I had never heard of this book or series of short stories that Martin wrote back in the early 80s.

There is a good reason for that.

The first story, where Tuf and a group of mercenaries discover and argue over an enormous, extremely powerful derelict starship, is quite frankly dreadful. It is truly awful. If I hadn't been stuck on a train, I would never have bothered to finish it. The plot is rather predictable, even when it attempts to be clever. Every single character is a one-dimensional caricature. If Martin was trying to make you rejoice in their deaths, he succeeds. I actually wished his protagonist had joined them. There is the corrupt, foolish, gluttonous character. There is the proud, foolish retired soldier who believes he still has what it takes. There is the mustache-twirling mercenary, the backstabbing mercenary, and the cyborg who...is just a cyborg? There is no point in wasting time on characterizing a cyborg. And then there is Tuf, who speaks with the flowery self-deprecation that you would expect from a bad stereotype of an Arabic merchant. The dialogue is atrocious. The action is mediocre, but every time a character opened his or her mouth, I wanted that character to die. Fortunately, most of them do.

After that, we have a series of episodes where Tuf enters orbit, the natives have a problem, and he solves the problem in a way that the natives get what they deserve but not what they want. These are better than the first story, at least. But they are very much in an older style of science fiction where the protagonist calmly and rationally explains to the hysterical people why they are stupid and wrong. The hysterical people learn a Very Important Lesson and are upset about it because they are not as calm and logical as the protagonist, who has no character arc, is never wrong, and does not need to learn anything except that Other People Are Hysterical. It should be noted that the said protagonist is white, male, very tall, vegetarian, atheist, cultured, and likes cats. Nearly all of the other people are female, non-white, and/or religious. Some of the plots are somewhat clever, but usually in a rather predictable way. They are competent enough, but just...meh.

Basically, if you loved Game of Thrones and are looking for more...don't bother with this book. In fact, just don't bother with this book at all.

**Title: The Importance of Reading**

Reading is an essential activity that offers numerous benefits. It allows us to expand our knowledge, improve our vocabulary, and enhance our cognitive abilities.

When we read, we are exposed to different ideas, cultures, and perspectives, which helps us to become more open-minded and understanding.

Moreover, reading can be a great source of entertainment and relaxation. It can transport us to different worlds and allow us to escape from the stresses of daily life.

In addition, reading is crucial for academic and professional success. It helps us to develop critical thinking skills, improve our writing abilities, and gain a deeper understanding of various subjects.

Therefore, it is important to make reading a regular part of our lives. We can start by setting aside some time each day to read, choosing books that interest us, and gradually increasing the complexity of what we read.

By doing so, we can enjoy the many benefits of reading and become more well-rounded individuals.

If you think that your Uncle Martin is only a specialist in detailed descriptions of molestations, rapes of little girls, and objectively quite funny incest, you would almost be right. But when the bloodthirstiness of George has drunk enough blood and other body fluids and lies drunk in the corner of his writer's studio, the evil cousin of Uncle Cole writes many other, no less strange things. What would you say about ecological interplanetary adventure fantasy, with a main hero who is quite tall and very sympathetic, a fat, pale humanoid who hates to be touched but loves cats and values them far more than any close human or other biological species; he is endowed with an intellect that exceeds almost every overrated genius you have ever heard of and shows such an insanely good sense of humor that his jokes are understood years after they are uttered. Obviously, it is a question for my kind, so let me tell you a little more about cousin Tuff.

Tuff is not a particularly successful intergalactic trader, traveling without a crew in the company of two strange cat-like beings. He is hired by an evil gang of obvious thieves and killers, with information about a mysterious ship - a mass exterminator, containing genetic information about millions of animal and plant specimens from thousands of years ago, which can be cloned and used to achieve ecological balance or even for creation, as well as the destruction of entire planets. In general, you can accept it as a divine Noah's ark that has lost its crew in the standard way - it is attacked by various alcoholic species, but in the end, everyone is doomed in their lives under the influence of the good old bubonic plague. After another proof of the baseness of humanity, in the end, the good Tuff clones the brutally killed cat and becomes the sole ruler of a kingdom of endless possibilities, which he plans to use only for good. Well, sometimes he is forced to deviate slightly from his principles, but the cousin always recovers with finesse in every situation and saves people from themselves, even if the latter have other plans for themselves.

Let the word "ecological" not repel you - no one is bombarding you with teachings, thoughts, and long monologues dedicated to ecological balance, purity, and responsible behavior. Everything is presented in an extremely funny and adventurous way, which leads you to planets with overpopulation and limited resources; to places where the thirst for blood sweeps away the future of an entire race; to the corners of the universe that rewrite the rules for determining an intelligent and dominant biological species. We humans are always guests in countless worlds that we usually mess up with aplomb, and we need someone with a sound mind and cat-like cosmic sense like Tuff, who will step into the role of a god who has long abdicated from the problems of the universe and will lead things in a slightly more catastrophic direction.

Even the non-supporters of science fiction will fall in love with the adventures of the not very nice, but in the end always good giant Tuff, and will unconsciously think about our own path of destruction, slightly hinted at in the beginning of the story as a true prediction of our fate. It is not overwhelming, boring, or too technological, but funny in a charming and smiling way, even if the notes of bitterness do not completely dissolve in the positive endings of the stories. Martin is a master, no matter what he tells you, and by now you should have convinced yourself of this.

Maloniai was astonishing. It can be read simply as a fantasy, but one can also try to guess what the author took from reality to turn it into fantasy. I read it in the second way. It was smart.

4.4*. The sharpness of the cats - was cooled. My dear cat, if you read this sentence, I'm sorry, you - are amazing! :) And I still don't understand why in the book from time to time it is always necessary to mention that Tafas wore a green hat with such a symbol on its front, meaning this and that (always the same old hat). But in this way it is very good, considering that I don't read SF and such at all.

Overall, this story had its unique charm. The combination of the fantastical elements and the little details that made me wonder about their origin in reality was quite engaging. The mention of the cat and its relationship to the story added a touch of warmth. And although I'm not a big fan of SF, this book managed to hold my attention and make me appreciate its qualities. It makes me curious to see what other works by this author might have in store.