Customer Reviews (2)

Not Free SF Reader
The Empress is dead, and her successor must try and find a way to stay alive and solve the usual political problems.The twist is that the Imperial house types all have psychic abilities, which is what gives them their ruling class advantage.

The inbreeding and problems with these Talents seems to make it hard for them to reproduce, so holding on to power is a trick.

Alternate history/Far Future
Imagine the Roman Empire didn't collapse and its empire grew to encompass the stars. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Author takes the phrase 'Space Opera' too Literally
The title comes from Greek drama, the house of Atreus (a star in the novel), and various other in-period naming conventions are used for planets (Orestes, Electra, Agamemnon, etc) and places.Setting is a frontier solar system, where Citizens obey an unforgiving honor code, and breaking it takes away lives. 'Death' is total ostracism from normal society, to the point where a 'para'nim' is treated as invisible and ignored.Mediums are a special caste which talk with the dead and uphold their rights.

The book follows four main character perspectives -- Trey Maturin the deliberately genderless medium a la Caudwell (though referred to as female on my book cover), ex-spaceforce female peacekeeper Captain Moraghan who runs a mail and cargo trade ship in and out of the system, space pilot Guil who is Moraghan's female para'nim lover, and a rotating young male member of the house Halex (varies by chapters).Scott's society is beyond gender, both normal and homosexual relationships are common, and this adds nothing but the 'my space society of the enlightened future is beyond gender' background.For the tons of different character perspectives, they don't have unique voices, making the book flat and occasionally boring.

Pacing-wise, we have a detailed descriptions of operatic theater and the lemon-and-pepper scent of racing oversize rutting elk (native fauna), and then the feud starts around page 120ish.Much a dramatic novelized play, the novel goes through provocation, destruction, revenge, and heroism, but from a detached non-personal viewpoint (weak character voices).The genderless medium has an additional layer of detachment to the events going down.

Overall, a book that tries too many distinct forms (novel, drama, social commentary, perspective switching, sci-fi) and ends up doing none of them well. It's like the author took the phrase 'space opera' too literally. Scott does have good setting descriptions, so I can't entirely dislike the novel, but it isn't great.I enjoyed Burning Bright by this author much more.

A Complex World, full of Complex People
This is one of my favorite books ever.Melissa Scott approaches science fiction with the eye for detail that is the hallmark of the best historical writers.We explore the world of Orestes with her characters, especially Captain Leith Morrigan and Trey Maturin.A stranger to Orestes, Captain Morrigan is drawn into a complex web of intrigue and war, while Trey, a licensed Mediator, is pulled into deadly fights between clan factions.This may seem like a typical plotline, but Scott handles it with the same kind of delicate detail one would expect from Mary Renault.(I re-read this book every year, just like the Persian Boy.)As the clan conflicts turns into open war, we are treated to a beautifully written escape and space travel sequence.(My heart is always in my mouth as Pipe Major makes her final lift from the field at Destiny!)Strongly written female characters are another plus in this hidden treasure! ... Read more

Product Description

Customer Reviews (15)

Not Free SF Reader
The society this is set in has advanced virtual reality computer networks, and some of the hackers have organic brain implants that give them an advantage in dealing in this environment.

Because lots of these people started doing corporate espionage, the tech has become outlawed, and Trouble's relationship broke up because of this.

She has to join with her old partner to track down a criminal element on the network.

Slow starter, but worth the trouble
This is science fiction of the cyberpunk genre. There is a new technology termed "brainworm" that allows a user to connect to the net and "surf" utilizing only their brain. Think Matrix, but without the robot takeover. Cerise and her ex-lover, Trouble, have to team up in order to stop a copycat hacker from tarnishing Trouble's name. Scott touches on the aspects of new technology, how an older generation can be reluctant to accept it and the problems that can stem from that reluctance and from the new technology itself. The book is somewhat difficult to get into at first, but it quickly comes together and turns into a great page turner.

Excellent read...
This is a wonderfull book worthy of any Sci-Fi reader's interest.The story moves along well and keeps you guessing until the end.Note the use of neural 'net' precluding 'Strange Days' and 'The Matrix'.I can't wait to read the rest of her books...

Revised Review
TROUBLE AND HER FRIENDS by Melissa Scott is a late entry to the cyberpunk genre, that darling of Eighties science fiction that treated us to virtual reality, lowlife hackers, and film noir stylings. Other writers who came before -- William Gibson, Bruce Stirling, Pat Cadigan, and maybe even Greg Bear -- delineated the genre so well that whatever followed, including later works of Gibson himself, felt like rehashes.

That's the first problem with this book, which was published in 1994. By then Neal Stephenson's SNOW CRASH had pretty much rendered classic cyberpunk obsolete. Scott's book is an entertaining but routine genre exercise. Trouble, the heroine, is a former outlaw hacker (or "cracker") on a mission to clear her name after a young upstart begins using her handle online. Along for the ride is her former lover, Cerise, and the book is sort of a tour of near-future USA -- a little more urban, a little more computer-ridden than it is today, and suffused with the Net. Ms. Scott writes reasonably well, if with a little too much detail than she sometimes needs, and her characters are likable but not very complex.

Here's my biggest problem with this book, and the reason I can only rate it three out of five: Ms. Scott is torn between writing a literate work of idea-driven science fiction about the functioning of a near-future society and the relationship between technology and sexuality, and simply producing an action-oriented sci-fi story. She delivers a wealth of detail and history in the interest of world-building, much like CJ Cherryh and other women SF writers have done. At times her prose can be quite dense. But when the climax of the story comes, it's a virtual Wild West showdown between heroines and villain -- which is a bit of a disappointment. I got the feeling that Ms. Scott was a writer with something to say, but she seems to have been constrained by the alleged requirements of commercial fiction.

The heroines are lesbians, which I think would be great except that for some reason it's been turned into a metaphor (both gays and hackers are society's outcasts). Maybe Ms. Scott thought she needed a "reason" -- as some readers believe -- or maybe the publishers insisted. Either way, it's a contrivance. Let them be gay without the metaphor.

Regardless, it's an enjoyable read, if you don't mind the frustrating elements. I liked it, but thought Ms. Scott was capable of something a little more satisfying.

Thriller in cyberspace
In the not-so-distant future, India Carless, known as Trouble, has left the shadowy world of cyberspace after the American government cracks down on netwalkers like her. A few years later, a new hacker pops up using the name 'Trouble' and begins creating havoc. The original Trouble comes back to clear her name and catch this new upstart, and she reconnects with old friends to do so, including Cerise, the woman she walked out on. Trouble finds a changed cyberworld hiding more dangers than she anticipated. For me the hard sci fi aspects were a bit dry, but Scott compellingly addressed various social issues and created intriguing characters ... that compelled me to continue. And I do agree that it went on too long and the ending is a bit disappointing, but overall I did enjoy the book. I like Melissa Scott's approach, so I'll probably read more by her. ... Read more

Product Description
In the far future, human culture has developed five distinctive genders due to the effects of a drug easing sickness from faster-than-light travel. But on the planet Hara, where society is increasingly instability, caught between hard-liner traditions and the realities of life, only male and female genders are legal, and the ''odd-bodied'' population are forced to pass as one or the other. Warreven Stiller, a lawyer and an intersexed person, is an advocate for those who have violated Haran taboos. When Hara regains contact with the Concord worlds, Warreven finds a larger role in breaking the long-standing role society has forced on ''him,'' but the search for personal identity becomes a battleground of political intrigue and cultural clash.

Winner of a Lambda Literary Award for Gay/Lesbian Science Fiction, Shadow Man remains one of the more important modern, speculative novels ever published in the field of gender- and sexual identity.Amazon.com Review
In the future, humanity has developed five distinct sexes dueto the effects of a drug that allows faster-than-light travel. TheConcorde worlds have officially recognized all five sexes, but on theisolated planet Hara those in between male and female are consideredmutations who must choose to live as one of the two traditionalsexes. When Hara regains contact with the Concorde worlds, it's anopportunity for Warreven--a "herm"--to break the long-standing rolesociety has forced on him. But it will also put him in the center of apolitical battle that will span the stars. Shadow Man won the1996 Lambda Award. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

Interesting, character driven SF / wish the book had been longer!
I really enjoyed this book.I thought that the author did a good job with dialogue.When a new character is introduced, enough detail or something interesting is given, so that they stick in your mind later on, when the character comes back. (I recently started a book where the author throws so many characters at you, and doesn't distinguish them, that you can't remember them later on, or why they are or aren't important.)

