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Roads of Heaven #2
Silence in Solitude
Book by Scott, Melissa
313 pages, Paperback
First published November 15, 1986
8 people are currently reading
135 people want to read
About the author
Melissa Scott
100 books447 followersScott studied history at Harvard College and Brandeis University, and earned her PhD. in comparative history. She published her first novel in 1984, and has since written some two dozen science fiction and fantasy works, including three co-authored with her partner, Lisa A. Barnett.
Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.
She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.
In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.
Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
Scott's work is known for the elaborate and well-constructed settings. While many of her protagonists are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgendered, this is perfectly integrated into the rest of the story and is rarely a major focus of the story. Shadow Man, alone among Scott's works, focuses explicitly on issues of sexuality and gender.
She won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer in Science Fiction in 1986, and has won several Lambda Literary Awards.
In addition to writing, Scott also teaches writing, offering classes via her website and publishing a writing guide.
Scott lived with her partner, author Lisa A. Barnett, in Portsmouth, New Hampshire for 27 years, until the latter's death of breast cancer on May 2, 2006.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
November 1, 2024
This book: she’s in a marriage of convenience with TWO husbands…………
Me: ooh will she have a romance with the satrap’s daughter? 😜😜😜
You know I hadn’t thought about the phrase “compulsory heterosexuality” in a while but I read something that referenced it recently - and this series is such a great example. There’s this sense that if Silence is going to have a functional longterm relationship with Baithasar and Chase Mago, it must be sexual. But the story itself is (so far) really uncommitted to actually depicting that. On page, Silence and Baithasar and Chase Mago seem to have totally platonic, almost sibling-like relationships with each other… and then every once in a while the narrative will think “oh wait, it’s gotta be straight” and throw in a moment where Silence thinks about staying in bed a little bit longer dot dot dot. (Meanwhile the three of them seem to have been platonically sleeping in the same bed for the last six months or more? Like - what?) It’s really fascinating tbh, the way the narrative is half-heartedly trying to tell one story but the actual actions and thoughts and reactions of the characters are telling a totally different one.
Anyway - this was just like the first one, packed full of twists and turns. Scott isn’t afraid to just keep having shit happen, and I really love that. I was speed reading through this by the last chapter because I just had to see what would happen next. (And the main question from the first book didn’t even come CLOSE to being answered in this one - but I’m not mad at it!)
One thing I like a lot about this series is that it lets Silence be in a bad mood - she’s snapping at people, which she knows is bad but she’s under a lot of stress and she’s having a hard time not reacting irrationally etc. - I appreciate the realism! I would not be at my best in her situation either! I appreciate that Scott wasn’t trying to write the kind of heroine some authors do where, like, even her negative traits are badass or sympathetic. They’re not! And this book, we get for the first time some “not like other girls” reactions from Silence, not coincidentally because this is the first time she’s spent any length of time on-page with multiple other female characters. This tendency totally made sense based on Silence’s character and previous life experience, and I appreciated that we got that, but that we also got her being called out on it, and realizing/feeling guilty about it, multiple times.
Also, I did appreciate that this book ends with Silence and co. fully overthrowing the evil patriarchal Hegemon… only to end up just installing a new patriarchal Hegemon, who’s marginally less evil pretty much only in the sense that he admits he owes them a personal favor. And he’ll totally pay them back. Not now, because he can’t be seen acknowledging he owes a favor to a woman, but, uh…. one day, for sure. LOL.
Me: ooh will she have a romance with the satrap’s daughter? 😜😜😜
You know I hadn’t thought about the phrase “compulsory heterosexuality” in a while but I read something that referenced it recently - and this series is such a great example. There’s this sense that if Silence is going to have a functional longterm relationship with Baithasar and Chase Mago, it must be sexual. But the story itself is (so far) really uncommitted to actually depicting that. On page, Silence and Baithasar and Chase Mago seem to have totally platonic, almost sibling-like relationships with each other… and then every once in a while the narrative will think “oh wait, it’s gotta be straight” and throw in a moment where Silence thinks about staying in bed a little bit longer dot dot dot. (Meanwhile the three of them seem to have been platonically sleeping in the same bed for the last six months or more? Like - what?) It’s really fascinating tbh, the way the narrative is half-heartedly trying to tell one story but the actual actions and thoughts and reactions of the characters are telling a totally different one.
Anyway - this was just like the first one, packed full of twists and turns. Scott isn’t afraid to just keep having shit happen, and I really love that. I was speed reading through this by the last chapter because I just had to see what would happen next. (And the main question from the first book didn’t even come CLOSE to being answered in this one - but I’m not mad at it!)
