The Tomorrow Log [Paperback]

Sharon Lee (Author), Steve Miller (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 10, 2003

The #1 Science Fiction Trade Paperback in America, March 2003! -Locus Magazine Meanwhile, on another side of the universe... Freelance thief Gem ser'Edreth makes the calculated mistake of turning down a commission from the local crime boss. Gem's hidden past proves an unexpected liability as his plans to leave the planet go catastrophically awry. Suddenly embroiled in interplanetary politics, and a potential interstellar war, in possession of a Trident, a mysterious, ancient object of power and an unwanted cousin, Gem discovers that the Trident may hold the key to his salvation-or his undoing.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

Rather than returning to their popular Liaden universe, Lee and Miller offer a thoroughly absorbing take on the old theme of a hero undertaking a dangerous mission and learning more about himself than he ever expected. Gem, a freelance thief, refuses a commission from the local crime boss and plunges into a confusing and dangerous situation involving a generation ship, a legend, an ancient artifact, and the threat of war. When he also refuses a commission from the generation ship's potentates, he winds up fighting for his life and for the life of a hostage taken to ensure his compliance with the ship leaders' demand. If characterization here isn't as good as in their Liaden books (but then, most of those characters have become old friends to dedicated readers), Lee and Miller's new universe is adequately fleshed out, the action is well up to Lee and Miller's usual standard, and the whole story is full of original touches. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

"All the lovely language they seem to specialise in as well as marvelous characters and a good plot." -- Anne McCaffrey

"Sharon Lee and Steve Miller are a great writing team." -- A. C. Crispin, author of the StarBridge Series and The Han Solo Trilogy

"Sharon Lee and Steve Miller have imaginations matched only by the precision of their writing." -- Gerry Boyle, author of Cover Story --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 342 pages
• Publisher: Meisha Merlin Publishing, Inc.; 1st MM Publishing Ed edition (November 10, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1892065878
• ISBN-13: 978-1892065872
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,726,291 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fans of Miller & Lee will not be disappointed!, March 1, 2003

By 

R. Kelly Wagner "[e-mail]" (MD, United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Tomorrow Log (Paperback)

First off, let's say up front that this is space opera. There are grand themes of good vs. evil, spaceship battles, etc. If you are looking for the latest in cyberpunk, you are in the wrong department. Second, let's say that although this is a new series by Lee & Miller, it doesn't have any amazing new themes- no startling insights into the nature of the universe, none of the newest discoveries in physics; just their usual themes of the problems with insular cultures, how human(ish) hybrids tend to be more vigorous and smarter than those who are inbred, how people change if they are accidentally placed outside the culture they are grown up in, and of course, romance based on the admiration of the significant other's intelligence and battle skills (regardless of gender). Mind you, I am emphatically NOT belittling those themes- I like them, and I think this pair of authors handles those themes well. I just don't want to say merely "great new science fiction!" and then have disappointed fans of dark and bitter techno-futures email me, saying "Thou hast deceived me!" Come to think of it, if you're the sort of person who ever likes to throw "Thou hast" into conversation, you won't be emailing me, 'cause I'm preaching to the choir- you'll like this book. Unlike the Liaden Universe (r) series, the language in this book does not actually get that formal, but you can tell that it could. (Yes, yes, I know that "thou" is actually the familiar form, not the formal, but that's not how most people today know of it.)

What we have is well-written, fast-paced adventure with wonderfully drawn characters. Gem is not a Val Con clone, despite the fact that a casual reading of the short blurbs might make him sound that way. The plot includes, let's see, "haunted" objects to be stolen, an interplanetary Mob (not that dissimilar to the one in the Liaden books), a generation ship that's falling apart, recycled bodies and parts a la Harry Harrison, martial arts, mystical objects that turn out to be alien technology, the Witness (who certainly reminded me somehow of Nelirikk Explorer, I can't figure out why) who follows the object around, interlocking mysterious "prophecies" from several cultures... and lots of hints of the future of the series, as well, since the planet where the object is returned, turns out to have mysterious hints that a Gen ship may have landed there aeons ago.

There is one somewhat intriguing idea- not brand new, but I like the way they do it, and that's "spiders" - small electronic spy devices. More or less. What makes these interesting, besides their powers, is the number of associations they will call up for the fan with varied tastes: since Gem controls them from a wrist computer, sending spiders out from his cuffs, it somehow is reminiscent of Peter Parker shooting webs from his cuffs; the spiders write messages to help save a girl imprisoned, harking back to, of all things, _Charlotte's Web_; the wrist cuff reminded me of the one Dylan Hunt used in the Andromeda episode "Una Salus Victus" to trigger the explosions... I enjoy looking for connections between things like this, and if you do too, I'm sure you'll find even more than I did.

In short- if you're already a fan, you definitely want this; if you like space opera/culture conflict SF and haven't run across these authors before, you'll probably enjoy this; if all you are interested in is techno-war and angst, you might have to settle for the spiders to get your kicks.

21 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars old-school space opera, March 13, 2003

By 

Mike Garrison (Covington, WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Tomorrow Log (Paperback)

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.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Space Opera, April 29, 2003

By 

Aimee "reader extraordinaire" (Athens, GA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Tomorrow Log (Paperback)

As with all of Lee and Miller's work, this is a wonderful, enthralling read, filled with fascinating characters and situations. Deftly written, with rich, lyrical prose, this is a book to savor. It's also a book to read in a great, gallumphing hurry, a book to speed through to find out what happens next! This is how action and adventure should be done! It also has lots of intriguing science-fictional ideas thrown in for good measure -- Gem's spiders, for instance, and the Blue House, where you go to get a new body after your old one dies. What's not to love?

The only sour note -- the plot was left unresolved at the end of the book. This is clearly the set-up to a new series, and it introduces the characters and concepts of this new universe very well. Well enough that I wanted more! "The Tomorrow Log" does resolve all the main plot issues raised at the beginning of the novel, but there are many loose threads that still need to be tied off. This book doesn't end so much as stop. If you're the sort who can't stand an unfinished story, you might want to wait until the sequel comes out to start this book. However, if you don't mind being teased, then buy this book in a hurry! What a fantastic, fun novel!