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"Haviland Tuf is an honest space-trader who likes cats. So how is it that, in competition with the worst villains the universe has to offer, he's become the proud owner of the last seedship of Earth's legendary Ecological Engineering Corps? Never mind, just be thankful that the most powerful weapon in human space is in good hands--hands which now control cellular material for thousands of outlandish creatures. Armed with this unique equipment, Tuf is set to tackle the problems that human settlers have created in colonizing far-flung worlds: hosts of hostile monsters, a population hooked on procreation, a dictator who unleashes plagues to get his own way...and in every case, the only thing that stands between the colonists and disaster is Tuf's ingenuity--and his reputation as a man of integrity in a universe of rogues."--from cover, p. [4]… (more)
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The stories follow the
Tolly Mune, the steel-plated portmaster who plays the only other sustained role in the book, is much easier to sympathize with. Her passions, her foul mouth, her canny political sense; all these make her much easier to recognize as human.
Though technically an anthology, do not think that the stories in this volume are wholly independent of one another. Bound together like this they read very much like chapters in a more conventional novel, the only clue to their separate origins being occasional repetition of background information. They might have been somewhat better edited together for this version; in particular, the growing tension between Tuf and Mune might possibly have been played more consistently. But it's well done as is - and leads up to a truly superb final sentence.
If I have any reservations about this book, they arise from my reaction to it on a second reading, many years after my first encounter: the book is disquieting. The unsympathetic protagonist neatly unbalances the familiar stereotypes of SF - but that same feature also transforms what might otherwise be a forgettable book into one that sticks in the memory. And, I suppose, that's what makes really good SF: it makes us think. And sometimes, even in ways we may find uncomfortable. At that, Tuf Voyaging unquestionably succeeds.
We follow Haviland Tuf -- a bit of an intentional cypher to all the people he encounters, but not that difficult to understand (and, at least for me, like) for the reader. Tuf ends up in possession of a vastly powerful antique cloning chip, with which he decides to travel through space (joined only by his beloved cats) and offer biological engineering services to any planet that might need it. Tuf's disaffected manner, verbose patterns of speech, odd looks and particular combination of obvious misanthropy and deep empathy all serve to make him a highly unusual protagonist, but, I think, a very enjoyable one. It is (intentionally, I think) unclear to what extent he's prepared for every eventuality (though he's certainly prepared for many) and to what extent he trusts his mind to figure things out as he goes along, but in every story in this book, Tuf's little schemes bear satisfying fruit. And as they do, Tuf himself slowly might be changing -- subtly, considering his intentionally hard-to-read personality -- as Martin explores what ultimate power does to a person, even one as collected and self-assured as Tuf. Or perhaps he does not change at all. And both conclusions, whichever way I chose to interpret it, were equally powerful in my read.
'Tuf Voyaging' is an easy read, soft science fiction with an obvious satirical angle on the various societies and communities Tuf visits (and, in his own mind at least, helps), and what depth and realism there is might suffer slightly from the frequently convenient facts that tend to play to Tuf's advantage. But Martin is pretty good at making these palatable. And should he somehow ever find the time in his career to revisit Tuf (as I know he has mentioned over the years wishing to do), I will happily buy and read it.
(Long silence)
I can think of no more words to say. Janeel knew many words and many names, but I buried her this morning.
(Long silence)
If my voice is ever found . . .
(Short pause)
If this is found after the plague star has waned, as the night-hunters say it will, do not be deceived. This is no fair world, no world for life. Here is death, and plagues beyond numbering. The plague star will shine again.
(Long silence)
My wine is gone.