The plot is driven by the characters, and the unusual society of Hara.The native people, even kids, use a LOT of drugs, and the outside human empire has come to Hara to harvest and export many of the pharmaceuticals produced by Haran ecology.

One thing that I thought the author needed to address was family structure and fertility, maybe even have a special appendix on this topic.The drug that humans must use, to survive Faster-Than-Light travel, has caused humanity to produce 3 more sexes than usual:Mems - someone possessing ovaries and XX chromosomes, but looking mostly like a man; Fems - someone possessing testes and XY chromosomes, but looking mostly like a woman; and Herms - hermaphrodites, both male and female organ systems, and having the most difficult time "passing" or being accepted by others.

But the drug didn't just create these extra sexes, it also caused a significant rise in the rate of miscarriage.This is mentioned in relation to the daughter-in-law of The Most Important man, but is then glossed over.Around page 200 or so, the fact is mentioned that the population is about 75% men and women, with the remaining 25% of the population the "odd-bodied" - fems, mems, and herms.

Until that point in the book, I had thought that the population was split roughly evenly between all five sexes, but this wasn't true.But even with the odd-bodied being only 25% of the population, it seems like there could be problems with maintaining or growing the numbers for a planetary population.I would assume that mems and fems are sterile - the "appearance" is there or mostly there, but functional internal systems seem not to be.My question was:Are herms sterile or fertile?Much is made about Warreven's almost marriage to the son of the planet's Most Important Man.Warreven could have chosen to legally change genders - since the odd-bodied must choose to live and be legally reguarded as either a man or a woman.But Warreven chose to stay legally a man, even though 3e is a herm.It was mentioned about how The Most Important Man needs a family lineage to take over his empire some day, and it is important that his daughter-in-law be able to have a child - she is even considering going off world, to get the help of advanced technology to be able to conceive.I guess, reading between the lines, that Warreven almost being the daughter-in-law of the planetary ruler, would imply that herms are fertile, but I would like to have learned more about this.This change in humanity has more than just implications for gender identity and sexual attraction and interaction.

I thought that maybe on other worlds, fems and mems might choose to be cloned or something, or large parts of the population of all 5 sexes could be cloned; or a population might be made up of the clones of regular men and women, no more sexual reproduction, and this would rid the population over time of fems, mems, and herms.

It also seemed like there could be a conflict between mems and fems on one side, and herms on the other.Mems and fems seem to be able to pass pretty easily, and are mostly like men and women, whereas herms are a true mix of the two.It didn't seem like the odd-bodied would always hold together and support each other, when 2 of the extra sexes can almost be accepted, almost pass, and the 3rd extra sex can't nearly as easily.

This was a very different, thought-provoking book, and I highly recommend it.

Excellent
The other reviewers have done a nice job on the good and bad of Ms. Scott's writing.All I can say is that, as a trans woman, this is one of perhaps two or three books which describes _my_ world, and the issues and concerns which define it.If you're trans, or know someone who is, or simply want a good framing...and you like and think in the tropes of speculative fiction...I cannot recommend this too highly.You may or may not agree with a few of the specifics of her worldbuilding, and it isn't a complete and literal extrapolation.But...read it.

Not Free SF Reader
A story of a planet where the environment has caused the human race to mutate into several different sexes, so there are spectrums of gender to deal with.This can be a bit mind bending, and I had to write to the author for help with an explanation at one point!

Definitely very interesting, with one character hiding what they are, and the political consequences of the decision.

a pamphlet
(I'm not a native speaker, please overlook my style)

This book truly represents a coming of age but not for the main characters, for the readers.

Ms Scott creates an extended but simple metaphor: in a universe where there are five officially acknowledged and accepted biological sexes and a mathematitian knows how many combinatorial possibilities the law and custom of one single planet deny the biological realityin the name of an undefendible, aggressive, obtuse tradition.
It is easy to recognize our own little Earth and reality (despite intelligent crabs that are as affectionate as lapdogs, purr like kittens and spin useful silk) under this thin disguise; in the struggle of Warreven to be officially, legally recognized as a person despite his/her/who knows sex, one recognize the everyday problems of people who happen to be unlike the majority.

As a political pamphlet, an apologue, this book is a masterpiece and should be read as textbook in any secondary school; as a novel it is less so.
Ms Scott strives to mimic real life and she does it, perfectly, but the result is sometimes quite dull, just as our own petty lives can often be (think about commuting to get to work or boring evenings among collegues and you shall know what I mean).
The characters and situations are fully drawn and believable, and in the end the good does not win over evil, exactly as in our own lives.

Despite an appendix with a glossary, some fictional concepts, such as "trade" or the details of gender behaviour remain utterly unclear. Ms Scott has probably tried to avoid extensive boring explanations but confronted with such an exotic creation the reader must necessarily fill in the voids.

One may wonder, is this still SF? In a sense it is. Do not read this novel if you just want an easy SF pastime. Do it if you welcome food for thought and are in the right mood for it.

A note: sex is necessarily mentionedin such a book, but it is never graphic or vulgar: teens can read it freely provided they have the right attitude toward demanding books.

Five Genders, One Humanity
At 18, Warreven was presented with an offer most men would have gladly accepted: Marriage to the only child of the Most Important Man on the planet Hara. The problem was, Warreven wasn't "most men." In fact, he wasn't a man at all, but a herm or, as Haran slang went, a "halving." And Temelathe's only child, Tendelathe, was a man.

For the Most Important Man, Warreven's sex was a non-issue: Warreven would simply classify himself as a woman and become Tendelathe's wife. This was a common arrangement, as herms did not live their lives as herms, but as men or women. It was up to them to choose. Warren would not choose, however; while he would willingly have married his long-time friend, he refused to be forced into declaring himself female. He was comfortable living as a man and that's how he wanted it to stay. He refused the offer. The decision ultimately changed his life.

The story point is one of the keystones in Melissa Scott's 1995 novel Shadow Man, a book which explores human gender and what life might be like if things were not as "simple" as we (perhaps wrongly) view them today.

The planet Hara, where Warreven, the Most Important Man and his son live is one of countless human colonies founded at a point in the future when humans have mastered faster-than-light (FTL) travel and have spread across the galaxy. As the story opens, Hara is in the process of slowly but surely being re-connected with the colonial network, after a few hundred years' separation.

The reason Hara was cut off is the same reason it's now so different from other human colonies. FTL travel, as boundary-breaking as it was, was in large part made possible by the development of specialized drugs, which prevented the side effects of the travel, keeping humans healthy and sane. However, these drugs themselves had a major side effect, one which no one had expected or even noticed under it was too late: The drugs affected human DNA and caused a large upswing (as high as 25%) in intersex births. There were no longer men and women, but men, women... and several other sexes. This discovery was so shocking and devastating to the human space colonization movement that all FTL travel was put on hold. Chaos erupted, arguments ensued, and it was during this time that the group making its way to the planet known as Hara were cut off.

People on hara developed the same genetic"abnormalities" as the rest of those who had taken FTL drugs. Not only their children, but their children's children, and on down the line, were born into one of five gender categories: woman, fem, herm, men, or man. The crucial difference on Hara, as opposed to within the human colonization effort and humanity as a whole (the "Concord"), was that the people on Hara chose to deny that this change had occurred. Almost all Concord humans had finally embraced the sexual differences and all the new sexual orientations and identities that came with it. They "moved on " with the change and re-started FTL travel. Harans were different. Fiercely traditional, they clung to concepts of men and women, and those who did not fit those categories were, officially, made to fit.

Despite the decision he made at 18, Warreven has made a good life for himself. He's got a job as something like an attorney, part of a three-person team. One of his partners is a man, the other a herm, like himself, only more politically outspoken (having fought a court battle to have legal status as "herm," not one sex or the other). Their firm often handles cases involving the "odd-bodied," those Harans who do not conform to Haran sexual standards. Warren is a skilled negotiator, and thanks to his continuing friendship with the Most Important Man (who still talks wistfully of his would-have-been "daughter-in-law"), he has a comfortable life. In his off time, Warreven's life isn't quite the savory life of a lawyer, however. He enjoys going to "wrangwys" bars, where fems, herms and mems mix amongst themselves, along with men and women who come to experiment in ways which are, officially, either forbidden or strongly frowned upon. In these bars, "wrangwys" become "trade"; Warreven has been "trade" himself.

