Rating: 
Summary: Pleasant surprise- fun, readable, non-insulting Science Fict
Review: I picked this book up on a whim, I have always been a fan of the movie Silent Running and thought this had a similar premise (turns out it doesn't really, but that's ok).First off I have to say that the book is a little oddly constructed. I am tired of the one line author bios ("Lives in Maine with his wife and four cats...") but in the end papers of Tuf Voyaging we get Mr. Martin's CV for goodness sake. The man has a lot to be proud of, but really, come on. Let's keep the ego in check a little. Besides, the book speaks for itself. I understand it is "cobbled" together from stories published previously, but for myself, coming in unawares, the chapters work just fine. The opening chapter deals with how Tuf gets an amazing space ship, a bio-engineering "ark" (in one of the less subtle moments the ship is named, um, The Ark). Then we get introduced to an over populated planet in need of help (and desiring The Ark). Then a few more chapters, cleverly showing how Tuf uses the Ark in unexpected ways to both help people and satisfy his sense of morals. The books works because a) it is endlessly inventive, always the hallmark of good science fiction, and b) clever in execution. Each chapter lays out an interesting problem which Tuf then proceeds to, in his own droll way, solve. Not always the way people expect or want him too, but in a way which is interesting nonetheless. I do have to agree the novel ends some what poorly. Martin boxes himself into a corner and then offers a fairly mediocre (if not logical) way out, but the rest of the book more than makes up for it. Hey, it's a fun read, it makes you think (and imagine) and yet does not dumb things down or present silly ideas just for shock or novelty value. Highly recommended.
Rating:
Summary: Out of print crime!
Review: I think this is one of my favorite books! I don't read a lot of sci-fi but this one I could read over and over again. I just wish I had a copy. This is one of those books that seems like a crime for it to be out of print. I think just about anyone would enjoy reading this book.
Rating:
Summary: Why Didn't I Save My Copy?
Review: I'm shaking my head wishing I had taken better care of my Tuf Voyaging. This is science fiction the way I like it: an interesting character, unusual situations, clever writing. No techno-babble, no first of a 4-part "saga" or "cycle" or whatever, no pseudoscientific straining to make us believe the science. Good storytelling, episodic self-contained tales, a fun read. Only Zelazny's Lord of Light comes to my mind as a book I'd reread in parts again and again. Or would reread if I still had my copy.
Rating:
Summary: Tuf Voyaging: Timeless Commentary on Morality/Humanity
Review: I've read literally thousands of science fiction novels in the last 35 years (all the masters back to the very beginning), and Tuf Voyaging rates as one of the top five science fiction novels of all time. When it comes to a plot and ideas that that stick with you, it rates number one. I've waited in vain for a sequel or a film or a television dramatization. Tuf Voyaging tells the story of a highly moral man gifted with virtually absolute power. I read it every few years and continue to flip flop about the rightness and wrongness of his final acts. Was Tuf corrupted, or was he indeed uncorruptible? In the end, was he a man, or was he a god? It's that good. It doesn't let you go. The book touches on issues humanity faces everyday, issues that are becoming increasingly more urgent: populations outstripping food sources, species extinctions, short term political thinking, cruelty, abuses of power, etc. I keep two, very much read and battered copies of the book, one for myself and one to lend to others. This is the book that sent me in search of everything else George R. R. Martin has ever written. While his writing is always excellent, Tuf Voyaging is his greatest masterpiece. The book creates a variety of emotions in the reader, amusement (it has wonderfully humorous sections), anticipation, dread, exhilaration, and uncertainty. Once again, it's unforgettable and has been responsible for single handedly hooking several young people I know on science fiction. If you haven't read it, track it down and do so. If you have read it, read it again and see if your opinions have changed. If you have any influence on the author, demand the character return in another book!
