Uhura's Song
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| Author | Janet Kagan |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | Star Trek: The Original Series |
| Genre | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Pocket Books |
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Publication date
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January 1985 |
| Media type | Print (paperback) |
| Pages | 373 pp |
| ISBN | (first edition, paperback) |
| OCLC | 144989687 |
| Preceded by | The Vulcan Academy Murders |
| Followed by | Shadow Lord |
Uhura's Song is a Star Trek: The Original Series novel written by Janet Kagan published in 1985. Kagan was asked to produce an outline by editor David G. Hartwell, after he read the manuscript of her novel Hellspark. She was unfamiliar with Star Trek and needed to research the series whilst writing Uhura's Song. She subsequently wrote two sequels, but they went unpublished as they featured original characters introduced in Uhura's Song.
Lt. Uhura's friendship with a cat-like diplomat from Eeiauo becomes vital when a plague threatens the population. The songs they shared are key to the cure. When the plague begins to infect humans starting with Dr. McCoy, the crew of the Enterprise must work to decipher the songs and cure the plague.
Janet Kagan was first introduced to Star Trek: The Original Series by her younger brother during the original run of the show. She was invited to submit a proposal for a Star Trek novel by David G. Hartwell, to whom she had submitted her novel Hellspark in his capacity as editor of Pocket Books' original-SF line Timescape; though Hartwell liked the novel, Timescape did not accept novels from previously-unpublished authors – but the Star Trek line did, and Hartwell suggested it as an avenue for qualifying as a published author. (Hellspark was ultimately released in 1988 by Tor Books, to which Hartwell had moved on in the meantime.) At the time she hadn't seen an episode of the show for some seventeen years. She researched the series, and due to it being shown in broadcast syndication, she was able to record late-night re-runs using her videocassette recorder. She had committed to provide a ten-page outline plus a thirty-page sample to Hartwell within a week, and whilst watching the recorded episodes, she realised that Uhura hadn't been featured prominently and that Nichelle Nichols had never been given any memorable lines.
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