In Shadow Man, we see Warreven's life change from something mostly stable and secure, where he is happy to remain within the status quo, to one in which his entire life is turned upside down and Hara is on the verge of a minor revolution. The story takes off when one day Warreven meets an offworlder named Tatian. The offworlder has come on an assignment from one of the big pharmaceutical companies trading with Hara, and at first he's strictly business. But after he meets Warreven and is introduced to Haran's rather different social set-up, he can't seem to get himself untangled from a budding revolution among society's oppressed. He finds himself encouraging Warreven and eventually assisting him. It's hard for him to believe the "odd-bodied" have allowed themselves to be oppressed at all, and even harder for him as he watches Warreven struggle with his role in the new revolution, especially when things get out of control, with attacks on bars, beatings, and riot police.

One of the things Scott does in Shadow Man is set up an allegory for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender civil rights movement, and one of the things that makes the book work is that this allegory isn't done in a heavy-handed way, but one that makes you understand the nature of social movements and those caught in the crossfire. Warreven doesn't want to be a revolutionary. He doesn't want to be a hero. He doesn't really want to be a herm -- not the way humans on Concord are herms. He doesn't know what any of that is about. However, the way events unfold, he has no choice, morally, but to press on and become a revolutionary, become a hero, and eventually, to become a herm. Change has to start somewhere and it just so happens that it starts with him.

Shadow Man is a wonderful, thought-provoking book which, although somewhat dissatisfying in the fact that it doesn't tie up the book's conflicts in a neat bow, makes you wonder about the nature of being human and being part of society, whether accepted or not. ... Read more

Product Description
A guard in the great city of Astreiant, Nicholas Rathe must calm an angry and frightened population as he searches the overcrowded streets of the city for a kidnapper and the children he has abducted, before it is too late. Reprint. LJ. PW. AB. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (3)

more or less a detective story
i love fantasies, especially if they have gay/lesbian main characters but i usually find even the best detective stories dull and boring. this is why i find it unconfortable to review this classical detective story set in an alternative xvi century french-like kingdom.

the two authors take much pain in outlining a believable society, they enrich their descriptions with many interesting and witty details: as it is (nearly) always the case the result stirs admiration but is sometimes overwhelming and still leaves you hungering for a better definition of many points.
their writing is not only professional but also accurate and subtle; too much so, unfortunately: the story develops slowly, painfully so, and still one feels the lack of more details one is lead to expect just because of their approach.

this redundant lack of fulfilment involves the main characters:
for instance, one knows the two main ones are going to fall in love with each other (in the sequel of this novel) but although the authors describe their face mimic to the smallest detail in a very pleasant way still they hold too much behind and one cannot really understand who they really are and why they should fall in love at all. just the same happens for the lovely character of istre: saying too much about him could be a mistake but one is left hungering for a better description of his emotions. the authors hint at a possible emotional opening between him and rathe's neighbour but they drop it in an extremely disappointing way.

this objectification might be all right in a crude detective story, where the main point lies in the solving of the mistery but is hardly tolerable elsewhere.

i shall read the second novel of the serial to better understand the authors' intentions for a story with such a good potential

A Pity There Aren't More Like This...
One of the more irritating tendencies of fantasy literature is theconstant depiction of extremes of class.In many novels, every majorcharacter is either a member of at least the lower ranks of nobility orelse some kind of petty criminal._Point of Hopes_ is refreshing in thatmost of its characters are somewhere in the middle; ordinary people withhonest trades trying to get by.The main characters are a temporarily outof work mercenary (he's worked his way up from the ranks to a minorofficer's position, but it's difficult to find an employer who's willing tohire a commoner for a commissioned rank) and a constable (the local titleis Pointsman), and the most of their associates are tavern keepers, shopowners, and the odd underpaid scholar.Add to this an environment basedroughly on sixteenth century France (with a few changes such as a paganstate religion, women's equality with men, and unquestioned toleration ofhomosexuality), a renegade alchemist plotting against the reigning monarch,and a mysterious series of kidnappings, and one has a novel worth readingand re-reading.I hope Scott and Barnett are planning a sequel, and in anyevent I look forward to their next work.

A worthy addition to any fantasy library.
Let me begin with a bold statement:I will be on the lookout for the next book by Melissa Scott & Lisa Barnett. They certainly know how to spin an enjoyable tale.Point of Hopes brings the reader into a fantastical mystery, set in pseudo-Renaissance time.All the characters are thoroughly intriguing, some downright enthralling (though some of the names are a bit of a mouthful).The reader is drawn into their espacades and actually cares what happens to those involved.I have only two regrets for the book:first the pacing was marvelous up until the very end; I became worried when I realized I was 80% done the book and there was still too much of the unknown left in the mystery.What follows happens in such a quick pace that I think the reader will feel out of sorts by the suddeness of things revealed (and dealt with).My second gripe was that there were romantic leaning developing between the two main characters throughout the book but these never, ever, came to fruition.So I was left feeling a bit jaded.I can only hope that a sequel is written that can solve this last problem.Still, this novel shows excellent craftsmanship and should be included in any die-hard fantasy-lover's bookshelf. ... Read more

Product Description
Space pilot and ambitious young game designer Quinn Lioe spends shore leave on the planet Burning Bright, known for its virtual reality games, and soon finds herself playing a game with stakes higher than she imagined. Reprint. AB. PW. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Not Free SF Reader
The planet Burning Bright has a nice, central location for trade.It is also home to a lot of virtual gaming.A young gamemaster debuts one of her new scenarios here, and becomes an overnight sensation.

She attracts the attention of the glitterati and some of the more dangerous higher ups in society, and is embroiled in some dodgy situations because of this.

Sometimes, political intrigue is just another game
Sometimes, political intrigue is just an extension of a standard RPG.In the world of Burning Bright, two games absorb the interest of the populace.The first is an immersive form of role-play, enhanced by realistic images pulled from a universal network.The second is political, in many ways similar, but much more deadly.Quinn Lioe is a pilot taking a few days gaming leave on Burning Bright while the ship she works on is being repaired.Running a new scenario she has developed leads her into a larger game she had not expected to be drawn into.This fast paced novel is clever, and easily enjoyed by the long-term sci-fi reader and newcomers to the genre.

Melissa Scott's Best Book
Most of Scott's writing can be described as competent but uninspired._Burning Bright_ rises above that level.

Quinn Lioe is a starship pilot on leave while her ship is being repaired.She's also an avid role-playing gamer with a budding reputation for writing good scenarios.The city and planet Burning Bright (there's only one city on the planet, both share the same name) is one of the centers for the Game and Lioe gets the chance to use her new scenario at a prestigious Gaming club.

Burning Bright is important as the trading link between the human Republic and the alien Hsai Empire.Damian Chrestil, a partner in a large trading firm, is trying to smuggle drugs into the Hsai Empire.The drugs are on Burning Bright, brought, not coincidentally, by Lioe's ship.They can't be shipped further on until certain codes are provided by a Hsai official, ji-Imbaoa.For reasons which are not explained, ji-Imbaoa is extremely slow in getting these codes and passing them to Chrestil.Complicating matters is the fact that Burning Bright has periodic, massive hurricanes, and the first storm of the season is rapidly approaching the city.

There's also the Hsai ambassador, Chauvelin, a human who's been adopted into a major Hsai clan.This clan is a rival to ji-Imbaoa's clan.Chauvelin has a protege named Ransome who served time in a Hsai jail for a lese majeste offense against a member of ji-Imbaoa's clan.While imprisoned, Ransome was infected with an incurable lung disease which is slowly killing him.Ransome is a data-miner on Burning Bright's computer nets.Ji-Imbaoa and Chrestil are both concerned that Ransome might find out about the smuggling while wandering through the nets.Since Ransome was a notable Game player who's dropped out because the Game was getting stale, ji-Imbaoa orders Chauvlin to get Ransome back into the Game and off the nets.

Scott uses this to weave a political thriller set in a well-described society.The Game is shown in some detail, but doesn't overwhelm the rest of the story.Lioe and Ransom are three dimensional characters who interact with others in believable ways.As is usual with Scott's novels, the characters are either gay or bisexual, except for Chrestil's mistress, who seems to be the only straight person in the book.

