antiloquax

This is the second of Janet Kagan's books that I have read and reviewed for this blog (the first was the Star Trek novel, Uhura's Song).

The main character in this novel is Tocohl. She is a trader who, as a native of Hellspark, has a great facility with languages. Along with her "extrapolative computer" Maggy, Tocohl visits the planet Lassti to investigate a mysterious death and help members of the survey team to decide whether or not the "sprookjes" are sentient.

The book is jam-packed with characters from different worlds who speak different languages and who have very different cultural norms and taboos. As a master linguist, Tocohl is the one character who seems able to bring some mutual understanding to this madly heterogeneous survey team.

At first, I will admit that I found all the characters' languages and cultural ticks rather hard to keep track of. I was even a bit irritated by this aspect of the book. However, as I got further into the novel and realised how important it was to the plot, I changed my attitude, and romped through the second half very quickly.

There's a lot to enjoy in this novel. I loved the way that Kagan develops Maggy, the computer - especially how Tocohl uses implants and glasses to interact with her. I really enjoyed the way that the protective "2nd skins" that some characters wear become an important part of the story. The sprookjes are a fascinating creation and this book (like Uhura's Song) is a cool first contact novel.

In terms of my focus on female writers, this novel fits in very well. Almost all the main characters in the book are female and the female Yn shaman layli-layli calulan comes from a matriarchal society (and that too is important in the story on a couple of occasions).

In short, if you are the type of reader who would not consider a Star Trek novel, this could be the best way to get to know Janet Kagan's work.