This is a wonderful work, if we don't count some purely stylistic tricks (as long as I haven't misused this term xD). And yet I will repeat - it is relevant!

The story presented here offers a unique perspective and engages the reader from the very beginning. The author's use of language and descriptive techniques brings the scenes to life, making it easy for the reader to imagine themselves within the story.

Despite the few stylistic elements that might be considered a bit different, they do not detract from the overall quality of the work. In fact, they add an interesting layer of depth and complexity.

Overall, this is a great read that I would highly recommend to anyone looking for an engaging and thought-provoking story.

For more information and to read the full story, please visit the following link: http://knigoqdec.blogspot.com/2018/06...

For any die-hard George R. R. Martin fan, you should already have a fair idea of what to anticipate. He is one of those remarkable authors whose writing style is instantly recognizable, regardless of the genre of book he undertakes. His unique style makes the books a breeze to read, captivating your interest from the very beginning until the end, constantly leaving you on the edge of your seat, curious about what will happen next.

Whilst this particular book does not follow the trajectory of his most renowned series (A Song of Ice and Fire), it is still an outstanding read for any of his loyal fans or anyone who simply has a passion for a great sci-fi book.

The book chronicles the life of Tuf over a span of many years, starting from the moment he comes into possession of the last functioning seedship. Tuf is an incredibly endearing character with a calm and placid nature that is truly a breath of fresh air in the world of books. Moreover, his love for cats is rather comical, as it seems to constantly land him in some sort of trouble. You might expect to grow tired of this aspect throughout the book, but surprisingly, it never gets old.

Throughout the pages, there are numerous hilarious moments and engaging characters. Each section of the book unfolds another story in the years when Tuf is traversing space and coming to the aid of those in need. Each planet presents different problems, providing us with a broad perspective of Tuf's adventures. One thing I must mention is that the population addicted to procreation wasn't as humorous as I had initially imagined (it was actually quite different from what I had in mind), but their recurring difficulties definitely keep you entertained from start to finish.

As I've already stated, it's a wonderful book that any Martin enthusiast or sci-fi lover should definitely pick up and read!

In the end, there is a very good science fiction book.

It simply cannot be "compared" with the many award-winning books in recent years.

This science fiction book stands out with its unique plot, vivid characters, and imaginative settings.

The story takes readers on a thrilling journey through a future world full of mysteries and surprises.

The author's writing style is engaging and captivating, making it difficult for readers to put the book down.

Unlike some of the other award-winning books that may focus more on literary techniques or social commentary, this science fiction book is all about entertainment and adventure.

It offers readers a chance to escape from reality and explore a new and exciting world.

Whether you are a die-hard science fiction fan or just looking for a good read, this book is definitely worth checking out.

You won't be disappointed!

A strange book for sure,

but also an incredibly addictive read with a unique story.

The plot unfolds in a way that keeps you on the edge of your seat, constantly eager to turn the next page.

What makes it even more special is the abundance of cats within its pages.

The author has masterfully incorporated these feline friends into the narrative, adding an extra layer of charm and warmth.

Whether they are playing a crucial role in the story or simply adding a touch of cuteness, the cats are definitely a big plus.

Overall, this book is a must-read for anyone who enjoys a good mystery with a side of feline fun.

It will transport you to a world full of surprises and keep you entertained from start to finish.

This is an extremely odd George RR Martin book that I randomly picked up.

It is almost serialized into five parts, yet it holds together remarkably well as a single book.

The story is about a very peculiar trader who essentially obtains possession of the most powerful ship in the galaxy.

It explores how he utilizes this ship to either assist people or, on the contrary, hinder them.

Beneath the surface of these stories, there are incredibly powerful environmental and animal rights messages.

It is sort of amazing, dark, and has a remarkable sense of humor.

Definitely, it is a really enjoyable read. I must check if he has written any more books featuring this character because I can envision a great deal more adventures when one is in charge of what is basically a God-Vessel!

Overall, this book offers a unique and engaging experience that combines elements of science fiction, morality, and humor in a truly captivating way.

Attention all sci-fi loving cat lovers!

You are in for a treat! Martin has truly outdone himself. First, he managed to pen my absolute favourite vampire book, Fevre Dream. And now, he has added a remarkable sci-fi piece to my favourites list as well.