I recommend this book.Of all Scott's novels, it's the only one I would give five stars to.

Fun book & great gaming system
In this book instead of pro sports everyone takes part in a great inter stellar virtual reality game that is awesome. U can tell that the author is really into gaming and she describes the whole gaming system so that you feel like your playing in it yourself. Very highly recommended.

Wonderful
This is quite a wonderful book. Intriguing characters, a good plot, an unusual world-view (yes, there are some sci-fi cliches but they do not interfere much with the story, i think) and good details to keep thisfuturistic world real for you. I read it with great interest, and wouldlike to keep on reading any new books from Melissa Scott. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

not a first contact novel
This is not a first contact novel. Rather, this novel has a lot more in common with a standard mystery/suspense story of the "corporate intrigue" subcategory, albeit in an advanced technological civilization. The main character, Gwynne Heikki runs a salvage company and while working on a contract recovering a crashed space ship, accidentally discovers a secret that the corporation that owns that craft wishes to keep silent by any means. There's plenty of action with a good dose of finely tuned cultural observations. I found it extremely enjoyable, especially because of the strong women lead characters. Melissa Scott has been one of my favorite authors for many years. Wish she'd come out with a new book sometime soon.

Linguistic Science Fiction
Perhaps not Scott's flashiest work, but thoughtful and as always with aperceptive eye on the interaction of technology and culture.A firstcontact novel worth reading.Various science fiction authors keep tabs onfindings in various sciences -- most of them are interested in the"hard" sciences.This novel shows a lot of knowledge about thescience of linguistics. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Not Free SF Reader
Silence Leigh is a female starship pilot.There are not too many of these around.The different thing about these books is that pilots fly ships not via any particular sort of technology, but more an ability to interact with reality, a little like the Amberites, to change the dimensions around them so that they get to where they want to go.

Silence here is basically taken prisoner by two men, and forced to use her abilities to serve them, as a way out of her economic problems.

The Hegemony treats women poorly, and she is cheated out of a rightful inheritance, but a marriage of convenience with these men enables them to continue on their way.She finds out they are in an underground movement devoted to working about the Hegemony.

Thus begins a larger conflict.

Good mix of sci-fi & fantasy with subtle poltical commentary
I felt that Scott was trying a little too hard to get Silence and her husbands into deeper and deeper trouble. Almost like they were living Murphy's Law. However, I still enjoyed the book and I really appreciated the way Scott handles Silence being a female pilot in an extremely male-dominated field. Silence does not feel inferior, but she realizes that due to some planets' customs life as a female pilot is more difficult. With reluctance, Silence realizes that she must partner up with two men in order to escape the mess her uncle has left her in. With that said, Silence still shines as the heroine of the book. The ending really leaves you hanging and now I have to find the second book, which is out of print.

One of Scott's best
Melissa Scott has played with a lot of conventional genres and SF storyelements, but her best work pushes some of the boundaries.InFive-Twelfths of Heaven, she creates an unusual - and successful - crossbetween fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing her tradition ofdealing with gender roles and society.

The universe of Five-Twelfths is afairly standard one in some ways.The Hegemon, a widening empire of manyplanets, is a tightly-controlled, autocratic society that places extremelimits on women; women must be veiled at all times, aren't allowed to ownproperty or take legal actions, etc.However, the fantasy element comes inwith the elements of star travel, which are much like magic, and especiallythe magi, who are able to use spells to control both Purgatory (thecelestial, partially supermaterial state attainable by material creatures)and Hell (the submaterial state).The blending of the typical SF andunusual fantasy elements make this world a unique and complete creation,interesting in its own right.

The plot is also fairly good. Five-Twelfths is the story of Silence, a woman in the very male-restrictedprofession of pilot.Caught up in circumstances beyond her control, shemakes an unusual alliance, finds herself pitted against the Hegemony, anddiscovers that she has powers in excess of anything anyone expected.

All in all, a satisfying read and much more interesting than is usual inscience fantasy blends.Scott makes the most of her talents in this book -pity it's out of print, but many libraries will have a copy.

(NB:Five-Twelfths of Heaven is the first in a trilogy - the sequels are Silencein Solitude and The Empress of Earth - that should definitely be read inorder.)

Five-Twelfths of Heaven
This is the first book of a trilogy.The other two are _Silence_In_Solitude_ and _Empress_of_Earth_.The main characters are scilence and her two husbands Julian (Julie) Chase Mago and Dennis Balthasar.The technological innovation of this story is that interstellartravel happens by means of music.I enjoyed this trilogy because Iidentify strongly with Melissa Scott's writing style, but the trilogy hasmajor flaws in its characterization- for example between books one and twothe threesome goes from having no physical relationship to having aperfectly comfortable, taken-for-granted one. ... Read more

Product Description
Tin Lizzy, a young woman techie with a criminal past, and Keyz, a teenage boy who used his parents access codes to borrow a Hollywood studios editing program, are on the run across the altered landscape of 21st century America from the studio police, and a megalomaniac CEO. The jazz is the new artform of the Internet in the new century.Amazon.com Review
Misinformation, PR, disinformation, rumors, spinning, lies--in the near future, the art of untruth has evolved into the jazz: virtual-reality Internet theatre, an entertainment for the cognoscenti and a source of pain and scandal for those who believe what they see, read, or experience. Tin Lizzy has escaped her troubled criminal adolescence to become one of the premiere design programmers of the jazz. But when she agrees to design the back-tech for a teenage boy's brilliant jazz scenario, she discovers too late that Keyz created his jazz with a sophisticated program stolen from a Hollywood studio. Now Lizzy is a criminal again, a desperate fugitive on the run with Keyz through the dangerous underground of the 21st century, fleeing cops, bounty hunters, studio detectives, and a powerful, ruthless CEO who has a secret to preserve, and boundless resources and vindictiveness.

Quietly, outside the hot, critical spotlight turned upon the original cyberpunks and second-generation cyberwunderkind Neil Stephenson, Melissa Scott has become one of the strongest, most productive, and least street-glamour-blinded cyberpunks writing at the turn of the millennium. This is not entirely a surprise; in 1986, she won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer. She is also a two-time winner of the Lambda Literary Award for best science fiction novel. If you haven't read Melissa Scott, The Jazz is a fine place to start. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Melissa Scott creates another good one!
Once again we have a well conceived universe, with a thrilling story that is written densely. This is not a book that you can skim through, but will richly reward the person who wants to takes time to read. The action(in the near future) moves quickly, and the universe is believable. Buy, beg, or borrow, this is worth your time.

Not Free SF Reader
The Jazz is a more mundane work, if you like, with a setting a little bit closer to our own.Imagine if you take some melding of a crappy show like Entertainment Tonight or that sort of American thing, and it grows, and evolves on the internet to the point where people are obsessed with it all over the place.

Programmers and designers have to produce it, and some of them will get their places with criminal or other help, and the criminal types will want their cut.

Trouble and Her Friends, draft 2
Basically, this book takes the plot of Scott's earlier novel Trouble and Her Friends, and changes the technology a little. Instead of netwalking and criminal hacking, it's about people who spread misinformation over the internet as their profession. This is an interesting idea, and could have made a very good short story or novella. But Scott takes it and makes a thriller around it, complete with a villain. It reminded me of The Fugitive.

I have to admit I never finished reading this book. After half of it, I decided that the plot wasn't nearly strong enough, the characters weren't alive, and the setting was too mundane to keep my interest. Compared to Trouble, the tech in this book is peanuts - the computers aren't too much further along than those we have today - and not much else has changed. Such near-future settings can work, obviously, but there wasn't enough substance here.

I would love to see this idea - the jazz - rewritten in a shorter format. As the basis for a novel, I don't think it's strong enough; especially not as the basis for a thriller like this book wants to be.

"I Heard a Rumour"
Remember those commercials at the height of the dotcom boom, the ones that showed these amazed, enthusiastic people demanding "are you ready?" in an attempt to lure you to the Internet's supposed wonders? In Melissa Scott's version, people are, but it's hell (many form nostalgiac gated communities just to avoid it).

The book is set in an indefinite future America that seems to be a generation or so from now, where most of society seems bent on amusing itself to death, especially people who "play the jazz."

