Hellspark

Rating:
Summary: One of my current favorites, an often reread.
Review: I very much enjoy this book. It has a flow that pulls you all the way through the story. The author involves several concepts (ecological stewardism?, unwitting miscommunication, religious fanaticism) that flavor without overwhelming the tale as happens in many other books

Rating:
Summary: What is sapience?
Review: I'd not read any of Janet's other work as I tend to not read the media tie in books. I noticed Helspark because it was published by Meisha Merlin and I had been impressed with the two other books I have by this small press. I was NOT disapointed! This is a very good first contact book with some very interesting questions on language and sapience. Well worth the read.

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: I've been waiting to read this one for years... was never able to find it until the new printing! And it lives up to the other Kagan books I hold dear to my heart, Uhura's Song and Mirabile! I'm thrilled with the reprinting! This book is a stunning version of the future; the characters so real, so accessible, despite being alien; the turns and twists entertaining as well as puzzling; the anthropology/sociology masterful. Thanks for the treat... it'll be another one I read over and over again, and loan out to friends! I wonder, should I buy two copies now, before they get scarce and my own falls to pieces, as my copy of Mirabile has??

Rating:
Summary: Worth the Wait!
Review: I've been waiting to read this one for years... was never able to find it until the new printing! And it lives up to the other Kagan books I hold dear to my heart, Uhura's Song and Mirabile! I'm thrilled with the reprinting! This book is a stunning version of the future; the characters so real, so accessible, despite being alien; the turns and twists entertaining as well as puzzling; the anthropology/sociology masterful. Thanks for the treat... it'll be another one I read over and over again, and loan out to friends! I wonder, should I buy two copies now, before they get scarce and my own falls to pieces, as my copy of Mirabile has??

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Outsider (from the inside)
Review: It is one of the pleasurable paradoxes of HELLSPARK that the protagonist Tocohl Sosumo's ability to get inside every human (and alien) culture also makes her the ultimate outsider. Hellsparks, the race of traders, diplomats, judges and free-wheeling adventurers from which the title is taken, want to communicate with everybody, no matter what it costs. They usually succeed, and always pay the price. Most teens I know empathize with the desirability of being part of an "in" group and the pains of having to stand outside. The teens with whom I've shared this book are no exception. HELLSPARK resonates with their experience. The characters, especially Tocohl, play with every gradation of belonging. Janet Kagan deftly mixes a fast-paced mystery, exotic, unique and alien cultures, and the fundamentally human question of where and how people fit together. It's well-nigh irresistable. But perhaps best of all is Kagan's authorial voice. Pure and simple, she's fun to read. Even her Star Trek novel (UHURA'S SONG) a type of book (media tie-in) for which I often have little patience, was a treat! Don't miss this one. (This review was excerpted and expanded from my review in The WASHrag, a review journal for Western Washington young adult services' librarians).

Rating:
Summary: The Ultimate Outsider (from the inside)
Review: It is one of the pleasurable paradoxes of HELLSPARK that the protagonist Tocohl Sosumo's ability to get inside every human (and alien) culture also makes her the ultimate outsider. Hellsparks, the race of traders, diplomats, judges and free-wheeling adventurers from which the title is taken, want to communicate with everybody, no matter what it costs. They usually succeed, and always pay the price. Most teens I know empathize with the desirability of being part of an "in" group and the pains of having to stand outside. The teens with whom I've shared this book are no exception. HELLSPARK resonates with their experience. The characters, especially Tocohl, play with every gradation of belonging. Janet Kagan deftly mixes a fast-paced mystery, exotic, unique and alien cultures, and the fundamentally human question of where and how people fit together. It's well-nigh irresistable. But perhaps best of all is Kagan's authorial voice. Pure and simple, she's fun to read. Even her Star Trek novel (UHURA'S SONG) a type of book (media tie-in) for which I often have little patience, was a treat! Don't miss this one. (This review was excerpted and expanded from my review in The WASHrag, a review journal for Western Washington young adult services' librarians).

Rating:
Summary: If you liked Uhura's Song, you'll LOVE this!!
Review: Kagan takes a hint of Uhura's Song -- when in Rome speak as the Roman's do -- and jumps off into a myriad of new cultures and belief systems. This work builds not just a new world, but a new universe, with all the little communication problems of today (body language, inflection, etc) and shows how important it can be to not just speak the language audibly, but also physically. At the same time, she tackles the question of "what is sentience?" One of my all time favorite books, one I've read again and again

Rating:
Summary: A NUMBER ONE Read!
Review: My biggest aggrevation with this author is that I cannot find any other books by her! Hells_park / Hell_spark (READ THIS BOOK) and _Mirable_ are GREAT Books for a good and thoughtful read about fully dimensional characters in very believable situations. _Uhura's_Song_ is very good but constrained by the 'Star Trek' universe. I prefer my author's to be 'free-range' <grin>! Please buy these books so that she will write MORE!! PLEASE!!

Rating:
Summary: Hells-Park or Hell-Spark
Review: My college english teacher made us read this book, saying one day it would be a classic. Here is a book about a totally new world with a new species. This Author created somthing that is not done very often. This is probably one of the most profound books that it has been my pleasure to read. Even the Title is interesting because it has two meanings.This book is both Fantacy and Science Fiction. I hope others will ejoy it as much as I did.

Rating:
Summary: One of the best I have read, and I read A LOT
Review: Only one problem with books by Janet Kagan, and that is that they are too few and far between! PLEASE write something new? You have a way of creating worlds and people that I love. I read Anne McCaffrey too, and you are as good.