Five-Twelfths of Heaven

Rating:
Summary: Good mix of sci-fi & fantasy with subtle poltical commentary
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: One of Scott's best
Review: Melissa Scott has played with a lot of conventional genres and SF story elements, but her best work pushes some of the boundaries. In Five-Twelfths of Heaven, she creates an unusual - and successful - cross between fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing her tradition of dealing with gender roles and society.

The universe of Five-Twelfths is a fairly standard one in some ways. The Hegemon, a widening empire of many planets, is a tightly-controlled, autocratic society that places extreme limits on women; women must be veiled at all times, aren't allowed to own property or take legal actions, etc. However, the fantasy element comes in with the elements of star travel, which are much like magic, and especially the magi, who are able to use spells to control both Purgatory (the celestial, partially supermaterial state attainable by material creatures) and Hell (the submaterial state). The blending of the typical SF and unusual 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-restricted profession of pilot. Caught up in circumstances beyond her control, she makes an unusual alliance, finds herself pitted against the Hegemony, and discovers that she has powers in excess of anything anyone expected.

All in all, a satisfying read and much more interesting than is usual in science 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 Silence in Solitude and The Empress of Earth - that should definitely be read in order.)

Rating:
Summary: One of Scott's best
Review: Melissa Scott has played with a lot of conventional genres and SF story elements, but her best work pushes some of the boundaries. In Five-Twelfths of Heaven, she creates an unusual - and successful - cross between fantasy and science fiction, as well as continuing her tradition of dealing with gender roles and society.

The universe of Five-Twelfths is a fairly standard one in some ways. The Hegemon, a widening empire of many planets, is a tightly-controlled, autocratic society that places extreme limits on women; women must be veiled at all times, aren't allowed to own property or take legal actions, etc. However, the fantasy element comes in with the elements of star travel, which are much like magic, and especially the magi, who are able to use spells to control both Purgatory (the celestial, partially supermaterial state attainable by material creatures) and Hell (the submaterial state). The blending of the typical SF and unusual 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-restricted profession of pilot. Caught up in circumstances beyond her control, she makes an unusual alliance, finds herself pitted against the Hegemony, and discovers that she has powers in excess of anything anyone expected.

All in all, a satisfying read and much more interesting than is usual in science 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 Silence in Solitude and The Empress of Earth - that should definitely be read in order.)

Rating:
Summary: Five-Twelfths of Heaven
Review: 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 interstellar travel happens by means of music. I enjoyed this trilogy because I identify strongly with Melissa Scott's writing style, but the trilogy has major flaws in its characterization- for example between books one and two the threesome goes from having no physical relationship to having a perfectly comfortable, taken-for-granted one.

Rating:
Summary: Five-Twelfths of Heaven
Review: 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 interstellar travel happens by means of music. I enjoyed this trilogy because I identify strongly with Melissa Scott's writing style, but the trilogy has major flaws in its characterization- for example between books one and two the threesome goes from having no physical relationship to having a perfectly comfortable, taken-for-granted one.