What can I say about Janet Kagan? She's written three books, and all three of them could have been justly called Mirabile (Wonderful in Latin). The other two, Hellspark and Uhura's Song are also favorites, but Mirabile is a delight, and just pure fun. Kangaroo rexes! Odders! Tulip bats! Oh the wonderful and surprising things that can happen to the wildlife when someone's been mucking around in their genepool. Annie Jason Masmajean is our heroine, I guess you would call her profession field genetics. It's her job to provide the colonists of Mirabile with the critters and plants they need to survive, and ensure that the strange beasties that keep cropping up (The scientists back on earth got cute with genetic redundancy), don't harm the colonists or the vital species that they need. It's a very light-hearted read, but not lacking one iota of depth. Between this book and her other two Janet Kagan has me itching for more. Anything she produces, I will buy, and there are very few authors I can say that about.

********** (10 STARS!)

I have bought at least a dozen of EACH of her books. I keep lending my copy, wanting my friends to enjoy Kagan's great stories. And I NEVER get the book back!

So I keep buying more.

Because when you find a GREAT read, you want to share it.

I gave half-a-dozen of her books as gifts for Christmas 2001, too - to great readers as disparate in age and interests as a 20-year old in the Army stationed in Uzbekistan to an 80-year old great-grandmother enjoying the sun in Florida.

(...)

If you haven't read any Janet Kagan, I think you are in for a very enjoyable read.

or m'bob for short. Strange alien pet and one of the menagerie of creatures in this extremly cohesive collection of stories about the settelment of Mirabile and the ecological trouble one little database error can cause. All hail the tazmanian wolf, the moose the bats... you get the idea. Buy it, read it have fun. Just watch out for the moose.

Set against an epidemic reminiscent of Earth's own AIDS crisis, Janet Kagan's imaginative story about a house divided against itself takes the original crew on an adventure not quite like any other. Lt. Uhura plays a major part in both the setup and the action; Mr. Scott is moved to take command matters into his own hands on behalf of friends new (from the planet Sivao) and old (the missing command bridge crew members). A doctor who isn't named McCoy "bedevils" Spock well beyond the point of "fascination." Captain Kirk falls for the female chief of an alien culture -- although not in his usual fashion -- and Mr. Chekov provides an unexpected but crucial bit of information toward the eventual success of the mission. The book feels like a lost episode, or a movie begging to be made; the interchange of cultures, customs and beings can hardly fail to please a fan of the original series.

One of my top-5 favorite original series novels! I've already worn out 2 copies!

Janet Kagan paints a very complete picture of two different alien worlds - one at risk and the other, if it can be found, with the potential for an answer. This book gives you a chance to see interesting aspects of Uhura's, Chekov's and Spock's characters. Like all the best Star Trek stories, it lets us examine our personalities and prejudices through the alien species.

This isn't just a serious story. There are some wonderful scenes - singing "The Volga Boatman", fun with spicy food, fighting saber tooth tigers, calling Scotty on the communicator just to hear his accent, Spock's eyebrow and more.

Janet Kagan is a wonderful writer and her other books (non Star Trek) are also worth reading.

Absolutely my favorite Star Trek book, followed closely by the other 'Uhura' novel, 'Tears of the Singers', and the 4 Rihansuu books. In this one, there is no great military enemy to fight, instead, there is a plague. Kirk is stifled, and the answer comes from the feminine art of music, and Uhura's finest hour.

What's more, the aliens are cats, each with his or her own distinct personality and most with wonderful senses of humor, usually pointed at the good captain. Even Spock is amusing this time around. Kagan captures him perfectly.. still logical and unemotional, but having a soul, rather than the cold creature he sometimes is.

Several of the so-called 'minor characters' of the ship shine in this novel. Scotty has a few beautiful scenes while commanding the ship, and a very interesting run-in with a local Bard. Chekov features prominently in the search for the cure, though his role is rather embarrassing, despite the wonderful backstory this novel adds for him. Ah well, what do you expect? He's a good screamer.

Even though the enemy here is a virulent disease, Dr. McCoy must be left behind in this one, as he himself is infected. This liberates us from his usual tendency toward finding cures in his chemical stores, saving the Federation in under an hour, then gloating about it for the remaining time. Even though his usual banter with Spock is nearly absent, it is scarcely missed because of his temporary replacement, Dr. Evan Wilson. She brings a playfulness and holistic healing methods to the Enterprise that are generally absent, and it is a breath of fresh air. We even get a cameo mention of Security officer Snanagfashtalli(Snarl), last seen in the animated series, thanks to one of Dr. Wilson's more obscure hobbies.

I want to see more of Dr. Evan Wilson. She's the most entertaining Star Trek guest star since Cyrano Jones. Return to us, Tail-kinker, there's always room for one more in my swagger-lair. :)

HELLSPARK is a wonderful detective tale that stays true to the detective tradition without letting the Science Fiction setting intrude. A death has occurred on the planet Lasti, or was it murder? Enter Tocohl a Ship's Captain, trader, and native Hell-spark/Hells-park, who has to determine if the death was a murder, and, if so, was it done by the natives, the Sprookjes, who seem to be intelligent & sapient, but have no language.

Tocohl has to walk a thin line, because if the Sprookjes are intelligent, then the people who want the planet for development will lose it. Tocohl is asked to be a by-world judge, and determine if it was murder, and it the Sprookjes are intelligent.

Kagan's HELLSPARK is also a comedy of manners, in which the cultural mores and taboos of several various and diverging cultures are thrown into conflict and confusion. I found Kagan's setting to be wonderful and thrilling, and well worth the reading. I am truly indebted to author Steve Miller for suggesting the book to me, and introducing me to such a captivating author. I had previously only read one book by Kagan, but have determined to find more of her works.

I first read this book in the SFBC edition (in fact I got it because I forgot to send in my 'Don't Send' notice, thank god).

The characters were very real, and the premise that humanity would have start colonization, fall out of contact, and create unique cultures that would have problems dealing with each other was great. The question of what qualifies as a sentient/human is profound and well presented in this work.

And it's a gripping story. You have a scientific investigation to determine sentience, with murder mystery, and a fanatic group of exploitive colonists seeking to take the treasures of Flashfever for themselves at any cost.

I really enjoyed this book and look forward to other works of the author (especially if they deal with Tocohl Susumo and Lord Lynn Margaret). If you liked Hellspark, then I definitely recommend you find a copy of Mirabile, a collection of stories about the human colonists on the planet Mirabile. These stories first appeared in print in magazines, I believe Analog. They are great.

Hellspark is quite possibly my single favorite book - and I read an awful lot of books. All of Janet Kagan's books are wonderful, and my only gripe with her as an author is that she's only written three so far (Please Ma'am can I have some more?) Hellspark is a fascinating first contact book, with a crystal clear look at how our culture informs our assumptions, and the huge messes those assumptions can cause. Tocohl Susumo (our Hellspark protagonist) is wonderful as the only good cultural interpreter in a mass of surveyors from vastly different worlds, Maggy, her computer is a delightful mix of rapid thinking and small-child personality, and her aliens (the Sprookje) are truly alien without being unbelievable or trite. If you've already read this one, go on and try Mirabile and Uhura's Song, which are also wonderful reads.