This latest work presents a wonderful and thought-provoking concept. It takes readers on a journey through a world that is both familiar and yet entirely new. The ideas explored are not only engaging but also make you stop and think about the nature of science, technology, and our place in the universe.

Martin's writing is as captivating as ever, drawing you in from the very first page and keeping you hooked until the very end. If you are a fan of sci-fi or just looking for a great read, this book is definitely one to check out. You won't be disappointed!

The present book was a pending read on my list because I wanted to try the more classic Martin, prior to his famous epic fantasy saga and see his dexterity in science fiction, a genre I hold so dear and which is one of the most difficult to narrate.

My'medium' surprise was that this novel, while a correct read, does not measure up nor do justice to a genre that requires many requisites. For this reason, and for me it has two major 'buts' (which I will relate later).

But let's get to the plot and other aspects to comment on...

The book consists of seven stories plus an introduction, in which we will see the life, travels and changes of Haviland Tuf (all of it spiced up by the behavior of his cats on board, increasingly numerous, and the pleasures of the good table, things that Martin clearly enjoys), who goes from being a pitiful merchant with a ship smaller than his name: the cornucopia of goods at excellent prices, to a successful Ecological Engineer, a specialist in biological warfare... although he really never stops being the former; the only thing is that through the acquisition of the Ark (a military seeder specialized in biological warfare, the only one left from the ancient empire) he can extort at will those who hire him.

Now I will relate each little story a bit:

1/ The Plague Star:

A group of several specialists hire Tuf to take them to H’ro Brana and thus study a plague that spreads through a star of that planet, when in reality what they pretend is to take possession of a certain ship for military and lucrative purposes. From then on, conflicts, clashes and divisions by sides will begin for the obtaining of the coveted ship and consequent source of power.

Straddling sci-fi and horror. A story of settling scores, of good and bad, about justice and the inevitable human corruption. It has many influences from Alien and Star Wars.

2/ The Breads and the Fishes:

Puerto de S’uthlam. The master, Tolly Mune, is informed that Tuf's Ark intends to dock there to repair and improve the facilities and certain aspects of his ship. Once again, people will want the control of the Ark for their own purposes. In the end, Tuf will manage to reach an agreement with the council of the planet that rules the port to solve their problem in exchange for letting him leave and improving his ship... equally, he will run danger.

A story with political and legislative, social overtones, spiced up with charming feline descriptions.

3/ Guardians:

Tuf, after visiting a world's fair, hears that in Nandor they are having difficulties with a certain plague of sea monsters. That is why he sets course to offer his services and free them from these.

A story of military metaphorical parallels but endowed with an existential background of biology.

4/ A Second Helping:

Tuf returns to S’Uthlam to pay his debt. For the second time, he will have to solve the future problems of hunger through corrections and modifications in the biological field... or perhaps to an extreme that unleashes consequences of drastic action.

A story with significant hints of political and religious content.

5/ A Beast for Norn:

A master of animals from the twelve most important houses of Lyronico, which compete with each other, hires Tuf to make him better monsters than the ones he currently has and thus measure himself on equal terms with the other houses, which are better situated than his.

An excuse for the author to let loose with the invention of a bestiary, very much in the line of his famous saga, I presume. So, a more fantastic story than a sci-fi one.

6/ Call Me Moses:

Tuf and his cat Dax suffer an attack. After paying the bail of his attacker and through the law that operates in K’theddion, he must serve him as a servant.

A story about the consequences that genetic cloning entails. Something strange, all said.

7/ Manna from Heaven:

When Tuf decides to return for the third time to S’uthlam to settle what is left of his debt, he finds that it is a restricted area, since there is currently a war in the republic... for which reason, once again he will be involved in a conflict and will have to take serious measures in the matter.

The final story of the book, which closes the cycle of s’uthlam, with the culmination of the religious message vs humanity that the author intends to transmit to us.

FIRST BIG 'BUT' OF THE WORK, ITS CONTENT WITHIN THE GENRE:

It seems that because it is by George R.R. Martin, it has to be rated as notable or above. Well, it is still a quite correct work but it fails somewhat when it comes to science fiction. Although it is readable, it is not very dynamic (in part because of the excessive dialogues that make the stories too long for what they explain) and it has not interested me too much, nor has it motivated its subsequent development. This is something essential and that characterizes science fiction, which is a source, moreover, of imaginative and/or addictive stories, because of its action, knowledge and imagination. A serious failure on Martin's part, it does not measure up to this genre.