And the people who play the jazz in Scott's world don't have saxophones; they have web equipment, and the idea is to spread chaos through rumour. (Anyone whose first wakeup call to the dark side of the Internet occurred on the day they received their first e-mail warning about the Good Times virus will quickly get the idea.) In one sequence, in order to create a diversion at one point the heroine, Tin Lizzy, creates chaos at a shopping mall by sending out false rumors of a new product. But let Scott tell it herself, regarding the ultimate jazz her heroine "Tin Lizzy" plays: "this was something people wanted to hear, and this one, too, was picked up and repeated."

The story is told from two POVs, Lizzy's (who takes to the road with the teenager she's trying to help) and the cop trying to capture her while staying on the good side of his boss, who's a borderline psychopath. Scott's prose is spare; her characters seem real; the climax is cynical.

Each sequence is a beautiful set piece in itself. Despite the title, nothing seems improvisatory. It's all schemed out as carefully as a Bananarama album, and it entertains in precisely the same way.

Best yet from Melissa Scott
I first started reading Melissa Scott when a friend gave me Burning Bright and from then on i was hooked. The Jazz is her best yet. Lots of inventive virtual reality and some really nice bits for gamers like the boy that everyone is chasing is a gamer who just happened to stumble on something he shouldnt have. This book would make a great game!! ... Read more

Product Description
Desperately in need of vital nutritional supplies, the crew of the USS VoyagerTM must risk dealing with an enigmatic race known as the Kirse, legendary for the bountiful crops of their world - and for their secretive ways. Despite Neelix's warnings, Captain Janeway leads an Away Team to the Kirse homeworld.But when the hostile Andirrim attack the Kirse, Janeway finds herself caught in a deadly situation. Forced to fight alongside the Kirse, Janeway and her crew can only hope that their strange, new allies are not more dangerous than their common foe. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (12)

Intriguing idea, reasonably well-handled.
Not a great book by any stretch of the imagination, it was certainly closer to a three-star than to a five-star, but I really felt that it was just a little bit too good not to jump it up to four stars. The characterizations were handled pretty well, the plot was an interesting if fairly standard early-first-season Voyager plot (or at least, the problem driving the plot was typical early-first season; the ramifications were somewhat more original) and the pacing and action were better than average. Worth reading if you're a fan of the series; maybe not if you aren't.

Not Free SF Reader
A pretty ordinary Star Trek Voyager tie-in story.The crew of the Voyager are hungry, and need to get supplies, given that they are, as usual, stuck on a ship in the middle of nowhere.

This story deals with having to go to a planet to get food, and, the boss leads the expedition, because the boss always goes shopping, don't they?

STV #11 The Garden - Overly unimaginative!
There have been very few times over the years that I've started a Star Trek novel in any of the series and seriously entertained the idea of putting the novel down for good without finishing it but this novel fell into that rare category for me.Not surprisingly, this is the second of only two novels in the Star Trek universe for Melissa Scott, an author that I would hope found a more suitable niche in her own or other genres.Much to my chagrin, I found her writing to be somewhat lackadaisical in that the pacing was slow, the plot set up fairly plodding and the characterizations are off by a notch and the overall feel of the novel to be unimaginative.

The strange thing about Star Trek Voyager novels published at this time is that quite often the cover art is better for them while the stories weren't while novels in the other series were exactly the opposite.

The Premise:

"The Garden" is one more example in the Star Trek Voyager line of novels where the premise of "We're lost in the Delta Quadrant and we're desperately in need of supplies" was way over done!This time around, Neelix leads the valiant crew of Voyager to the Kirse homeworld.The Kirse are renowned for their bountiful crops and their enigmatic nature.As timing never seemed to be on their side, Captain Janeway attempts to negotiate a trade agreement with the Kirse when the Andirrim attack the Kirse and she finds herself and her crew caught in the middle and unsure as to which side to trust...

What follows from there, as stated above, is a novel that in its premise alone had lots of potential but ultimately falls flat in its execution.Despite panning this novel, I would still recommend it to other fans of Star Trek fiction but only on the basis of it being part of the "line" for those, like myself, who attempt to read them all.{ssintrepid}

the best of times and the worst of times
The book seems out of order in the series. Instead of number 11 I would have guessed it to be one of the first three by the problems faced by the crew and references made by the author about the journey ahead and the conditions on the ship. It sounds as if the crew is still struggling for survival here, but in previous stories their situation seems to have already stabilized somewhat.

This was one of the most interesting story concepts that I have come across in the Voyager series. The only reason I could not give this book five stars and then some is because of the vast number of disconcerting typos throughout the book. I'm not talking about the simple occasional letter left off a word... at one point one ensign's gender pronoun references change back and forth several times in the same chapter. Proofreaders are worth the money! But if you're not distracted by grammatical incongruities, this is a wonderfully engaging story.

Not my best use of free time.
It's pretty rare that I don't fully enjoy a Voyager novel.Even if the story or the characterizations aren't the best, I just adore the show so much that I enjoy the book anyway.

The Garden is the exception.

It's well written, but the story itself just didn't entertain me.From beginning to end, I kept waiting for it to capture my imagination, but it just didn't happen.The aliens seemed a little flat to me, and the main characters were a bit off as well.

Janeway seemed more like a female version of Captain Jellico than the fair-minded leader we came to know on the show.She was constantly reprimanding someone, or sending a sharp glance.And Harry Kim or Tom Paris were continually blushing or apologizing in response.Maybe it's me, but I just don't see the characters that way.It quickly went from amusing to distracting.

While this story has some interesting moments, it fell short for me.It's not one I'd knock myself out to get a hold of. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

How did I not read this as a teenager
Wow.I really enjoyed this trilogy.The first two books are creative, evocative, and engrossing.I do think I would have enjoyed these books even more if I were a bit younger.I'd certainly recommend them to a teenager who is interested in Fantasy genre novels.Particularly a girl.However, even in my currently advanced years, they were a good read.The third book gets a bit bogged down and has some trouble deciding where it is going.It's not awful; but it is a bit disappointing. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

great fun--read the next two novels as well!
5-12ths of Heaven is the first in a trilogy (Silence in Solitude, Empress of Earth).The first book gets our heroine (Silence Leigh) into trouble, the next book gets her out of getting chased all over the Hegemony but evenmore deeply obligated, and the third book gets her out of troublealtogether and ties up all the loose ends.

I don't think the quality of5-12ths of Heaven is *quite* on the same level as the two sequels, but thatmay be because the book is so occupied with getting Silence into *trouble*that it comes off as a little too relentless.Some of the scenes couldhave been written with a touch more humor which would have helped theoverall flow.

On the other hand, Scott's description of the space driveused is absolutely otherworldly, fantastic, and wonderfully poetic.Youwill find yourself rereading these books over and over again simply for thedescriptions of the travel alone.

Other scenes that come tomind--Silence's testing to become a practitioner (extra meaning for thoseof us who have gone through a thesis defense!), the flying of the Earthroad, the trip via the portolan, and the trip into Man's Island by trans.

It's unfortunate that these books are out of print--I and a friend ofmine immediately snap up any copies we ever find at used book stores tokeep on hand as gifts for friends who appreciate good SF.I hope that somepublisher will reprint them. ... Read more

Product Description
Melissa Scott's award-winning work is known for its vividly imagined settings that explore humanity's far future. IN NIGHT SKY MINE, young Ista Kelly is a foundling, the only survivor of a pirate raid on an asteroid mine. In a future where one cannot live without an official identity, this is the story of Ista's harrowing journey back to the asteroid to find her true identity . ... Read more

Customer Reviews (9)

SciFI at it's best
Melissa Scott has a habit of writing novels that are well put together and thick with possibility and meaning. Skilled in presenting conflict and resolutions that seem human in a future universe, this novel presents a solar system with; asteroid mining, computer programs that evolve, a strangely abandoned asteroid and child, that comes together in a well crafted mystery that asks some of the eternal questions about the meaning ofhumanity, and the interaction of self and society.

There's no There There.
I was unfamiliar with thebook when I bought it... and after reading it, I'm still unfamiliar with it.

The other reviews rightly point out that most of the characters are pretty 1-dimensional. The two gay male characters... (let me look up their names)... Rangsey and Tarasov, might as well be 1 person - they were so identical that I couldn't tell which of them was talking at any given moment. This despite the fact that we have a whole chapter to get to know them.

The main protagonist, Ista, is really the only interesting character, certainly the only character that's developed, but her relation to the other characters goes pretty much unchanged until the last page in the book.