Rating: 
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: Like many people who have recently read "Tuf Voyaging" for the first time, I was introduced to George R. R. Martin through the outstanding "Song of Ice and Fire" series. "Tuf", of course, has a very different setting. In the far future, humanity lives on scattered planets long after the collapse of the Empire. One relic survives: a 'Seedship', containing all the ancient data and technology needed to clone extinct species or create new ones. This ship falls into the hands of a trader named Haviland Tuf, who promptly sets off on a series of adventures, using the ship's capabilities to address ecological and societal problems on various planets. Although this is certainly early Martin, I would argue that we can definitely see the same qualities here that we love in his current set of fantasy triumphs. Characters stand out for their strong personalities and unshakable convictions. Tuf, portrayed as intelligent and self-confident but still holding a sense of humor, embodies the same strength and likeability that we find in Tyrion Lannister and other unforgettable creations. As in the "Song", minor characters are also well-developed in the space of just a few lines, creating genuine emotional intensity as they vie against Tuf. I should mention also that the humor is strong. Things that are supposed to be funny actually are funny. The best story of the bunch is "The Plague Star", the opening chapter in which we see how Tuf acquires his ship and grow introduced to his tough but patient personality. This one is a minor masterpiece that pitches an entire crew into an every-man-for-himself battle where nobody can be trusted. (Petyr Baelish and Varys would feel right at home.) As with his later fantasy novels, Martin toys with the reader. He sets up situations where you think you can predict what will happen, but keeps some tricks up his sleeve until the last minute. Slightly less enchanting, but still definitely worth reading, are three stories where Tuf helps a crowded planet deal with overpopulation. I didn't find these tales excessively preachy, but there was certainly less action there than what I've come to expect from Martin.
Rating:
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: Like many people who have recently read "Tuf Voyaging" for the first time, I was introduced to George R. R. Martin through the outstanding "Song of Ice and Fire" series. "Tuf", of course, has a very different setting. In the far future, humanity lives on scattered planets long after the collapse of the Empire. One relic survives: a 'Seedship', containing all the ancient data and technology needed to clone extinct species or create new ones. This ship falls into the hands of a trader named Haviland Tuf, who promptly sets off on a series of adventures, using the ship's capabilities to address ecological and societal problems on various planets. Although this is certainly early Martin, I would argue that we can definitely see the same qualities here that we love in his current set of fantasy triumphs. Characters stand out for their strong personalities and unshakable convictions. Tuf, portrayed as intelligent and self-confident but still holding a sense of humor, embodies the same strength and likeability that we find in Tyrion Lannister and other unforgettable creations. As in the "Song", minor characters are also well-developed in the space of just a few lines, creating genuine emotional intensity as they vie against Tuf. I should mention also that the humor is strong. Things that are supposed to be funny actually are funny. The best story of the bunch is "The Plague Star", the opening chapter in which we see how Tuf acquires his ship and grow introduced to his tough but patient personality. This one is a minor masterpiece that pitches an entire crew into an every-man-for-himself battle where nobody can be trusted. (Petyr Baelish and Varys would feel right at home.) As with his later fantasy novels, Martin toys with the reader. He sets up situations where you think you can predict what will happen, but keeps some tricks up his sleeve until the last minute. Slightly less enchanting, but still definitely worth reading, are three stories where Tuf helps a crowded planet deal with overpopulation. I didn't find these tales excessively preachy, but there was certainly less action there than what I've come to expect from Martin.