(End of recording)”
In “Tuf Voyaging” by George R. R. Martin
I sometimes need to learn to relax a bit and don't think of reading as always something that always has to be deep and meaningful. I try to think of genres in the same way one may think of food. One day I might go to the trouble or expense of a chateaubriand, and the next day I really, really fancy cheese on toast. Some days I want to be moved, the next have my head twisted inside out only to follow that with a bit of Jeeves. My advice: (1) don’t get your knickers in a twist about it. The authors all have different intentions and audiences, or maybe that should be audiences in a particular mood and frame of mind that day. For me, SF is my escape from the feeling I really should appreciate, analyse and be critical, and instead just float along happily in a haze of sun, sea and alcohol, or cold medicine, whatever the case may be. Like a secret stash of chocolates to relax with on my own; (2) Don't make reading into a chore. You don't always have to learn something. Sometimes it's just pure fun and recreation. SF allows you to make your own rules and set them in your own invented history. You can place it all in a universe where up is down if you wish and certainly on a world where they have a pink sky and two cooperating suns at one time. The author is truly omnipotent. But the prose doesn't need to be creaky. There are master craftsmen writing in this genre, for instance the-George-R-R-Martin-that-also-wrote-stuff-other-than-the-famigerated-GoT. I'm thinking about this particular little gem called "Tuf Voyaging". Who would have thought Martin had it in him to write stuff like this? As for all this stuff re genres and validity at literature, all genres have dross and have gems. Not seeing that also applies to SF is as dumb as not seeing in this in historical novels or biographies. I accept that for some genre of SF may not be their cup of tea, though maybe this often because they have not been exposed to gems from the genre and have seen some prejudice affirmed from what they have read. Which is a shame, for them. Creaky prose, preposterous characterisation, racist attitudes and all? In fact, if the dilemmas of impoverished middle-class young women in Regency England, or idealistic bootleggers in 1920s New York or ambitious young Irish politicians in late nineteenth century England are not necessarily escapist now, then nor are those of noblemen in an island torn by civil war with the prospect of others crossing the Wall and rumours of dragons overseas. This is as fine a set of science fiction stories as I have ever read, dealing with the problems and relationships of humanity and their technology, bound up with fascinating characters and plots. It also deals in a cautionary way with the problems of unrestrained population growth. Finally, it explores the consequences that result when a single human being gains the ultimate power of life and death. This George-R-R-Martin-that-also-wrote-stuff-other-than-the-famigerated-GoT is as fine a set of SF stories as I have ever read, dealing with the problems and relationships of humanity and their technology, bound up with fascinating characters and plots. It also deals in a cautionary way with the problems of unrestrained population growth. Finally, it explores the consequences that result when a single human being gains the ultimate power of life and death. Go and read “Tuf Voyaging”. It’s that good.
SF = Speculative Fiction.
NB: Peter Tillman brought this book to my attention. I'm glad he did.
The one collection of short stories I would suggest may be worth trying - and I think it's been reprinted recently in a 'Game of Thrones' tie-in edition - is "Tuf Voyaging". It's a series of linked stories about one Havilland Tuf, who comes into possession of an Imperial seed-ship from the Old Empire. He then travels the galaxy, dispensing ecological fixes to a range of different environmentally-challenged planets (for an appropriate fee, of course). It's a lot lighter than a lot of his other work, even though the named character does dispense what you might call "Tuf justice" (sorry about that) to clients whose demands don't appear on Tuf's moral compass. On the other hand, Havilland Tuf does like cats....
This book was a lot of fun, and almost deceptively fun, given that the main characters are forced into some pretty chilling decisions. I'm not quite sure why it ended up feeling more like a 3-star book than a 4-star book for me -- possibly because of the structure. I've seen it described as a "fix-up novel," i.e. one made up of previously published short stories; while the individual stories work really well together, and there ultimately is an arc, the tempo still comes out a bit staccato.
If you're a Song of Ice and Fire fan... this might not be your thing. If you're a fan of fun yet thinky space opera, give it a try.
In the first story, Tuf is the captain of a trading spaceship he calls the Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices. He’s not a great trader, but he’s earnest. He takes on four people that hire him for transport to a “plague star”, which contains a planet that has been ravaged by disease. The cause of the disease is found when Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices is damaged after triggering a seedship’s defenses: a seedship of the Ecological Engineering Corp from the Federal Empire, an ancient polity that has since faded into myth.
Through a crazy series of events that involve a Tyrannosaurus rex, Tuf ends up in sole possession of the massive seedship he calls the Ark. He parks the Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices in one of the bays and starts using the ship’s stunning biological capabilities to make a living as an Ecological Engineer. With his cats, Tuf flies from world to world solving ecological problems.
Things, of course, are not that simple.
The major appeal of Tuf Voyaging is the character of Haviland Tuf. He’s a man of many words, delivered in a dry yet eloquent way that never gets old. At times the reader thinks Tuf may not be perceiving what is happening around him. It’s always a delight to find out that he understands perfectly.
The book is also thoughtful. Many of the ecological problems that Tuf is called on to solve have a human element to them. On a planet called S’uthlam, for example, Tuf argues that overpopulation is going to prevent any solutions, which spurs a debate about religious beliefs vs. ecology. On another world, treatment of animals is a topic. Martin brings these things up in this book without being preachy.