As for the story... I kept waiting for it but it never really materialized. Despite the fact that we travel with the characters between several stars, live on a giant space-station, explore a giant derelict and get pursued by an organized crime ring I never really felt engaged with the story. The characters are all totally chaste. In fact, I don't remember a point where anyone so much as touches anyone else. It was like an ABC after-school special set in space.

The concept of genetically-evolving software was probably more interesting in 1996. As an engineer, it just irritated me. Apparently, writing software in the distant future is exactly like playing a video game.

There were also some technical flaws that drove me nuts. The author has a bad habit of jumping from one character's mind to another without warning. I kept having to backtrack and make sure I knew which character was reacting, thinking or talking. The book could have used a little more editing.

So, over-all: Some interesting ideas here and there. But I wouldn't recommend it.

Not Free SF Reader
Night Sky Mine involves a society where computer programs have their own biology and biosphere, so must be carefully regulated, with only licenced experts allowed to deal with them, and trading in them is a crime.A young woman is apprenticed to one of these practitioners, and becomes involved in a case that two of the local police end up investigating.

A nearby asteroid complex has been abandoned, and no-one knows why.The police think there are higher corporate and political forces at work, here, and set out to discover what is going on.

Light reading, fun setting
In Melissa Scott's best novels, the background - the world setting - ismuch more interesting than the plot.This is especially true in Night SkyMine.

In the far-future universe of the book, programs are no longerwritten, they're bred.They've been equipped with replication, attack, anddefense code, and they live in the invisible world, preying on andinterbreeding with other programs to form new ones.In the wildnets,programs interbreed at will, and are subject to evolutionary pressure - thewildnets are essentially a virtual ecosystem.Unfortunately, this opens upboth the possibilities for useless or undesirable programs and the outsidechance that a superprogram will evolve.

Ista, the main character, isan apprentice hypothecary, one who harvests wild program and analyzes code. She's lived for almost all her life in the coporation-owned Audumlasystem.She knows nothing of her antecedents; at age two, Ista was thesole survivor of a mineship attack, and was adopted by her rescuer. Without knowledge of her parents, she is not a legal citizen, so when shemeets two men who are investigating mineship disasters, she has to helpthem.Together, they expose an illegal wild breeding effort and putthemselves in danger.

The characters are likeable and fairly realistic. Ista is a streetwise adolescent, but definitely still not fully adult, andby far the most full-fleshed of the characters.The relationships betweenthe characters are, at least in the first half, both believeable andunderstandable.(For example, Sein and Justin, the two men, fight the waylong term couples fight.)In the second half, the characters are subsumedby the plot, which is unfortunate.

Good Scott novels leave you wantingto know more about the world, the setting, and this one is no exception. Although the plot is interesting enough to hold attention, it's really justa framework for exploring the universe.The book would have been betterhad the plot been more complex - and the book quite a bit longer - but it'sa great SF read nonetheless.

Some nice bits, but never really goes anywhere.
This is a novel which touches on bits and pieces of things which could be far more interesting, but it never really goes anywhere special.It felt more like a juvenile book than the author's other work- I'd recommend it for precocious junior high students.

I was often annoyed by the very poor editing of this book.It's rife with grammar and spelling mistakes which essentially act like reading speed bumps.The author also has a habit of inserting lengthy statements into the middle of sentences by hyphenating them - often at awkward places, and often several lines in length, in fact sometimes quite a bit longer than this one, making sentences rather hard to follow- when a separate sentence would be much cleaner.By the end of the book, I was pretty tired of having to reread the beginnings of sentences due to this.

Another bad habit which pops up throughout the book is the unexplained use of made-up words.Apparently the author feels that to stop and explain every new term would bog things down, which is true, but instead of limiting her use of meaningless words, she just throws them around and lets the reader's imagination go at them.While this is fine to some extent, there is too much of it in this book.There are lists of names of cyberspace denizens which serve no purpose at all.On the other hand, I would have liked more description of some of the terms, like "hypothecary".The main character is studying to become one, and the reader learns a bit about it through her actions, but still many questions are left unanswered.The reader would have been better served by more description of the important terms and less use of the meaningless ones.

The cyberspace concept here is fairly original, although like almost every other cyberspace in SF, it's too far removed from the reality of electronic information to be believable to anyone with a technical background.The portrayal of software personified as flora and fauna is an interesting one in concept, but the execution goes wa! y too far in giving data the attributes of physical objects or creatures.Too many times I found myself wondering why things would have developed the way they had in the book.

Like most of the author's protagonists, the main characters are gay, although unlike some of her other work, that point is irrelevant to the story.This book isn't about gay characters, it's about characters who happen to be gay.Unfortunately, these gay heroes are all pretty one-dimensional.Except for Ista, the main protagonist, practically no background is given for any of the characters.Even Ista's origins are a mystery to both the characters and the reader.Likewise, the only growth or development any of the characters experience in the book is the occasional reference to Ista's budding romantic feelings towards her friend Stinne.Even this doesn't go anywhere- the situation between them is basically the same at the end of the book as at the beginning.

All in all, this book was a decent effort, but no single aspect of it really held my attention for very long.Even the ending was something of a letdown- it felt like the author wasn't sure how she should end it and ended up leaving too much unresolved.It screams "sequel".Unfortunately there are too many books on the shelf better than this one for me to continue with this story. ... Read more

Product Description
The city of Astreiant has gone crazy with enthusiasm for a new play, The Drowned Island, a lurid farrago of melodrama and innuendo. Pointsman Nicolas Rathe is not amused, however, at a real dead body on stage and must investigate. A string of murders follow, perhaps related to the politically important masque that is to play on that same stage. Rathe must once again recruit the help of his soldier lover, Philip Eslingen, whose knowledge of actors and the stage, and of the depths of human perversity and violence, blends well with Rathe's own hard-won experience with human greed and magical mayhem.

Their task is complicated by the season, for it is the time of year when the spirits of the dead haunt the city and influence everyone, and also by the change in their relationship when the loss of Philip's job forces him to move in with Nicolas. Mystery, political intrigue, floral magic, astrology, and romance--both theatrical and personal-- combine to make this a compelling read.
Amazon.com Review
In the alternate Renaissance world of Point of Dreams, the dead return with the ghost-tide to haunt the living, and when a ghost fails to appear, it may mean the person was murdered. Though a dead judge's ghost is missing, the regents of the city of Astreiant forbid Pointsman Nicolas Rathe to investigate. And that's not the detective's only problem. His suddenly homeless partner is moving in with him. The city is in a frenzy over a popular play, "The Drowned Island," and the dangerous spell book it has popularized. His assigned case, an actor's murder, appears unsolvable--the actor drowned in a theater in which there is no water. And another body has just been found in the theater.

Point of Dreams is an accomplished and entertaining fantasy mystery, written with the same rigor as the best nonmagical mysteries. Since Point of Dreams is the sequel to The Armor of Light and Point of Hopes, its early pages may be tough going for some readers unfamiliar with the previous novels, but all readers will find themselves captivated by the novel and unwilling to put it down before they reach the end.

Melissa Scott received the John W. Campbell Award for best new writer and has twice won the Lambda Literary Award for best science fiction novel. --Cynthia Ward ... Read more

Customer Reviews (10)

intricate
This second episode of the late Renaissance series centred on pointsman (a policeman of sorts) Rathe is similar at first sight to the first but subtly different nonetheless, as if the two plots belonged to one of the two authors each.

The first was more focused on the mistery, on the action that brings to its solving and fleshed out with countless details about the lower class characters' way of life.

In this second one, the mistery seems not to be the focus of the narrative, it rather seems an excuse to examine characters interaction and the ways of upper classes of the same society. This is true to the point that the identity of the murder is quite clear from the first pages, as are his/her (I will not give you any hint though) motives.

In a way the novel suffers from this choice. It also suffers from the understated tone chosen by the author to describe people's feelings. I think it a good idea to let us face the intimate relationship between the two main characters (two men, by the way) as an already given fact, but this choice of understatement runs so far that we face a feeble characterization too: not that it is lacking, it is just superficially attended to, it lacks depth: you cannot really relate to any of them.

Nonetheless this novel deserves in my opinion five stars. The quality of the writing is high, the fastidious attention to details, the original society depicted. They all make this a worthwhile read. I only feel like complaining about a minor detail: that the authors, to make their point about a society ruled by women use "her" and "she" as general pronouns when the sex of the person is not known. This feels quite unnecessary.

