Rating: 
Summary: Genetic engineering to the rescue of ecology, Zen-style
Review: "The man is an independent trader, of sorts. Not a very successful
one.... He has a small, battered ship with a long, ridiculous name...
There is no crew to worry about, only the man himself. And he -- well,
he's a little ridiculous, too. He'll give us no trouble... He keeps
cats, I hear... If he so much as threatens to report us, the hireling
and I can dispose of him and feed him to his cats".
Thus does Kaj Nevis, adventurer ordinary in a distant future, describe
Haviland Tuf to his motley gang, whereby you have guessed that they are
up to no good. But Haviland Tuf, skipper, owner, crew and sole
shareholder of the "Cornucopia of Excellent Goods at Low Prices",
nevertheless ends up the master of the prize coveted by Kaj Nevis: the
last ship of the long-forgotten Genetic Corps for late Galactic Empire,
a 30-mile long leviathan, with working weaponry and tens of thousands of
operational cloning vats ready to spew biological death in any form from
deadly alien bacteria to a herd of Terran Tyrannosaurus Rex. How Tuf,
the gentle giant with a fondness for cats, onion pies and ale, and with
a paunch to match, now self-taught genetic engineer, has the gigantic
ship repaired and roams the galaxy to set aright half a dozen mand-made
impending ecological disasters, that is the rest of the tale. Barely
ever lifting a finger, and never his voice, soft-spoken long-suffering
Tuf, with a kitten or two peering out of his ample
pockets, teaches a stinging lesson to the bloodthirsty arena masters of
Norn, unmasks the false messiah of Charity, and brings peace between the
sea-dwelling aborigines of Namor and the human settlers who had mistaken
them for tasty tidbits. But it takes him two attempts to solve the
runaway population explosion of S'uthlam which threatens the peace with
its neighbours (Lebensraum! Lebensraum!).
The characters come to life, splendidly. No two are alike, each is
strongly typed, even the most minor. No two have the same mannerisms,
the same speech, the same personality. Yet they are never caricatures.
They are all dreadfully ordinary in their unusual ways, from Kaj Nevis
the psychopathic wannabe master-of-the-universe to Celine Waan, the
lawsuit-happy loud-mouthed gross blockhead academic, we've all met their
kinds. The worlds visited by Tuf are equally imaginative, credible, and
diverse. It all adds up to just under 400 pages of sheer delight. The
hardback is out of print, but Victor Gollancz of London did bring out a
paperback in 1988 (ISBN 0-575-04266-4). Failing that, hunt around for
old issues of Analog: January, February, October, November, mid-December
1985, October 1981, and February 1978, where most of Tuf's voyages were
published.
Rating:
Summary: Uniquely delightful collection
Review: A delightful collection of short stories, relating the travels and adventures of the oversized self-proclaimed space-faring "Ecological Engineer" Haviland Tuf. These stories, for the most part, were orignally written in the mid-1980's, and this collection itself was originally published in 1986.
I found the Haviland Tuf main character to be so uniquely different from any other SciFi character I've ever encountered, that it was delightfully refreshing.
Virtually all of the seven stories themselves are individually captivating; however, my favorite is the first from the collection, Plague Star. Plague Star is by far the longest individual story of the seven, weighing in at over 100 pages (none of the others are much more than 50 pages).
Another unique factor regarding this book are the illustrations; which I also found to be another refreshing difference versus the hundreds of other SciFi books I've read. I'd say that there are over 40 illustrations, and in all but maybe two or three cases, I found them to add to the enjoyment of the stories.
Another kudo goes to the jacket art for the book - extremely well done, and oddly, nothing like the illustrations found inside.
Unfortunately, it seems that the author's other works are mostly fantasy-related, and that he produced nothing else quite like these stories - so I suppose I'm going to have to be content with this limited sample of uniquely enjoyable SciFi.
Rating: 
Summary: clever but obviously not his best
Review: Again people giving reviews of this book because they like The Song of Ice and Fire. I can't imagine that they really found this to be 5 star material. Would GGRM even give himself 5 stars for this.
The character of Tuf is cleverly written and the situations and his solutions to them are witty and humurous, but not great.
Rating:
Summary: Superb book!
Review: Everytime I run across this book, I reread it. Tuf's ark is infinitely interesting; Tuf's amorality makes him pleasingly unpredictable; Martin has always been one of the best little-known writers in SF. You pretty much have to look for this book where remainders are sold, but it's worth it.
Rating:
Summary: Captivating
Review: First I'd like to mention. I bought this book with hesitation as it said it was unbounded. In fact, it is the trade paperback edition...so all was fine! I just finished reading Fevre Dream by George Martin, and he continues to have an uncanny ability to write any genre. After reading the first chapter - Plauge Star, the reader is already set in an immense world of discovery and adventure. Any reader of this book should not be displeased!
Rating:
Summary: Out of This World!!!
Review: Haviland Tuf. Lover of Cats, maker of snide remarks and healer of worlds... Tuf has the largest and most powerful ship [so far] in the universe. It is an ecological seed ship that can replicate genetic material from aliens/monsters from anywhere imaginable...and in some cases creatures beyond imagination...
