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A review by octavia_cade
The Tears of the Singers by Melinda M. Snodgrass
3.0
For the most part, I really liked this. I liked the focus on music, I liked that Uhura was given a love interest - and that it was essentially her story. I liked the aliens, who were genuinely interesting, and I thought the problem they were both causing and about to suffer from was compelling. I even liked the Klingons... well, some of them. Kor was done very well indeed. I always like when the Klingons are given more to do than bluster and be violent.
Honestly, I liked so much of this that it was very nearly a four star read. The only thing preventing that was the constant mild irritation at the way some of the women are consistently presented here. Well, "some of the women" - there are really only two of note. Uhura, and Kor's wife Kali. Uhura is mostly presented pretty well, though there's one odd and really tone deaf passage where she's weighing up life as a Starfleet officer, compared to the prospect of leaving Starfleet for her love interest. She thinks, then, of Kirk, and how he's given up the prospect of a family to be a starship captain, and how despite his dalliances the Enterprise is the only woman in his life, and then she wonders would it make her a lesbian, to be a captain and love her ship like that. Which, what the fucking fuck? Then there's Kali, and while I'm grateful not to have Kor as the stereotypical Klingon, there's such a thing as going too far. Kali dusts and weeps constantly and is described as having a "tiger cub expression" and yes, she's good with a disruptor but there's something deeply condescending about it all. Tiger cub expression my arse. There's not a roll-eyes symbol in the world big enough, and it's such a shame, because the rest of the book was so enjoyable.
Honestly, I liked so much of this that it was very nearly a four star read. The only thing preventing that was the constant mild irritation at the way some of the women are consistently presented here. Well, "some of the women" - there are really only two of note. Uhura, and Kor's wife Kali. Uhura is mostly presented pretty well, though there's one odd and really tone deaf passage where she's weighing up life as a Starfleet officer, compared to the prospect of leaving Starfleet for her love interest. She thinks, then, of Kirk, and how he's given up the prospect of a family to be a starship captain, and how despite his dalliances the Enterprise is the only woman in his life, and then she wonders would it make her a lesbian, to be a captain and love her ship like that. Which, what the fucking fuck? Then there's Kali, and while I'm grateful not to have Kor as the stereotypical Klingon, there's such a thing as going too far. Kali dusts and weeps constantly and is described as having a "tiger cub expression" and yes, she's good with a disruptor but there's something deeply condescending about it all. Tiger cub expression my arse. There's not a roll-eyes symbol in the world big enough, and it's such a shame, because the rest of the book was so enjoyable.