Review: Uhura's Song

Uhura's Song by Janet Kagan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I decided, during Covid Layoff & Lockdown, to start streaming bedtime reading for family, Uhura's Song was the first book that I chose. I have not read all of the Star Trek novels (there are many other Trekkies out there more devoted than I), but this one is a must-read.

Janet Kagan did not have a long career - she died much too young - but her widower kindly gave me permission to stream this. I purchased a bunch of books from his storage unit, and encouraged everyone else to do so as well.

This particular story centers around the rapid spread of a hitherto-unknown disease, which made it painfully appropriate for Covid reading. The plague quickly threatens an entire species, which is bad enough, but then we learn that it can also be contracted by humans. The first person to catch it is Nurse Chapel, taking her (and Dr. McCoy) out of the picture.

Enter Dr. Evan Wilson, a character closely based upon Kagan's mother. She's petite, sassy, and much more than she seems. The Enterprise's mission is the locate the mysterious first home planet of the Eeiaouans, and the only clue they have is an obscure song that Uhura remembers a friend of hers sharing one evening, as if it were a scandalous secret.

I can't praise this book enough. Kagan's other novels are equally excellent.

View all my reviews