore. (The way she imagines the culture of cat aliens... The naming conventions and all of the unique idioms they use... Warrior cats wishes they had this level of thoughtfulness and tenderness written into their world.)
However, interested readers might benefit from being aware that the plot revolves heavily around a pandemic (though I don't think the imagery was too graphic or horrifying). This marks the third time I've accidentally stumbled across plague literature in the past two years, and it leaves me feeling unbalanced every time. That's why I took a relatively long time to read this book, in addition to the small shape and print of my edition, which was a little hard on the eyes at times. Still, so long as you are prepared for the fictional plague, I'd say you that are all set to try this novel, regardless of how well you know your Star Trek lore.