This book contains the following stories:
“The Plague Star” (1985)
“Loaves and Fishes” (1985)
“Guardians” (1981)
“Second Helpings” (1985)
“A Beast for Norn” (1976)
“Call Him Moses” (1978)
“Manna From Heaven” (1985)
Tuf Voyaging is not new however: the publishers
Set in the far distant future, the loosely connected tales relate to adventures and quandaries of Tuf, a giant, bald albino, who has acquired a giant space ship devoted to genetic engineering, and travels the universe as a profiteering problem solver.
Tuf may not be a very sympathetic hero but he is a very engaging character, wry, dry and probably autistic, who gives moral complexities short shrift – and would probably be quite at home in the Kingdom of Westeros.
Rereading these (I have read most from original magazine publications) several years later was a nice experience. Martin can write very interesting stories. However, this is very different book than his fantasies, which have more full bodied protagonists.
Sometimes he helps, sometimes he hinders, but the moral of the story is - as one person pointed out - that in most cases it is the colonies own fault that they have brought about ecological ruin or other disasters upon themselves, and perhaps if they thought about the problem with as much consideration as Tuf, they would not be in the situation in the first place.
If Tuf were to switch to an evil mastermind, then all the universes would find themselves in grave peril.
This book was a lot of fun, and almost deceptively fun, given that the main characters are forced into some pretty chilling decisions. I'm not quite sure why it ended up feeling more like a 3-star book than a 4-star book for me -- possibly because of the structure. I've seen it described as a "fix-up novel," i.e. one made up of previously published short stories; while the individual stories work really well together, and there ultimately is an arc, the tempo still comes out a bit staccato.
If you're a Song of Ice and Fire fan... this might not be your thing. If you're a fan of fun yet thinky space opera, give it a try.
The obese, resourceful, brilliant, loner
The
The first section is a classic "subtraction" story. Tuf, a minor space trader, owner of the ship 'Cornucopia Of Excellent Goods At Low Prices', is hired by a diverse group of disreputable types who suspect they know where to find untold booty - an intact 'seedship' of a defunct Empire, more powerful than anything now known to the galaxy. Unfortunately, disreputable characters tend to behave disreputably, and soon infighting and plots occur. Due to a combination of ingenuity and luck, Tuf ends up the sole owner of the ship, and sets himself up as an Ecological Engineer, available for hire to fix any sort of planetary problem.
Although he has a variety of comissions and adventures, he keeps getting called back to the planet of S'uthlam, a place (over)populated by a 'nice' but religious people who believe it is their manifest destiny to breed as much as possible. In the past, this has caused major problems with their planetary neighbors, who don't care to be overrun by S'uthlam. Now they are confined to their own planet - but they are running out of food and resources.
Tuf helps with improved agricultural strains and methods - but this just enables the S'uthlam to breed more rapidly. The hard-headed, tough Portmaster, Tully Mune, who knows her people have an even more serious problem than they realize, has to keep calling Tuf back... and drastic problems may call for drastic measures.
This book is clever, funny, entertaining - and also deals deftly with some of the most serious problems that we here on earth have, much like the S'uthlam, refused to engage. More than anything else I've read lately, I keep finding myself talking about this book to other people.
Haviland Tuf & his ship are hired to take a group of misfits to a planet that suffers incurable plagues every 3 generations from a remnant war ship cum super-biological weapon left over from the last galactic war--several thousand years ago. The plot theme is filled with potential, but dumbed
• Tuf evokes no sympathy, the story indulges in too many deus ex machina endings and the story plots, of what little I read, avoid any gripping action; ignoring Tuf the other characters—who aren’t outright idiots/evil—usually have more depth.
• The story lines are easy to read/understand, Tuf is just obnoxious enough to titillate the average teenager and the action tends to be short and sweet.
In general, I’m giving this book 3-stars for the YA readers who, I believe, will really enjoy it. If you want a more mature read (i.e. with “more meat”), this is not it.
As a side note, something that really bothers me about Martin is his penchant for finding extremely gruesome ways to kill people. In fact, the primary reason I read this book was to see what other “tools” he had in his workshop—but this one hearkens back to the first story I read by him, ‘Sandkings’. The only saving grace these stories have is that these deaths, while fairly gory, are not dwelled on so dramatically and tediously as in ‘Sandkings’.
They undid the delight and adventure of the first five tales.