Hellspark

by Janet Kagan

Book Overview

Murder, Mystery, and Interstellar Intrigue Hugo Award winner Janet Kagan's Hellspark is now back in print Lassti, a newly discovered planet, is the center of political intrigue. Recently, Oloitokitok,... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0812542754
• ISBN13: 9780812542752
• Release Date: January 1988
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 407 Pages
• Weight: 0.45 lbs.

Customer Reviews

One of my favorite books

"Hellspark," by Janet Kagan, is a flat out readable book. It gets everything right, from the science to the psychology to the anthropology -- everything works.The plot is somewhat difficult to describe. Tocohl Susumo is a ship captain, trader, and bon vivant; her sentient computer Margaret, Lord Lynn is her sole companion.At the Festival of Saint Veschke on the world of Sheveschkem, Tocohl finds danger, mystery, intrigue . . . and maybe even a hint of scandal. She goes to Lassti to find out whether or not a new race of beings, the sprookjes, are sentient -- or aren't.There's a whole lot more to it; it's a comedy of manners, a comedy of language, and a hint of romance among Tocohl and Om Im Chadeayne helps to spice the mix. (The romance between Alfvaen and swift-Kalat does even more along these lines.)I wish I knew how to describe this book better. All I can say is that I enjoy it for the language, the sense of humor, the mystery, the intrigue, the conflict, and everything else besides.Five stars plus, recommended.Oh yeah, and if you like this, you'll probably like the other couple of books Ms. Kagan has written -- "Mirabile" and "Uhura's Song" -- as well as works by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee, Lois Bujold, and possibly David Weber.Barb Caffrey

More! More!

Hellspark is quite possibly my single favorite book - and I read an awful lot of books. All of Janet Kagan's books are wonderful, and my only gripe with her as an author is that she's only written three so far (Please Ma'am can I have some more?) Hellspark is a fascinating first contact book, with a crystal clear look at how our culture informs our assumptions, and the huge messes those assumptions can cause. Tocohl Susumo (our Hellspark protagonist) is wonderful as the only good cultural interpreter in a mass of surveyors from vastly different worlds, Maggy, her computer is a delightful mix of rapid thinking and small-child personality, and her aliens (the Sprookje) are truly alien without being unbelievable or trite. If you've already read this one, go on and try Mirabile and Uhura's Song, which are also wonderful reads.

The Ultimate Outsider (from the inside)

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).

Science Fiction, Detective Stories, and a Comedyt of Manners

HELLSPARK is a wonderful detective tale that stays true to the detective tradition without letting the Science Fiction setting intrude. A death has occurred on the planet Lasti, or was it murder? Enter Tocohl a Ship's Captain, trader, and native Hell-spark/Hells-park, who has to determine if the death was a murder, and, if so, was it done by the natives, the Sprookjes, who seem to be intelligent & sapient, but have no language. Tocohl has to walk a thin line, because if the Sprookjes are intelligent, then the people who want the planet for development will lose it. Tocohl is asked to be a by-world judge, and determine if it was murder, and it the Sprookjes are intelligent.Kagan's HELLSPARK is also a comedy of manners, in which the cultural mores and taboos of several various and diverging cultures are thrown into conflict and confusion. I found Kagan's setting to be wonderful and thrilling, and well worth the reading. I am truly indebted to author Steve Miller for suggesting the book to me, and introducing me to such a captivating author. I had previously only read one book by Kagan, but have determined to find more of her works.