Tuf, is presented to us as a kind of initially simple and plain-speaking (rather direct and cutting) type, incorruptible (false), honest (too much and when it doesn't touch), solitary and a lover of cats (and decidedly not a lover of people)...

ANOTHER OF THE BIG 'BUTS', THE MAIN CHARACTER:

Tuf is omnipresent in the work, the other characters are mere secondary ones 'completely' opposed to the principles of the protagonist. All are greedy, ambitious, corrupt, quarrelsome... Tuf here is the HERO OF THE STORY, the good one who is being tricked and is'seen as being'OBLIGED' to take action... and incidentally to his benefit. A type who, although endowed with a certain grace and irony, comes across as pedantic, with an almost unlimited discourse, sometimes bordering on sophism. He is above everything and everyone... he seems to be the possessor of absolute truth and to be an immaculate being (a complete lie), and the worst of all is that he pretends to say what he pleases to every person in front of their noses and at all times, with an intolerable lack of tact... you can't go through the world like that, unless you want to end up like Socrates (it's a matter of philosophy, yes, he is a free thinker and a verbal castigator..xd).

Summary: I didn't like it.

So, Tuf Voyaging is a novel that PASSES BUT LACKS THE QUALITIES OF CLASSIC SCIENCE FICTION, WHICH EVOKES LITTLE EMPATHY AND INTEREST IN GENERAL TERMS. In addition, A NOVEL THAT HAS GOTTEN OLD DESPITE ITS YOUTH (it is not yet 30 years old) AND WITH MANY OLD INFLUENCES, INEVITABLE, ON THE OTHER HAND.

For the unconditional fans of the author, those who have read little of the genre and lovers of science fiction without much ambition (strange, considering the characters in the book). My final grade: 2.5.

✭✭✭½
The original article may have been concise, but let's expand it to a more detailed and engaging piece.

We can start by adding more background information or context to the topic. This will help the reader better understand the significance or relevance of what is being discussed.

Next, we can elaborate on the main points or ideas in the article. Use more specific examples, facts, or figures to support and clarify the arguments.

We can also add some personal insights or opinions to make the article more unique and engaging. However, make sure to support these with evidence or logical reasoning.

Finally, we can conclude the article by summarizing the main points and perhaps leaving the reader with a thought-provoking question or a call to action.

By following these steps, we can expand the original article to 300 words and create a more comprehensive and interesting piece of writing.

Menudo coñazo. It was really a pain in the neck. I couldn't wait to finish it. Every moment felt like an eternity. I was so frustrated and just wanted to get rid of this annoying thing. I kept looking at the clock, hoping that time would pass faster. The task seemed never-ending, and it was driving me crazy. But I knew I had to persevere and get it done. There was no other choice. I took a deep breath and tried to focus on the work at hand, determined to finish it as soon as possible.

Il viaggio di Tuf is an anthology of seven short stories by George R.R. Martin, but it could also be defined as a "serial" novel.

This work consists of the following stories:

1- The Plague Star (1985)
2- Loaves and Fishes (1985)
3- Guardians (1981)
4- Second Helpings (1985)
5- A Beast for Norn (1986)
6- Call Him Moses (1978)
7- Manna fron Heaven (1985)

I think most of us know Martin for creating the fantasy saga of A Song of Ice and Fire, but very few know that many years before, he had already written science fiction stories, such as those in this anthology. And it was a really unexpected and welcome discovery, in my humble opinion.

In the first story, The Plague Star, we meet the anti-hero Haviland Tuf, an obese and vegetarian space merchant and traveler, a lover of cats, who is hired by a team and he will find himself - after a series of botched events, including the awakening of a Tyrannosaurus Rex - in possession of the Ark, a gigantic (30 km long) spaceship and becomes an ecological engineer. In this Ark, he is a sort of divinity since he has at his disposal countless cloning cells that contain almost all living species (both animals and plants) and with which he can come to the aid of those worlds that require his intervention, obviously charging a hefty fee for his services. The other stories will indeed tell us about his space travels and his interventions that will have unpredictable consequences (I can't add anything else, unfortunately, so as not to spoil the stories for you).

