wix@bergil.DEC (Jack Wickwire) (01/24/85)
This is being forwarded through me to NET.STARTREK. I only do some basic formatting and I am not responsible for its content. All responses sent to me will be forwarded to the author. I take it back -- I *don't* agree with everything Saul Jaffe said about *Uhura's Song*. Specifically, I don't agree with the generalization that male authors tend to let everybody fade into the background, while female authors let everybody fade into the background except for the particular character they identify with. Even if this generalization was meant to apply only to Star Trek novels, it still isn't true of the majority. It is certainly true of some: of *Uhura's Song*, certainly; and of both Kathleen Sky's novels: Dr. Tremain in *Vulcan!* and Colonel Elizabeth Schaeffer in *Death's Angel* do take over. Another female doctor, Kelly Davis, pretty much takes over in *Perry's Planet* -- but that was written by Jack C. Haldeman, a male author. The honors of taking over *The Galactic Whirlpool* are shared by Kevin Riley and Katholin Arwen, one male and one female character; the author of that one, David Gerrold, is male. Ensign Sara George takes over *Spock, Messiah!*, which was written by TWO men, Theodore Cogswell and Charles Spano. Insofar as anybody takes over *Planet of Judgement*, it's another woman, Sharon Follett -- and that author, too, is male, being Joe Haldeman. Nobody really takes over in Haldeman's second ST novel, *World Without End*, although you might possibly make an argument for Scotty and Uhura. But that's one of each sex, and they aren't new characters, either. It should also be noted that most of the best ST authors, who manage to balance the attention they give their characters, are female: A. C. Crispin, Diane Duane, Vonda McIntyre. Crispin's new character, who gets equal time, is male. Diane Duane's new characters (K't'lk in *The Wounded Sky* and Ael in *My Enemy, My Ally*) are female, but alien, particularly K't'lk. If anybody wants to identify with a glass spider, more power to her; and in any case, I don't think K't'lk gets more than her share of attention. Vonda McIntyre divides her attention among so many new characters of all sexes and species that she can't be accused of giving anybody in particular the limelight. I think the real situation is more like this. There was a dearth of strong female characters in the original show, it having been at the time daring to have female officers at all. Authors striving to right the balance will there- fore create new female characters. If the author is not a good author or if the author's story ought not to have been a "Star Trek" story in the first place, the new charac- ter will take over and everybody else will fade into the background. Consider, too, that in the matter of an author's identifying with a character, male authors can do so but it won't SHOW, because there's already a pretty good supply of male characters available. Nobody is going to accuse a male author of identifying with Sulu because he chooses to make Sulu an important character in his book -- but that doesn't mean he isn't identifying with Sulu. In fact, I suspect Melinda Snodgrass of identifying with Uhura in *Tears of the Singers*, but nobody fussed at her about that; everybody applauded her paying attention to an unjustly-neglected character. -------- PDDB