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Everyone knows about Game of Thrones and that it was written by George R.R. Martin but not everyone knows that his other books are also great. I learned this when I read Fevre Dream which I did a review on and loved. It is about a vampire that travels with a human on a riverboat in the American South. It has great characters and a ton of twists and turns. After reading Fevre Dream I was excited to read other books by George R.R. Martin; enter Tuf Voyaging.

Tuf Voyaging is a stand-alone sci-fi novel that is 440 pages long. It follows the main character Haviland Tuf as he travels from planet to planet in an effort to benevolently utilize his newly acquired skills and technology of ecological engineering. He starts off as a savvy trader who is hired to transport a crew to a mysterious point in space that holds a priceless treasure. We soon discover that treasure is a 1000-year-old derelict Ecological Engineering Corps (EEC) ship that was developed by old Earth scientists as a way to engage in biological warfare. The technological capabilities of this ship have long been lost to humanity until Tuf and the crew find it. I won’t spoil how he ends up captaining the ship.

Haviland Tuf is a shrewd and humorless man who loves cats and is incapable of small talk. He is highly intelligent and a master at understanding systems which makes him the perfect steward of a ship designed to utilize biological organisms from the size of bacteria to the size of tremendous monsters to potentially alter the ecology of entire planets. He first finds himself employed in this endeavor when his ownership of the EEC ship is threatened by a planet that wants to use the ship to solve their planet’s overpopulation issues. It seems that no matter where he goes and no matter how miraculous his offerings are, the people around him are constantly threatening him, incapable of helping themselves, and always underestimating his ability to come out on top. As he employs his godlike powers across the universe, he is in a constant battle to remain benevolent and outwit those who would try to take this power away from him or use this power for personal profit.

There are two aspects of George R.R. Martin’s writing that make him unique and compelling. The first is his ability to create uniquely identifiable characters. Haviland Tuf’s dialogue defines him and his idiosyncrasies are a joy to uncover. He is a one-of-a-kind character who always seems one step ahead and almost never has to resort to brutish force. He is calm and well-spoken and I kind of love him as a character. Every character in the George R.R. Martin pantheon seems to have their own style. They each have their own unique speech patterns, mannerisms, and personalities.

The second aspect of George R.R. Martin’s writings that I love is his ability to stray from predictable and stereotypical plotlines. He has the ability to think up circumstances, reactions, and outcomes that are unique to the tale at hand. They are rarely predictable and offer a level of creativity that is not always present in stories I encounter. For example, Haviland Tuf finds himself helping a planet with very little land and that primarily relies on the sea for food but in recent times their fishing vessels have been attacked by huge octopus-like monsters and they can no longer sustain themselves. They force Tuf into a hasty solution that ends up backfiring on them. Tuf could just leave them to their fate but ends up learning the true nature of the problem and works to save the planet once and for all. The solution he finds is completely unexpected and is a satisfying surprise.

Tuf Voyaging is an excellent sci-fi novel that employs scientific concepts and clever problem-solving to propel its main character through tumultuous terrain. It is on par with my other favorite sci-fi book Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir and that is saying a lot. Project Hail Mary is amazing and I highly recommend that to you as well. If you like sci-fi, Tuf Voyaging by George R.R. Martin is a must-read!

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Book Review: Fevre Dream by George R.R. Martin
https://joesnotesblog.com/blog/book-review-fevre-dream-by-george-rr-martin

Book Review: Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir
https://joesnotesblog.com/blog/book-review-project-hail-mary-by-andy-weir