One thing I like a lot about this series is that it lets Silence be in a bad mood - she’s snapping at people, which she knows is bad but she’s under a lot of stress and she’s having a hard time not reacting irrationally etc. - I appreciate the realism! I would not be at my best in her situation either! I appreciate that Scott wasn’t trying to write the kind of heroine some authors do where, like, even her negative traits are badass or sympathetic. They’re not! And this book, we get for the first time some “not like other girls” reactions from Silence, not coincidentally because this is the first time she’s spent any length of time on-page with multiple other female characters. This tendency totally made sense based on Silence’s character and previous life experience, and I appreciated that we got that, but that we also got her being called out on it, and realizing/feeling guilty about it, multiple times.
Also, I did appreciate that this book ends with Silence and co. fully overthrowing the evil patriarchal Hegemon… only to end up just installing a new patriarchal Hegemon, who’s marginally less evil pretty much only in the sense that he admits he owes them a personal favor. And he’ll totally pay them back. Not now, because he can’t be seen acknowledging he owes a favor to a woman, but, uh…. one day, for sure. LOL.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 26, 2018
I enjoyed this book even more than the first book in the trilogy. It manages to overcome the typical middle-book tedium by focusing on a brand new adventure that, while instrumental in the larger story arc, also stands well by itself. I thought that this worked well as a vehicle to advance the world-building and characterization without slowing the plot.
I continue to really like Silence as a main character, and think that this book did a great job of giving her further depth as an interesting, flawed, and relatable character. I also love that this book was so heavily focused on women and their lives within this oppressive society. My absolute favorite part was when another women asks Silence, at the time going by a pseudonym, "You don’t like women very much, do you, ‘Jamilla’?" The moment was a beautiful interrogation of both the character's attitudes and the attitudes that are so common across SFF, even in books featuring a "strong female character" as the lead.
A couple minor complaints: I do wish Silence's husbands were more deeply characterized - at the moment, Denis seems rather thinly sketched and it's hard for me to get a feel for Julie's personality at all. However, I do enjoy the view of their relationship from Silence's perspective, and the clear affection between all of them.
Probably my biggest issue with the book was that there was way too much exposition reviewing the events of the last book at the beginning of this one, which was especially tedious as I read this immediately after the first. Second,
Finally, I want to reflect a bit on what I sometimes felt was overuse of the phrase "the pilot" to describe Silence. This sometimes felt unclear to me, but I think at least part of this is because I would default to thinking that this referred to a male character if there was even potentially another pilot in the scene, which I think is very revealing of our social gender bias around certain occupations. In any case, I don't know whether pointing that out was the author's intention in choosing that phrasing, but it was certainly effective for me, as well as being very effective in conveying the character's view of herself.
I continue to really like Silence as a main character, and think that this book did a great job of giving her further depth as an interesting, flawed, and relatable character. I also love that this book was so heavily focused on women and their lives within this oppressive society. My absolute favorite part was when another women asks Silence, at the time going by a pseudonym, "You don’t like women very much, do you, ‘Jamilla’?" The moment was a beautiful interrogation of both the character's attitudes and the attitudes that are so common across SFF, even in books featuring a "strong female character" as the lead.
A couple minor complaints: I do wish Silence's husbands were more deeply characterized - at the moment, Denis seems rather thinly sketched and it's hard for me to get a feel for Julie's personality at all. However, I do enjoy the view of their relationship from Silence's perspective, and the clear affection between all of them.
Probably my biggest issue with the book was that there was way too much exposition reviewing the events of the last book at the beginning of this one, which was especially tedious as I read this immediately after the first. Second,
Finally, I want to reflect a bit on what I sometimes felt was overuse of the phrase "the pilot" to describe Silence. This sometimes felt unclear to me, but I think at least part of this is because I would default to thinking that this referred to a male character if there was even potentially another pilot in the scene, which I think is very revealing of our social gender bias around certain occupations. In any case, I don't know whether pointing that out was the author's intention in choosing that phrasing, but it was certainly effective for me, as well as being very effective in conveying the character's view of herself.
January 20, 2021
Like most second books in a triology it was a stopgap, but a good stopgap at that.
After training for months on Solitudo, Silence and her crew attempt the Earth road once more. However even with Isambard drawing on her strength, they are unable to break through the Rose Worlders' siege engines.
The Hegemon is still determind to catch the crew after they broke free of his controlling geas and will hunt them from system to system.
However, there's a way to avoid the siege engines and escape the Hegemon's rath at the same time.
