Now, this gives me a perfect forum for book-notes, of which I have quite a few fragments on my hard drive, plus others rattling around in my head. Currently, Hellspark, by the wonderful Janet Kagan who does not write enough. What in particular struck me on reading Hellspark was what a great namer she is. Her ill-assorted survey team have names as diverse as the cultures they represent: Swift-Kalat twis Jalakat, Oloitokitok, layli layli calulan (which is not a name, but a title), Timosie Megeve, Ruurd van Zoveel, Tinling Alfvaen, Buntecrieh, Rav Kejesli, Om im Chdeayne, John the Smith and Edge-of-Dark. They’re barely functioning as a team because they’re constantly putting each other’s backs up with inadvertant (or not so inadvertent) obscenities, unintended aggressions and discourtesies, and it isn’t until they learn to see each other as “civilized people” that they are able to perceive the sentience of one of the native species (another marvellous name) the sprookjes.The Hellspark trader who is drawn into the situation is Tocohl Susumo and her ship’s “extrapolative computer” is Lord Maggy Lynn. In contrast to the Galactic standard language. Gal’Ling, which seeks to become a common denominator, Hellspark is an all inclusive language; therefore Hellsparks are traders, interpreters, intermediaries and judges. Tocohl has to start by interpreting the team members to each other. There’s a mob of characters, a great whirl of manners and linguistics, some wonderful descriptions, and of course the names. The last writer who struck me that way was Orson Scott Card (eg ramen, varelse – for his classes of sentients). In contrast to George Lucas, who has a fabulous visual imagination and a tin ear. Kagan is also the author of Mirabile which is sheer fun for any molecular biologist with its linked stories of a fire-fighting (sometimes literally) geneticist who has inherited someone else’s bright idea. And Uhura’s Song in which she got the woman who would fascinate Spock just right

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