I found this book through an
offer by the publisher offering it and others on Amazon for a bargain price.
I'm kind of on the fence about
this book. I didn't hate it or love it. The plot is good; I like the idea of
the Enterprise called to aid people in distress. That is what the Federation is
about. On the other hand, I had a tough time getting all the way through the
story and considered not finishing it a few times.
I think there are just too many
words in this book. It seemed to have a lot of filler and unnecessary banter
between characters. There is a lot of dialog broken up with a few scenes of
action.
The USS Enterprise is sent to a
planet populated by a feline race, where a deadly disease is escalating. Dr.
McCoy and Nurse Chapel beam down to the planet and begin searching for a cure
but are having little success. A cure becomes even more urgent when it is
learned the disease is jumping species and humans are also infected. They learn
about a possible cure on a faraway planet where the felines are originally
from. Kirk leads the Enterprise to that planet where Uhura learns about a song
that tells about the cure in its last verse. Unfortunately, Kirk and company
may not hear the last verse because they are not considered adults on this
planet. In order to be adults, one has to make a five-day trek through
treacherous territory and survive. Kirk, Spock, Chekov and Uhura are guided by
two felines through the walk. They encounter numerous obstacles along the way
in the effort to discover a cure to take back.
All the regulars of the
Enterprise crew are present for this romp, with a few new characters. I thought
the regulars were written well and recognized their voice in the text. The
feline characters were a different culture and were well developed as the story
unfolds, but I felt the author might have dwelt too much on them and their
culture.
One character that helped the
story move forward was Dr. Evan Wilson. She took over as chief medical officer
when McCoy was left behind to search for a cure to the disease. She has a great
sense of humor and enjoyed perplexing Spock; they shared a light-hearted
relationship where Spock usually got the short end of the stick. Her scenes
with Kirk were also funny and helped with the pacing of the story. There were
several moments where the author seemed to hint at a romantic relationship
between her and Kirk, but thank goodness, it didn't get that far. It would have
been the point at which I would have not read on to the end. Dr. Wilson is also
a mysterious character. No one seems to know where she comes from, and it is
never really explained to my satisfaction who or what she actually is.
With the title, Uhura's Song, I
was expecting a story centering on Nyota Uhura. It didn't happen - it was all
about Kirk, Spock, and Wilson (taking the place of McCoy). I found the title misleading
causing me even more disappointment.
I had difficulty understanding
exactly what the plot of the story was. At the beginning, the disease seemed to
be the main plot of the book, but as I read on, that appeared to become a
subplot. Then the main plot of the book became the culture of the feline race
and their interactions. It was a little confusing, and I found myself wanting
to tell the author to find a point and make it. There wasn't anything that
stood out to me as a main plot as I meandered through this.
If there was an intended
dominant theme, it was also lost on me. Is it about people helping others with
a difficult situation? Is it a first contact story? Or is it a coming-of-age
story? Perhaps I missed the point altogether.
Uhura's Song was a book I
neither hated nor loved. It didn't hold my attention, and I had a hard time
getting through the entire story. I felt it was too long and had too many
details. I felt the title didn't represent the story well and was looking for a
story featuring Uhura, but she was more of a side note. If you are a reader
that enjoys stories that has some good world-building, this one has it. If you
like cultural first contact stories, this is the one for you. If you enjoy a
good solid Trek story, the premise is good, but the execution is lacking.
Writing is hard. Please don't misunderstand and think I am trashing the author. Kagan was a brilliant writer. There is a lot of positive in this book, and one cannot argue against an author who wins Hugo awards for her writing. This one just didn't excite me as much as I hoped.
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐
Well, there it is...
Qapla!
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