Forced to go undercover as the very thing she hates, a female member of the Ten Thousand, Silence must rescue a satrap's daughter from the Women's Palace. Her anomaly as a female magus means she is the only one who can get in with a chance of getting back out.
If she succeeds, her crew recieve an item that can help them reach Earth, and the satrap of Inarime can attack the Hegemon's fleet without fear of his daughters safty, hopefully overthrowing him.
If she fails, it won't just be her life as forfeit.
After training for months on Solitudo, Silence and her crew attempt the Earth road once more. However even with Isambard drawing on her strength, they are unable to break through the Rose Worlders' siege engines.
The Hegemon is still determind to catch the crew after they broke free of his controlling geas and will hunt them from system to system.
However, there's a way to avoid the siege engines and escape the Hegemon's rath at the same time.
Forced to go undercover as the very thing she hates, a female member of the Ten Thousand, Silence must rescue a satrap's daughter from the Women's Palace. Her anomaly as a female magus means she is the only one who can get in with a chance of getting back out.
If she succeeds, her crew recieve an item that can help them reach Earth, and the satrap of Inarime can attack the Hegemon's fleet without fear of his daughters safty, hopefully overthrowing him.
If she fails, it won't just be her life as forfeit.
May 21, 2021
2021 bk 100. Silence is back and this time she is stretching her wings as a magus. The 3 space travelers and Magus Isambard are taking the time for Silence to attend the school on the world of the magus where she discovers another possible way to Earth, but plans are interrupted when the Hegemon puts out a warrant for her seizure. After a hastily assembled performance review, Silence is declared a practitioner, no longer an apprentice. Fleeing, the four make a deal with the Satrap of Inamarine, free his daughter and wait for him to seize power. That will involve Silence entering the world of women at the Women's Palace, a royal fortress. Will her powers be detected and her mother's efforts to make her eligible to marry up work? Excellent read with the right amount of suspense and soul-searching.
November 28, 2020
This starts real, real slow. I was frustrated with all the summarization, and also with a sort of short-handing of the character moments, that felt more like telling me "they love each other" than showing it.
It picks up once our heroine is inside a harem, which I think is what the author was more interested in telling, and she at least has the "not like all the other girls!" heroine acknowledge that maybe she should have more female friends.
The ending was better than the beginning. I was 100% convinced I'd not look for the third book for 3/4 of this but after the ending, well, if it fell in my path I'd pick it up.
It picks up once our heroine is inside a harem, which I think is what the author was more interested in telling, and she at least has the "not like all the other girls!" heroine acknowledge that maybe she should have more female friends.
The ending was better than the beginning. I was 100% convinced I'd not look for the third book for 3/4 of this but after the ending, well, if it fell in my path I'd pick it up.
Read
February 9, 2014There's a character with my name! That never happens! it really distracted me at first. Like the previous book, this is a slow build up to a big pay-off, although this one felt somewhat less dramatic than the first.
December 10, 2021
A fairly fun romp. There was less visualization of traveling through Purgatory, which is a sadface.
These books are pretty short and are basically adventure novels, so there's not a whole lot to get offended by, characterization-wise. Silence is the only really fleshed-out character, so there's not much to say about the poly relationship. Chase Mago and Balthazar are mostly archetypes, and half of the book was Silence in a harem so there was even less space to flesh them out.
This isn't a bad thing - it means even less space to run into disagreements between gender theories of the 1980s and 2020's. That said, there are like three lines of genetic gender assignment that would be pretty not-great today (but then again it's in a pretty misogynistic society so maybe it still passes a little? But either way, not great).
The stuff about Silence not being very good at being a tradfem woman was interesting, more so her getting called out on it by another woman. There are some deeper questions to be asked about whether women could present Silence's powers and remain more feminine, but (a) I think it's also tied to the extremely masculine nature of the jobs she takes and the power they convey and (b) it's not that kind of book.
A lot of deeper societal questions lurk underneath - and I don't think many of the answers about the worldbuilding reflect badly on Scott, even when viewed through a 2020's lens - but I'll just enjoy a queer-positive space romp from before I was born.
These books are pretty short and are basically adventure novels, so there's not a whole lot to get offended by, characterization-wise. Silence is the only really fleshed-out character, so there's not much to say about the poly relationship. Chase Mago and Balthazar are mostly archetypes, and half of the book was Silence in a harem so there was even less space to flesh them out.
This isn't a bad thing - it means even less space to run into disagreements between gender theories of the 1980s and 2020's. That said, there are like three lines of genetic gender assignment that would be pretty not-great today (but then again it's in a pretty misogynistic society so maybe it still passes a little? But either way, not great).
