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A review by reeshadovahsil
The Tears of the Singers by Melinda M. Snodgrass
3.0
This is a very well-written story, an easy read that goes quickly. But I have some serious problems with the premise and with certain out of character moments within the story, so I can't rate this above 3 stars as a Star Trek novel. I'll explain.
The basic idea, explored from the very beginning, is that members of the Federation are hunting and killing beings because when they die, they cry, the tears become gems, the gems are "very expensive" (???), and human women are asking their boyfriends and husbands to get them these gems which they have to spend large amounts of "money" (???) to obtain.
Um, yikes! There's a lot to unpack here. Why are they using money at all? Why are human women obsessed with gems in our enlightened future? Why would the Federation be allowing their citizens to execute living creatures on other planets for any reason, but especially for gathering up what is essentially their death rattle and selling it off to the highest bidder? It would have made a lot more sense if there was another species doing this that wasn't a Federation member, maybe if they were thinking of joining, but this issue had to be cleared up first. But humans? Federation humans?
The human hunters who are killing these beautiful living beings for their death tears are in a bad way, as if this is the only way they can make a living in their situation, which once again does not fit into the Federation ethos and the fact that poverty has been eliminated. It just doesn't make sense that any Federation citizens would be forced to do something cruel as a job just to "get by."
The war of the sexes is also raging in this book, which one would imagine would be well past by now. That on top of the sexist idea that Federation women are so cruel and material they are begging for gems made of the tears of dying creatures just screams internalized misogyny to me.
Regarding the out of character problem, here's an example: At one point in the story, Spock displays a truly shocking amount of emotion just because he isn't where he wants to be, like a child. He's under no alien influence of any kind and there is no reasonable explanation for his emotions so powerfully breaking the surface of his Vulcan control. It's a very un-Spock way to behave and for no reason whatsoever. He frightens the crewman under his command with this outlandish display. In this moment, I felt as if the writer had never seen an episode of Star Trek, though I of course know that is not true. This isn't the only out of character moment in the book, but it was the most jarring.
However, the aliens who are being hunted for their death tears are quite fascinating and the Klingon characters, especially the only woman, are fully realized and worth getting to know.
Uhura is beautifully handled, given a full, rounded personality, and many important responsibilities, as she's at the centre of the action for almost the entire story. This was refreshing as, up until the publication of this novel in 1984, very few Star Trek novels and stories had given Uhura a starring role unless it was because she was waxing poetical on some man she'd once loved.
There is an odd, somewhat prescient moment in this novel where humpback whale song is discussed. This was two years before The Voyage Home came out. It made me go back and check the publication date, thinking I'd accidentally skipped ahead!
If this hadn't been a Star Trek novel, I wouldn't have had any problem with the premise as a starting point, but this story just doesn't fit in with the tenants of the Federation. If this had simply been a non-Trek story and the crew had not been a Starfleet crew, if the Klingons were some other species, if Starfleet and the Federation were not part of its history, this is a five-star book. But when you're writing inside the Star Trek universe, your basic conceit has to fit inside that universe (unless you're intentionally writing an AU story). It could have easily been fixed, as mentioned before, if it wasn't Federation humans doing the killing. Between that and the several out of character moments, I can't go beyond 3 despite the excellent, in general, writing.
If you're just looking for a good novel to read and you don't care about what Star Trek or the Federation is, I would definitely recommend this book as a fun stand-alone sci-fi story.
The basic idea, explored from the very beginning, is that members of the Federation are hunting and killing beings because when they die, they cry, the tears become gems, the gems are "very expensive" (???), and human women are asking their boyfriends and husbands to get them these gems which they have to spend large amounts of "money" (???) to obtain.
Um, yikes! There's a lot to unpack here. Why are they using money at all? Why are human women obsessed with gems in our enlightened future? Why would the Federation be allowing their citizens to execute living creatures on other planets for any reason, but especially for gathering up what is essentially their death rattle and selling it off to the highest bidder? It would have made a lot more sense if there was another species doing this that wasn't a Federation member, maybe if they were thinking of joining, but this issue had to be cleared up first. But humans? Federation humans?
The human hunters who are killing these beautiful living beings for their death tears are in a bad way, as if this is the only way they can make a living in their situation, which once again does not fit into the Federation ethos and the fact that poverty has been eliminated. It just doesn't make sense that any Federation citizens would be forced to do something cruel as a job just to "get by."
The war of the sexes is also raging in this book, which one would imagine would be well past by now. That on top of the sexist idea that Federation women are so cruel and material they are begging for gems made of the tears of dying creatures just screams internalized misogyny to me.
Regarding the out of character problem, here's an example: At one point in the story, Spock displays a truly shocking amount of emotion just because he isn't where he wants to be, like a child. He's under no alien influence of any kind and there is no reasonable explanation for his emotions so powerfully breaking the surface of his Vulcan control. It's a very un-Spock way to behave and for no reason whatsoever. He frightens the crewman under his command with this outlandish display. In this moment, I felt as if the writer had never seen an episode of Star Trek, though I of course know that is not true. This isn't the only out of character moment in the book, but it was the most jarring.
However, the aliens who are being hunted for their death tears are quite fascinating and the Klingon characters, especially the only woman, are fully realized and worth getting to know.
Uhura is beautifully handled, given a full, rounded personality, and many important responsibilities, as she's at the centre of the action for almost the entire story. This was refreshing as, up until the publication of this novel in 1984, very few Star Trek novels and stories had given Uhura a starring role unless it was because she was waxing poetical on some man she'd once loved.
There is an odd, somewhat prescient moment in this novel where humpback whale song is discussed. This was two years before The Voyage Home came out. It made me go back and check the publication date, thinking I'd accidentally skipped ahead!
If this hadn't been a Star Trek novel, I wouldn't have had any problem with the premise as a starting point, but this story just doesn't fit in with the tenants of the Federation. If this had simply been a non-Trek story and the crew had not been a Starfleet crew, if the Klingons were some other species, if Starfleet and the Federation were not part of its history, this is a five-star book. But when you're writing inside the Star Trek universe, your basic conceit has to fit inside that universe (unless you're intentionally writing an AU story). It could have easily been fixed, as mentioned before, if it wasn't Federation humans doing the killing. Between that and the several out of character moments, I can't go beyond 3 despite the excellent, in general, writing.
If you're just looking for a good novel to read and you don't care about what Star Trek or the Federation is, I would definitely recommend this book as a fun stand-alone sci-fi story.