Another problem, but I guess it comes from a deliberate choice too, is that even after two novels, the structure of the astreiant's society and even its basic geography are still unclear: the authors never taking the trouble of making clear, e.g. what the regents actually do, what the metropolitan is, etc. Outright explanations are likely to be clumsy, but the authors could have found a way to give us at least the more essential details.

Rich and satisfying
I set this aside with a feeling of satisfaction, as if I'd had a good meal. The mystery was well-done, the fantastic elements of the story and the world well-conceived, the backstory well-integrated and relatively easy to pick up once I got into the rhythm of the plot.

Scott and Barnett write with an attention to detail and a richness of atmosphere not often found in fantasy. The story moves along leisurely, over the course of a few days, and (forgive the clumsy metaphor) feels like dark chocolate syrup, rich, bittersweet, and luxurious. The Italian Renaissance atmosphere (to me, the city seems like Venice) and the stylized social structure is fascinating. The behind-the-scenes theatre action seems true-to-life, at least so far as my theatre experience has been.

It seems to me the society is matriarchal, as all the truly powerful positions were held by women, which is a refreshing change from most fantasy. And everyone seemed to have a mother, but I can't recall a mention of anyone's father.

And I rather like the idea of the "ghost-tide," in which our dead appear to us at a particular time of year. I wouldn't mind seeing my paternal grandparents again.

I'll be keeping my eye out for the previous two novels set in this world.

Fun read but less engaging then Point of Hopes
***1/2 stars to be moretruthful...

For those of you who've read Point of Hopes and are hoping for more romance between Philip and Nico you won't be totally disappointed. Unfortunately, the authors made the odd choice of setting Point of Dreams 6 months after the case of the missing children has been solved and Nico and Philip are already involved physically and are moving quickly toward 'leman' status. There is no sex of any kind in this novel so if you are looking to be titilated and nothing else, look elsewhere. You won't even be allowed to witness a passionate kiss between the lovers. The reader is treated to a few charming and cozy domestic scenes in which Philip's nurturing nature emerges. Perhaps the authors wanted them to be at the more comfortable stage for this story in which case I wish they had saved it for another book so we could have been the voyeurs of the early stages of their romance. Youknow, the ROMANTIC parts! In the first book we are left hanging with vague feelings of attraction the men feel toward each other but barely acknowledge to themselves beyond vague feelings. The artistic decision to bypass the magical early moments of mutual attraction is questionable.

The mystery wasn't too hard to figure out and it took me awhile to figure out the significance of the flowers and the Alphabet book. I imagine the flowers, which were raised from expensive and delicate corms were based on the violent,intrigue-filled history of tulips in Western culture, albeit with a different twist. In this novel, the flowers are believed to have magic properties when used in conjuction with the book in question. It is Rathe's job to discover if there is any validity to the magic or if it is just a hoax. I would have liked to have seen more of Chresta Aconin, the playwrite responsible for the furor over the Alphabet and the corms. He is obviously based on poet/playwrite Christopher Marlowe, or at least Scott's characterization of him in Armour of Light.

That said, I enjoyed the book for the characters and the setting. I do look forward to another "Point" novel as there is the makings of a very engaging series here.

A weak little sister to Point of Hopes
Point of Dreams is the plain little sister of the delightful fantasy/mystery Point of Hopes.Though the books share background, genre, and main characters, Dreams just doesn't shine the way Hopes did.

The plot of Dreams is fairly weak.It's hard to write SF/mystery that obeys all the rules of traditional mysteries, and though Barnett and Scott succeeded in Hopes, they fail here - the mystery is remarkably easy to solve and is transparently clear by the book's midpoint.

Also, the setting, which was easily the best part of Hopes, is in Dreams just a backdrop for a (relatively) normal theater production.Hopes established a fascinating world.Dreams inhabits a tiny portion of it.

The real problem, though, is the further development of the main characters.At the start of Dreams, Rathe and Eslingen are living together, having gone from unexpressed mutual interest to an ongoing, committed relationship between books.Scott and Barnett, in choosing not to show the early stages of the romance, are making an unusual, daring, and ultimately unsuccessful choice.They can't, or won't, write the relationship convincingly without the early bits.(I love Melissa Scott's writing, and I honestly believe she *could* do this right, but that only makes this book's failure worse.)

In Dreams, it's hard to believe that Rathe and Eslingen actually love each other.In the brief interludes they spend together, they show very little affection, let alone romantic love.The strongest emotion they seem to feel is mutual jealousy; that's not exactly proof of true love.And it doesn't help that the one passionate sequence in the book is between Rathe and an ex-lover.The intensity of that bit just underscores the absence of any such feeling between our heroes.

Despite the problems, though, the book is still a good one. Fantasy/mysteries are rare, as I said, and the book would be worth reading for that alone.Add in the marvelous setting and the light, fun writing, and Point of Dreams becomes more than worth the purchase price.I just hope that the third book in the series reveals more kinship with Hopes than with Dreams.

Perfect blend of fantasy, mystery, & historical
If you have not read "Point of Dreams" or its prequel, "Point of Hopes," give yourself a treat and do so. A perfect blend of mystery, fantasy, and historical. There's something here to delight just about any reader. ... Read more

Product Description
This is the first hardcover edition of the alternate history novel by Scott and Barnett. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

a near hit
Not being a fan of alternative history I admit I let this book lie on my bedside table long months before going beyond the blurb on the fourth cover: was the horrid bronze of the same cover contributing to such hesitation?

As many others it is set in England during the reign of Elizabeth the Great: the brightest and yet the most putrid age of British history, a time when history itself could have changed its course and did but unfortunately only to a certain extent, giving all the troubles to come for the British Isles a most sound reason.
It cannot be chance that so many authors choose this age for their alternative history novels: so many chances were there and so many of them were not exploited.

One could add cursorily that also many fantasy novels seemed to be set in an Elizabethan-like kingdom; different settings came to vogue only recently enough.

The authors (a third is quoted here on Amazon, but I see only two on the cover) seem to have done their research. Everyday life is detailed but they do not overindulge, except perhaps where clothes are concerned: a pity because every other real life reference is serviceable to plot and characterization, not a mean feat indeed.

The plot is interesting, sensible, well contrived. Characters are too but with less proficiency: Elizabeth is adorable (for a harridan) but everyone else is either shallow or unremarkable or inconsistent or obnoxious for some reason. Sidney is far to obsessed with his protestant faith to be likeable; Marlowe, goes without saying, could have been a great character and is, sometimes; James is not ill portrayed. All the others play choir when they should have been side kicks. Villains are non existent, the real ones being the main characters very personal demons.

Writing is serviceable but not distinguished: several passages are rich of humour or interesting in a way, but there are a constant shift of POV never signalled by a new paragraph; a constant shift of language register within the same utterance of the same character; some inconsistencies, not least the wrong use of pluralis maiestatis; some outright grammar mistakes.

Marlowe is a gay character (James too even if he seems devout to Queen Anne) so gay sex is mentioned but never graphically. From that POV the book can be considered safe for teens. Somehow I doubt less than very mature teen would be interested in the several moral and metaphysical digressions and conflicts.

A nice read, enjoyable and out of print: I recommend you buy it if you find it in some second hand bookstore.

Not Quite What I Expected, But Very Enjoyable
Well, to be honest, I'm not sure what I expected when I checked this out from the library, but it sounded interesting, so I thought I'd take a look.The story was fairly slow-going at first.In fact, I would say that it wasn't until about 1/2-way through the book that the plot actually got 'moving' so-to-speak.That's not to say that it wasn't interesting, it just seemed like there was lots of information that wasn't really connected to the plot.There were also times where I felt that certain scenes were written just to display the authors' historical knowledge, which isn't something I find particularly appealing in novels.

Also, although touted as a historical fantasy, this book is probably about 80% historical, 15% fantasy and 5% alternate reality.Honestly, if I had known nothing about Elizabethan England when I read this I would have been completely lost and, while reading, I still felt out of the loop occasionally.There were a lot of historical names and places, and it was difficult keeping them straight in my head, especially at the beginning.I can't really recommend this book to anyone who doesn't have at least a little previous knowledge of this time period, but I can say that it would be worth it to do some research for the sole purpose or reading it.

If you don't want to read about the time period, take a look at these two movies: Elizabeth w/ Cate Blanchett and Shakespeare in Love w/ Gwyneth Paltrow.They will give you a historical basis to work off of and both will give you most, if not all, of the names you need to know.