Some say that absolute power corrupts absolutely... Not so with Tuf.
He could level any galaxy and bring any empire to its knees...but instead chooses to make a modest living helping out worlds in trouble... (and yes sometimes he even likes to play God and render moral judgments) - but hey we have to forgive him for that...we all need a little fun from time to time...
This book is a series of short stories that were written by GRRM over about a 10 year span, yet they seamlessly flow together... We learn the origins of the seedship in the first story "The Plague Star" which is quite possibly the best of the bunch (receiving 11/10) while the others only get 10/10... Tuf has to save a world from overpopulation (twice), save another world from sea monsters like no one can imagine, solve a worlds cruel practice of gambling on a wicked sporting event, and protect a world from a biblical prophet who has a unique ability to create plagues...Fortunately he has the help of his massive starship, his massive brain and a few cats...
An amazing read...When I look up at the stars now I wonder when Tuf will come and solve the problems of this world...for he is long overdue...
While we wait - I suggest you read this masterpiece to be reminded that one person can make a difference...
Thank you Mr. Martin - and since Tuf never gets the recognition he deserves - Thank you Mr. Haviland.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible stories, incredibly written
Review: I first came across these stories when reading "The Plague Star" in an issue of my father's Analog magazine. Ever since, I've avidly consumed everything I could find by Martin. This collection of stories is such a pleasure to read, I can't do it justice here. If they book has any weakness, it is that the stories were written over a fairly large span of time (ten years, or more - I can't remember). Because of this, the quality of the written varies, growing better as Martin developed his skills.The stories work on so many levels, and Tuf is such a singular character, the stories remain in my mind almost daily even ten years after I've read them. The fact that these stories live in the 'ghetto' of science fiction shouldn't scare away those who don't typically read it. Martin's grasp of humor, horror and the human condition is unmatched. I've often compared him to Mark Twain, in that his writing is so simple and universally appealing, yet contains so much more moving beneath the surface. It's a wonder to me that with Martin's forays into screenwriting that he's never decided to pitch "Plague Star". It works almost perfectly as a feature film, with just the right length, rhythm and imagery. Perhaps the one thing holding him back is the lack of the standard 'human' element in all these stories - Tuf is profoundly asexual, and indeed, seems to have almost no typical heartwarming hooks that Hollywood demands be in virtually every film it rolls out. There are no love interests, no (traditional) paternal emotions. There's no boy meets girl here, just boy meets destiny. Yet I think that it could appeal to a wide variety of viewers nonetheless. The book after "Plague Star" has a fairly strong 'population control' message that might not appeal to the religious right, but I have a feeling the message would go right over their heads - history has shown us that people aren't to quick to pick up these subtleties. Accessible and rewarding. If you can find this gem, don't let it slip through your grasp.
Rating:
Summary: Incredible stories, incredibly written
Review: I first came across these stories when reading "The Plague Star" in an issue of my father's Analog magazine. Ever since, I've avidly consumed everything I could find by Martin. This collection of stories is such a pleasure to read, I can't do it justice here. If they book has any weakness, it is that the stories were written over a fairly large span of time (ten years, or more - I can't remember). Because of this, the quality of the written varies, growing better as Martin developed his skills. The stories work on so many levels, and Tuf is such a singular character, the stories remain in my mind almost daily even ten years after I've read them. The fact that these stories live in the 'ghetto' of science fiction shouldn't scare away those who don't typically read it. Martin's grasp of humor, horror and the human condition is unmatched. I've often compared him to Mark Twain, in that his writing is so simple and universally appealing, yet contains so much more moving beneath the surface. It's a wonder to me that with Martin's forays into screenwriting that he's never decided to pitch "Plague Star". It works almost perfectly as a feature film, with just the right length, rhythm and imagery. Perhaps the one thing holding him back is the lack of the standard 'human' element in all these stories - Tuf is profoundly asexual, and indeed, seems to have almost no typical heartwarming hooks that Hollywood demands be in virtually every film it rolls out. There are no love interests, no (traditional) paternal emotions. There's no boy meets girl here, just boy meets destiny. Yet I think that it could appeal to a wide variety of viewers nonetheless. The book after "Plague Star" has a fairly strong 'population control' message that might not appeal to the religious right, but I have a feeling the message would go right over their heads - history has shown us that people aren't to quick to pick up these subtleties. Accessible and rewarding. If you can find this gem, don't let it slip through your grasp.
Rating:
Summary: Great Read!
Review: I first read this book in 8th grade, and it changed my outlook on a lot of things. Haviland Tuf is really Plato's philosopher king, inaccessible and yet all knowing. Challenged constantly by ordinary men and women with inflated views of themselves and thier universe, Tuf's reactions to problems lends an insight into our own media-based, over-sexualized violent world. His solutions in the face of man's progressive collective ignorance shines a light on our own shortcomings as a society, and we come away screaming for more. GET THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Great book that I read time after time
Review: I first read this book on holiday in 1989, I put it away on the bookshelf and take it down every couple of years and read it again. All I really wonder is what happened to the second promised Haviland Tuf book, it mentions George R R martin is working onit on the jacket of my book. Well worth a read Steve
|
