Rating: 
Summary: you will fall in love with spiders!
Review: I liked the characters in this book better than the liaden crew, more human, less caught up in a certain mind set. Certainly more action, and you will fall in love with #11 and # 15.This is what a good story should be, action, passion, and dreaming of the stars. Bravo to the authors, and a good read should not be missed. Theresa may
Rating: 
Summary: Lee and Miller Do It Again!!
Review: I'm always a bit wary when authors of a known series branch out into a new universe, but The Tomorrow Log did not disappoint. It's creatively and wonderfully written, with fully fleshed characters, fascinating personal relationships, and action-packed adventure to boot. The only disappointment is that it's only one book and we'll have to wait for the further adventures of Gem and Corbinye. If you love the Liaden series, you'll love The Tomorrow Log. And if you've never read any of the Liaden series .... what are you waiting for?!
Rating:
Summary: excellent, as is everything by these authors
Review: I've read everything I could get my hands on by Steve Miller and Sharon Lee ever since I got my first copy of Agent of Change. It was great to read something with all new characters by them.In all their books, they have better characters and development of details and story line than any other authors I've read. I also find myself either laughing out loud or crying as I read more than any other author, with the possible exception of Lois McMaster Bujold. Highly recommended, and I can't wait for them to write more.
Rating:
Summary: old-school space opera
Review: It's impossible to write about a Lee and Miller space opera without comparing it to the Liaden series. But this book is not part of that series, and stands on its own (so far). [If you haven't read the Liaden books, I recommend starting with the compilation Partners In Necessity.] What the book is: a space opera -- sort of an Indiana Jones style adventure. By that I mean that we have a male hero (extraordinarily capable but with some flaws), a female sidekick who could easily also be the hero, some evil mobsters, daring breakins, swashbuckling fight scenes, sneaky assasination fight scenes, a romantic relationship based more on battles survived together and mutual respect than instant physical attraction, and some mystical artifacts and prophecies. What it is not: Liaden. Liaden novels are more like James Clavell merged with Lois Bujold, with cutthroat business and social maneuvering intermixed with military action (and with a healthy dose of telepathic wizardry). Liaden novels are more setup, strategy, and verbal banter. Tomorrow Log is more action, with our heroes bouncing from one scrape to the next and the stakes increasing every time. In summary, this book has much of the style of the Liaden stories, but with a rather different content. It is not as good as the whole Liaden series (a couple hundred pages versus over a thousand), but it probably is just as good as any of those books considered one-on-one.
Rating:
Summary: Edger & Sheather would definitely read this (and want more!)
Review: Just pretend that it's not Lee & Miller ... if you can prevent "Liaden Universe Prejudice", you'll likely enjoy this new series very much! And even if your internal blinders aren't that good, you'll probably get over your pining for more of Clan Korval ... at least for the duration of the book. It didn't occur to me while reading, but later I thought that "Tomorrow Log" had some flavors of "Dune" and "Silent Running." -- Probably not even conscious influences for the authors, but there might be some SciFi legacy. The main thing that I noticed, though, was that this book seemed to have a different developmental pattern than the Liaden books. With those, you have many strands of characters/cultures/histories which are nicely established in their milieus, and then are skillfully woven together to form a "standalone" fabric/sculpture within each book ... which is then embellished/incorporated/developed more completely over the series. Each book was ... satisfying ... in itself, and nicely closed off (with the added thrill of knowing even more was to be done with this already lovely "ephemeral art.") In the "Tomorrow Log", you also have many established and interesting characters/histories, but I came away with the feeling that this was almost a prequel ... at the end I had a handful of very interesting strands which were finally prepared enough to weave together. Sort of like having had to wash/card/comb/spin the wool, and now at the end of the book, I held five or six fascinating strands between the fingers of my hands, with the braiding NOW ready to begin. A very enjoyable process, but without the nice feeling of (intermediate) completion for me as with each of the Liaden books. Nonetheless, I still felt the thrill of knowing (make that hoping, hoping, hoping) that there's more to come. Edger and Sheather would definitely read this (and want more!)
Rating:
Summary: Edger & Sheather would definitely read this (and want more!)