What is disturbing about Tuf is that he takes possession of and therefore has in his hands a spaceship, the Ark, which is capable of destroying an entire planet in a very short time. A real weapon of mass destruction that can unleash a biological war but fortunately he is honest, kind, we would say "a good man", a nice guy but not stupid, very shrewd. The symbolism that the author makes of him is clear, who, in each story, almost always deals with only one theme: that of power. In the wrong hands, power can destroy even a just and honest person. This seems to be the moral: power corrupts! But another theme is surely the reflection that Martin poses to us on the effects of man's actions on the environment (such as the habits of the S’uthlamesi who love to reproduce uncontrollably). The genius of the author is to deal with these very important themes with his particular almost sacrilegious humor (not by chance, some of the most famous scenes of the Bible are parodied, such as the story of Moses or that of the Manna).

Too bad for the short story, episodic form, which makes the story fragmented and not very engaging, and unfortunately it repeats itself in some stories.

Préstamo.

Haviland Tuf is the central character of these episodes. He is a very tall, obese, bald, white, methodical, logical, and pragmatic intergalactic trader. At the same time, he is a very honest man, an animal lover, a vegetarian, and he hates physical contact. Tuf loves cats, food, drink, and games. All of the above makes him a strange and fascinating character.

This book narrates the adventures of this character on board a ship called The Ark, the only ship of its kind that remains from the old Engineering Corps of Old Earth. Originally a weapon used to decimate planets, and in which the secrets of a forgotten science and the genetic samples collected a thousand years ago are still preserved, and which can be used to unite genes, clone, and create any of the species found there in the shortest possible time. This vast library contains everything from the most unimaginable horrors to the most useful species one can imagine, and therefore it is a weapon coveted by many beings and governments.

During the seven stories that are told to us, we will discover the way in which Tuf came into possession of The Ark, the way in which he manages to make the repairs that a ship that has been abandoned for a thousand years and is in full operation needs, and of course the evolution of Tuf, who decides to stop being a trader and become an ecological engineer, traveling the universe to lend a hand to those who need it or to make changes on the planets (which would be very interesting to discuss).

There was no way I wasn't going to like this. It's about a cat-loving-vegetarian-misanthrope with a dim view of humanity. (Who knew there were that many of us around?) He unexpectedly gains a ship called the Ark that allows him to shape the ecology of whole planets, thus making him savior or scourge (and sometimes both at the same time) to the people who ask him for help. Haviland Tuf is the name. Ecological engineering is the game.

Tuf Voyaging is composed of seven loosely related vignettes starring Tuf and his cats as they take on various jobs 'round the galaxy. There's the vexing problem of the S'uthlamese, caught in a neverending population boom yet heading inexorably toward starvation. The plight of the planet Namor, besieged by a sudden onslaught of sea monsters. A false prophet called Moses recreating each of the biblical plagues on Charity. Tuf solves each of these handily and profitably, though usually not (okay, never) in ways that fully satisfy his clients.

Tuf is my kind of anti-hero. Our basic outlooks on life and humans-as-meh-biological-organisms sync up remarkably well. He demonstrably loves his cats more than the entire species of humans. He likes mushrooms and tidy solutions but not being touched. He is intensely (and I think justifiably) cynical about humans, our ability to make rational decisions on a collective basis even with disaster threatening, see reality when it is right in front of our faces, or make choices unclouded by our biological imperatives though we attempt to justify them with pleasant-sounding ideology.

For example, in the dialogue between Tuf and Tolly Mune, Tuf's cynicism shines through. He suspects that the S'uthlamese, who claim life is sacred, may ultimately decide that some lives are more sacred than others. This shows his deep distrust of human nature and our tendency to rationalize actions that may have harmful consequences.

This is my first George R. R. Martin book. I tried to get through A Game of Thrones fifteen years ago but ended up watching Finding Nemo instead. However, I'm impressed with Martin's understanding of population dynamics and unintended consequences of ecological meddling in Tuf Voyaging. He also gets cats right, which is a plus for me.

The humor in the book is exceedingly dry and often dark, but I find it quite entertaining. For instance, the scene where Tuf is too preoccupied with cloning his dead cat to notice the T-rex behind him had me chuckling. Overall, Tuf Voyaging is not for everyone, especially those with a more sentimental view of humanity. But for those who share Tuf's cynicism, it offers provocative ideas and interesting portrayals.