Rating:
Summary: Good Stuff
Review: Like many people who have recently read "Tuf Voyaging" for the first time, I was introduced to George R. R. Martin through the outstanding "Song of Ice and Fire" series. "Tuf", of course, has a very different setting. In the far future, humanity lives on scattered planets long after the collapse of the Empire. One relic survives: a 'Seedship', containing all the ancient data and technology needed to clone extinct species or create new ones. This ship falls into the hands of a trader named Haviland Tuf, who promptly sets off on a series of adventures, using the ship's capabilities to address ecological and societal problems on various planets. Although this is certainly early Martin, I would argue that we can definitely see the same qualities here that we love in his current set of fantasy triumphs. Characters stand out for their strong personalities and unshakable convictions. Tuf, portrayed as intelligent and self-confident but still holding a sense of humor, embodies the same strength and likeability that we find in Tyrion Lannister and other unforgettable creations. As in the "Song", minor characters are also well-developed in the space of just a few lines, creating genuine emotional intensity as they vie against Tuf. I should mention also that the humor is strong. Things that are supposed to be funny actually are funny. The best story of the bunch is "The Plague Star", the opening chapter in which we see how Tuf acquires his ship and grow introduced to his tough but patient personality. This one is a minor masterpiece that pitches an entire crew into an every-man-for-himself battle where nobody can be trusted. (Petyr Baelish and Varys would feel right at home.) As with his later fantasy novels, Martin toys with the reader. He sets up situations where you think you can predict what will happen, but keeps some tricks up his sleeve until the last minute. Slightly less enchanting, but still definitely worth reading, are three stories where Tuf helps a crowded planet deal with overpopulation. I didn't find these tales excessively preachy, but there was certainly less action there than what I've come to expect from Martin.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous
Review: One of the best hard-sf books written in the last 10 years. Not a novel in the pure sense of the word rather a series of linked short stories ( I believe originally published in various SF mags) about the travels of one Haviland Tuf. Tuf a very large, very bald cat-loving trader becomes, through the misfortune of others, a genetic engineer. The short stories detail both his sudden rise to this peculiar position, and his life afterwards. Recommended for any fan of hard-sf, cats, and DNA.
Rating:
Summary: Great book!
Review: One of the best SF books that I've ever run across. Makes it depressing that Martin has spent so much time as an editor instead of an author, and that the books that he has written are so hard to find. Even though it was more of a collection of interrelated short stories, it was very well put together. The book lead me to read his Clash of Kings book (which would received 5 stars from me), and I find both of them to be very well written and good.
Rating:
Summary: Space Opera for the Thinking Person
Review: So you liked A Game of Thrones, didn't you, and thought you'd check out what else George Martin has written since you can't wait for the next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire? Well, you may be surprised to learn that George Martin has been writing terrific, award-winning science-fiction and fantasy for years now. Though "Tuf Voyaging" has an entirely different setting than "A Game of Thrones" and its sequels, I couldn't imagine any fan of the genre being disappointed. So if you can track down a copy of this...gem, grab it. In the first of the stories in the volume, which takes place thousands of years into the future, Haviland Tuf is an interstellar merchant who joins a group of adventurers on a perilous mission to recover the Ark, a millenia-old "seed-ship" engineered through lost Old-Earth technology to enable its owner to clone a vast array of plant and animal species and deploy them to either revitalize or destroy entire planets and ecosystems. In the stories that follow, the reader joins Tuf on a series of picaresque adventures through the galaxy as he encounters duplicitous rogues, jaded politicians, false messiahs and others, many of whom attempt to seize the Ark from Tuf and bend it toward their own malign purposes. To them all, at first, Tuf appears to be easy prey: he is an obese, eccentric, albeit startlingly intelligent recluse, and is the sole occupant of the Ark, save for a litter of cats. However, Tuf, with his cunning, foresight and acumen in drawing upon the powerful resources of the Ark, is not to be underestimated. Tuf, in his benign, but sometimes coldly analytical way, cures blights, stems alien invasions and transforms worlds. As the stories unfold, he and the reader are forced to consider many of the most pressing social, environmental and moral issues faced by any society and attempt to work out a solution. The stories here are delightful. Martin is truly a gifted writer and the prose sings from the pages. You will be delighted by the clever turns of the plot and of Tuf's many, often scathing, quips. Perhaps you'll wonder, like me, if in Tuf, an introverted creative genius, we are not catching a glimpse of George Martin himself.
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