Like fantasy? Like Elizabethan England? This is for you!
This is a very well-structured, well-written book set in an alternate version of Queen Elizabeth I's reign. The settings are finely drawn, the characters are engaging, and the plot is gripping. I reread this book about once a year just for the pleasure of it, and I snapped up this hardcover when it came out. If you like alternate history and fantasy, and don't mind them mixed together, read this book. If you just want to read about people living in Elizabethan England, read this book. And if you just have to have any book with Shakespeare as a character... you, too, have some reading ahead of you.

I still like it!
I'm the cover illustrator, and I don't always like everything I read. Often, even if I liked a story the first time, I don't like it when I have to read it about the fifth time to check on the color of someone's shirt. Or I start noticing the lapses in historical detail or logic orcharacterization.

This book I still read for pleasure, even after Ifinished the cover.I read a lot of alternate history, and this surelyranks among the best.

Historical fantasy as it should be!
This is the best work of historical fantasy, and one of the best works ofhistorical fiction, which I have ever read.Although the universe (analternate history Elizabethan England where magic works and where Sydneyand Marlow survived the events which killed them in our time line) isfantasy, the approach is basic science fiction "what if",extrapolated on a magical rather than physcial technology.Rather thanoverlaying modern concepts of magic onto their characters and history, theauthors present magic as it was understood by the various classes of TudorEngland, and in so doing create a world that feels like reality and avoidthe one-dimensionality common to much contemporary fantasy.All this, anda great read, too. ... Read more

Product Description

The free flow of traffic to the Gamma Quadrant is vital to the recovery and survival of the planet Bajor and to Federation interests as well. When a mysterious cloaked ship begins raiding wormhole shipping, cleaning out holds and killing entire crews, Commander Benjamin Sisko of Deep Space Nine™ acts at once to stop the menace.

Commander Sisko has unexpected aid: the cloaked vessel has been striking Cardassian ships as well, and the Cardassian commander Gul Dukat intends to destroy the ship at all costs. Their unlikely alliance works well -- until two of Sisko's crewmen are captured by the raiders. Gul Dukat will stop at nothing to gain his victory; now Sisko must locate the predator ship, hold off the Cardassians long enough to rescue his people -- and prevent an interstellar war! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (7)

Adventure and action from the early days of DS9
PROUD HELIOS is an independent raider, a spacefaring pirate that has been attacking primarily Cardassian ships but lately has been branching out to other ships.Their activities are beginning to have an impact on the trade in the area, trade that the Bajorians desperately need to rebuild their ravaged economy.Sisko and his crew are soon involved in their search for this mysterious, aggravating vessel and find themselves in the unusual circumstance of having the same goal as the Cardassians.

This is the ninth novel in the DS9 series and is set in approximately season two.Not all the characterizations are as fully developed as they will be later on in the series nor are the relationships between the characters what they will become later on.For fans of the series, particularly those who enjoy the action of a space battle this one is an enjoyable read.For those fans who are more interested in the characters and in the various cultures represented on the station this one is a bit of a disappointment.The plot develops rather slowly and predictably with few surprises along the way.We learn nothing new about any of the characters and in fact fans of the series will be way ahead of the author.

Still PROUD HELIOS does not violate any 'facts' set down in the series -always a problem with tie-in novels.It is an fairly good addition to the series, just not an outstanding one.

Not Free SF Reader
A Deep Space Nine tie-in novel.The Federation hierarchy of Deep Space Nine must end up dealing with their opponents the Cardassians when it is discovered a pirate with cloaking technology is attacking ships from both their organisations.

It all does not go as planned, however, and a rescue needs to be made.

Solidly entertaining action story.
This book is a perfectly adequate action story, competently told and with slightly better than fair characterizations, but it is no more than that. If you enjoy DS9, read it for the pleasure of seeing your favorite characters in action, but don't expect any philosophical insights or epiphanies; they aren't there. Neither is the prose anything special; good, but nothing memorable.

DS9 #9 Proud Helios - An interesting premise!
"Proud Helios" represents only the first of two forays into the Star Trek universe for Melissa Scott which is kind of sad considering that her writing style was rather promising.I found "Proud Helios" to have a somewhat intriguing plot and the author carried a fairly decent pace throughout the novel."Proud Helios" is one of the earlier Star Trek Deep Space Nine novels so when picking up this novel keep that in mind because when this novel was written and published, the series was still in its second and third seasons and as any fan of the show knows, character and plot wise, it was very much in a state of flux at that time.

The cover art for "Proud Helios" is very typical for the time of its publishing, which doesn't really show much in imagination.

The premise:

Bajor depends quite heavily on the flow of traffic to the Gamma Quadrant through the wormhole and when that flow is suddenly interrupted by a mysterious ship using a cloaking device it is time for Commander Sisko to step in and stop it.This mysterious ship also starts attacking Cardassian ships as well, which brings about an unexpected alliance between Sisko and Gul Dukat.

As this novel is one of the earlier Deep Space Nine novels and I recommend all of them, I will also recommend this novel more as one of those "completists" type novels for Trek fiction readers.{ssintrepid}

Unfocused
I tried reading this book I really did but somehow I just never could get through it.I think the plot killed this book even though the author did his best to help it along.If you want a better DS9 book try reading "Antimatter" or "Fallen Heros" they are much better. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Not Free SF Reader
Having got out of the captive situation, Silence is in training to become the first female mage.You don't get something for nothing though, as in return for the training, Silence has to agree to take her mentor to Earth.No-one knows where this is, and only an old map may show them the way.

These leads to them being on the run, Star Wars style, and having to sneak into a seat of power for the Hegemony to get what they need.

Rescued the trilogy for me
This is the second of Melissa Scott's Five-Twelves of Heaven trilogy (Five-Twelves of Heaven, Silence in Solitude, and Empress of Earth) and a dandy book it is, too.Scott's description of space drives depending on"harmony" and Neo-Platonic imagery is as marvelous as ever, butit's the plot that really moves this book along.Little touches, likeSilence's relationship with her husbands, or the description of the life inthe Women's Palace, bring this story very much alive.Silence is a maga intraining, a woman in concealment, always trying to get out of the maze theevents in book 1 have led her in to. (slight spoiler) By the end of thebook, she and her husbands have come to a certain arrangement with theHegemony, which leads into the events in the last book. It's probably myfavorite book of the trilogy--I was working on my doctorate at the time ofreading it, so empathized heartily with some of Solitude's experiences! ... Read more

Product Description
Over seven years, Scott Peterman has braved the harsh winters of the far Northeast to document the icefishing houses in the lakes region of Maine and New Hampshire. Made with lightweight, windproof materials, their architecture is simple and unrefined, yet ingenious and graceful. With his typological approach and delicate eye, Peterman translates the shacks into art objects. Photographed in the rain, fog, and snow, the houses become mysterious and transcendent. PHOTOGRAPHER: Peterman, Scott ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A Zen Experience
This is a monograph of images intended for meditation. A quiet, repeated 'reading' of these images brings on a state of solitude and peaceful calm. Peterman succeeds in taking one to a sense of 'grace'. Susan Bank

The Sublime on Ice
Scott Peterman's photographs of ice fishing shacks are sublime images that reduce human enterprise and shelter to absolute basics, bringing a formal minimalism to bear on a vernacular building form. Background landscapes evaporate in the milky fog, making these simple little buildings seem to float. Very elegant, very spare, very fine. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Not Free SF Reader
Silence has finally wangled a deal with the Hegemony to use their gear to help them find the lost star roads to Earth.This comes at a price, though, as the credit for this will go to the leader of the Hegemony's family, so that one of his relatives can inherit his position, given that he has no children.

The roads are not lost by accident, there is an active group of planets trying to block access to Earth, setting up a final conflict.

... Read more

Product Description
Aliens, spaceships, life on Mars, other worlds, cloning, coming back from the future, new species - science fiction pervades our imaginations and increasingly ourselves. But how does an author write these stories so that they are believable and meaningful?

Customer Reviews (1)

Start thinking
Melissa Scott starts the book off with "A brief defense of science fiction, or why does someone who went to Harvard write this stuff anyway?" - and the book takes off. Even though the book is less than200 pages long she covers important points of world building, characters,research, ideas and provides suggestions for getting published. ... Read more