Review: Just pretend that it's not Lee & Miller ... if you can prevent "Liaden Universe Prejudice", you'll likely enjoy this new series very much! And even if your internal blinders aren't that good, you'll probably get over your pining for more of Clan Korval ... at least for the duration of the book. It didn't occur to me while reading, but later I thought that "Tomorrow Log" had some flavors of "Dune" and "Silent Running." -- Probably not even conscious influences for the authors, but there might be some SciFi legacy. The main thing that I noticed, though, was that this book seemed to have a different developmental pattern than the Liaden books. With those, you have many strands of characters/cultures/histories which are nicely established in their milieus, and then are skillfully woven together to form a "standalone" fabric/sculpture within each book ... which is then embellished/incorporated/developed more completely over the series. Each book was ... satisfying ... in itself, and nicely closed off (with the added thrill of knowing even more was to be done with this already lovely "ephemeral art.") In the "Tomorrow Log", you also have many established and interesting characters/histories, but I came away with the feeling that this was almost a prequel ... at the end I had a handful of very interesting strands which were finally prepared enough to weave together. Sort of like having had to wash/card/comb/spin the wool, and now at the end of the book, I held five or six fascinating strands between the fingers of my hands, with the braiding NOW ready to begin. A very enjoyable process, but without the nice feeling of (intermediate) completion for me as with each of the Liaden books. Nonetheless, I still felt the thrill of knowing (make that hoping, hoping, hoping) that there's more to come. Edger and Sheather would definitely read this (and want more!)
Rating:
Summary: excellent, as is everything by these authors
Review: Sold by his uncle at the age of eight, Gem ser'Edreth is now a thief, and a very good one too. His skills lead him to being blackmailed by a local organised crime boss into stealing what appears to be a religious artefact. However, Gem doesn't like being used, and likes it even less when they hurt his cousin in order to get a hold on him. Gem is about to teach the local crime boss a lesson she'll never forget and will propel him into a destiny he never would have guessed, one that has been outlined in the prophecies of two different worlds. The authors of this book are better known for their Liaden series, and in fact this book bears some similarities to that series. The main characters all place a premium on courtesy in their society and a quite formal and in that sense you feel you are reading and off-shoot of the Liaden universe. I liked Gem and the other man characters of this book and read it quite quickly. However my main complaint is that this book is only the beginning on Gem's story. It's like a taster and the ending is very abrupt and in many ways inconclusive. There is a lot in the story that still needs to be filled out and its obviously going to take a few more books to do it and I was left with the feeling at the end of The Tomorrow Log that I'd only read half to three quarters of the story, and felt vaguely cheated. I want to know when the story is going to be concluded!
Rating:
Summary: The Start of the Story of Gem
Review: Sold by his uncle at the age of eight, Gem ser'Edreth is now a thief, and a very good one too. His skills lead him to being blackmailed by a local organised crime boss into stealing what appears to be a religious artefact. However, Gem doesn't like being used, and likes it even less when they hurt his cousin in order to get a hold on him. Gem is about to teach the local crime boss a lesson she'll never forget and will propel him into a destiny he never would have guessed, one that has been outlined in the prophecies of two different worlds. The authors of this book are better known for their Liaden series, and in fact this book bears some similarities to that series. The main characters all place a premium on courtesy in their society and a quite formal and in that sense you feel you are reading and off-shoot of the Liaden universe. I liked Gem and the other man characters of this book and read it quite quickly. However my main complaint is that this book is only the beginning on Gem's story. It's like a taster and the ending is very abrupt and in many ways inconclusive. There is a lot in the story that still needs to be filled out and its obviously going to take a few more books to do it and I was left with the feeling at the end of The Tomorrow Log that I'd only read half to three quarters of the story, and felt vaguely cheated. I want to know when the story is going to be concluded!
Rating: 
Summary: Not up to Standard
Review: This book was well below the expectations I had formed based on reading the Liaden Universe series. The action and events seemed contrived and poorly woven. Charecters were not well developed or engaging. There were whole paragraphs that just seemed to be repeated more than once. I would not care to read the future books in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Not up to Standard
Review: This book was well below the expectations I had formed based on reading the Liaden Universe series. The action and events seemed contrived and poorly woven. Charecters were not well developed or engaging. There were whole paragraphs that just seemed to be repeated more than once. I would not care to read the future books in this series.
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