The stuff about Silence not being very good at being a tradfem woman was interesting, more so her getting called out on it by another woman. There are some deeper questions to be asked about whether women could present Silence's powers and remain more feminine, but (a) I think it's also tied to the extremely masculine nature of the jobs she takes and the power they convey and (b) it's not that kind of book.
A lot of deeper societal questions lurk underneath - and I don't think many of the answers about the worldbuilding reflect badly on Scott, even when viewed through a 2020's lens - but I'll just enjoy a queer-positive space romp from before I was born.
August 22, 2020
I've not read much Sci-Fi since my youth, but I try to wander outside my comfort zone occasionally and I got a great deal on the Roads of Heaven audio book trilogy, so here we are. I should mention that the audio narration was very good, and increased my enjoyment of the book. The second in the series continues in the same vein as the first, with Silence Leigh learning to use her new powers. Adding to the mumbo jumbo of space travel being something to do with musical harmonies, we now have to deal with the magical world of the magus. There's no doubt that Melissa Scott has a fabulous imagination and possesses the tools required to create something from it. A lot of it comes across as nonsense, but the eclectic group of main characters are a likeable bunch and there is an able supporting cast to help or hinder them, holding my interest enough to carry me through. I'll be straight on to the third and final book to find out the fate of Silence and her buddies.
September 9, 2019
There was less space than I remember and more planet-bound adventure. Books 1 and 3 have a lot more space travel, but this middle one is a pause to move some people and situations around.
I feel very oppressed by the woman's world in this book in a way I don't remember feeling way back when. I hope the new Hegemon starts to fix, or at least improve, things. Maybe back then I took for granted the fact things were better in real life and right now it doesn't always feel that way.
My original read was of the paper book. The author released the series in ebook with updates relatively recently. I don't know what the changes were, but I read the ebook this time, figuring it was best to go with the author's most recent text.
I feel very oppressed by the woman's world in this book in a way I don't remember feeling way back when. I hope the new Hegemon starts to fix, or at least improve, things. Maybe back then I took for granted the fact things were better in real life and right now it doesn't always feel that way.
My original read was of the paper book. The author released the series in ebook with updates relatively recently. I don't know what the changes were, but I read the ebook this time, figuring it was best to go with the author's most recent text.
Read
May 15, 2021I really wish I could know more about this universe, in a more daily life, domestic kind of way. A lot of things are left unsaid, even though I would say the overall plot is very consistent. But what do they eat? How they go about doing their daily chores? How the interplanetary economy really works? And as I said, these elements are very well established, its just that it's not what this particular story is about.
But I couldn't not wish to know more about the intimacy of the characters. Maybe I have been reading too much fan fiction.
But I couldn't not wish to know more about the intimacy of the characters. Maybe I have been reading too much fan fiction.
May 15, 2020
Scott continues to entertain in this sequel, delving deeper into the world of non-mechanical space travel and technology while beginning to pluck at the subtly laid feminist threads from the first novel. This series has continued to surprise me by delivering far more than I ever expected from a little-known 80s pulp sci-fi paperback about a woman with a cheesy name and two husbands.
One star knocked off for the sometimes too-long deep dives into the inner workings of the tech and the way ships function. After a certain point it begins to feel a bit tedious, like listening to a young child tell you from the highest level of excitement about their current most favorite thing in expansive and excruciating detail.
One star knocked off for the sometimes too-long deep dives into the inner workings of the tech and the way ships function. After a certain point it begins to feel a bit tedious, like listening to a young child tell you from the highest level of excitement about their current most favorite thing in expansive and excruciating detail.
April 12, 2021
If you read the first you need to read the second
This is actually the first book I read of what turned out to be a trilogy.
It stood and still stands very, very well on its own.
But it is even better with the backstory of the first volume.
This is actually the first book I read of what turned out to be a trilogy.
It stood and still stands very, very well on its own.
But it is even better with the backstory of the first volume.
April 20, 2023
Another fun adventure with an exciting finale in this strange and interesting world of space ships and alchemy. Some of my quibbles with Silence as a character from the first book are still present, but I think they are less pronounced in this one.
November 26, 2024
The continuing adventures of Silence Leigh, with a story even more gripping and entertaining than the first. Some genuine edge of your seat moments, and some new and very interesting characters, and a deeper look at the world they inhabit
April 4, 2018
I love this series, this is the second. It’s just really good science fiction with great character development.
April 11, 2020
Still a super cool technology system: magus's and instruments being used to fly space ships, what's not to like?
Four out of five tuned keels
Four out of five tuned keels
June 9, 2023
My favorite of the trilogy.
July 28, 2025
This series just keeps getting better. A bit of a show start, when Silence was studying as a student on Solitido. But I never saw the twist coming with the satrap and his daughter. An unexpected ally. A daring rescue attempt, a dramatic planetary escape. And strong, strong willed, self determined women every step of the way.
I appreciated the details about the magus work, how Silence was able to put everything together, because it really helped fill out the story.
I think Denis and Julie are still my favorites. It's too bad so much of their relationship happens off the page, because I am HERE for it.
I appreciated the details about the magus work, how Silence was able to put everything together, because it really helped fill out the story.
I think Denis and Julie are still my favorites. It's too bad so much of their relationship happens off the page, because I am HERE for it.
January 25, 2024
Continues to be science fantasy space opera, this time with a space battle. This middle book in the trilogy is a side quest though. Our heroine goes off to rescue a "princess". The pacing was a little off with this one; I found the "Silence updates her library card" scene to be painfully slow. But it all comes together. There's more setup for the finale (getting all the pieces on the board in the right place), Silence learns new skills and I'm looking forward to an interesting conclusion.
(r/Fantasy 2022 Bingo squares: Set in Space (HM); Cool Weapon; Revolutions and Rebellions; Name in the Title; No Ifs, Ands, or Buts (HM).)
(r/Fantasy 2022 Bingo squares: Set in Space (HM); Cool Weapon; Revolutions and Rebellions; Name in the Title; No Ifs, Ands, or Buts (HM).)
September 29, 2024
Kick ass heroine. Good looking husbands (yes two, but nothing salacious happens). Great female and male secondary characters. Tons of adventure. A thoroughly satisfying book that stands on its own even if you haven't read the first in the series. No cliffhanger. Great, fun science fiction of particular interest to women.
By the way, this is definitely SF and not fantasy. Yes I know the cover shows something that looks like magic, and some characters are magi. That said, it's all described in a scientific way.
By the way, this is definitely SF and not fantasy. Yes I know the cover shows something that looks like magic, and some characters are magi. That said, it's all described in a scientific way.
August 14, 2012
Not quite as excellent as the first book, but the series is building upon the excellent background that was created by the first book. The hegemony receives the focus of the book, expanding what we know of the universe without too many surprises. We learn more about the hermetic magic system, which is nice, but not as compelling as the first book's astrogation.
April 5, 2015
I would say this is not where I expected this series to go, but that might not be entirely honest: I don't think I ever had any idea of where this story was headed. With that in mind, onward to the conclusion!
May 6, 2013
Three stars because I did enjoy it, but omg the epithets. So many epithets. :/
March 14, 2015
A different kind of novel to the first, but also very fun - we start with Silence at her magus training, but then move to an infiltration and heist storyline.
May 12, 2015
Re-read - think it may have seemed fresher on the first encounter.
August 17, 2015
This was a reread for book club. I still really enjoy the ideas of space travel via harmonics.
Read
September 16, 2018My review on tor.com:
https://www.tor.com/2018/09/13/quiltb...
Source of the book: Bought with my own money
https://www.tor.com/2018/09/13/quiltb...
Source of the book: Bought with my own money
Read
March 17, 2019This is the second book in Scott's Roads of Heaven Trilogy, and it starts not long after the end of Book 1. Silence is learning how to use her new abilities while trying to find a way to reach Earth. In return for access to an essential item, she agrees to rescue the satrap's daughter who is being held hostage in a women-only compound. Needless to say, with hostile forces all around, it's not going to be easy.
The plot was quite fun, and I enjoyed seeing the clever use of resources at hand - particularly during the final confrontation. That said, although the characters were quite interesting, in some places I felt they were being used predominantly as vehicles to demonstrate the (certainly interesting) worldbuilding. The challenges didn't feel so much like challenges as opportunities to demonstrate practical applications of Silence's knowledge (and, to some extent, intuition).
Still, I enjoyed the book overall, and looking forward to re-reading the final one.
The plot was quite fun, and I enjoyed seeing the clever use of resources at hand - particularly during the final confrontation. That said, although the characters were quite interesting, in some places I felt they were being used predominantly as vehicles to demonstrate the (certainly interesting) worldbuilding. The challenges didn't feel so much like challenges as opportunities to demonstrate practical applications of Silence's knowledge (and, to some extent, intuition).
Still, I enjoyed the book overall, and looking forward to re-reading the final one.
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews