The Road of Heaven
by Melissa Scott
Opinion: Engaging, well written
The Roads of Heaven is actually a collection of three books also known as the Silence Leigh series consisting of Five-Twelfths of Heaven, Silence in Solitude, and The Empress of Earth. The lead character is a starship pilot and when we meet her, she is trapped on a male chauvenist planet trying to claim her rights to her grandfather's estate. To get out of this situation she'll need the help of a starship captain with a shady past. Her grandfather seems to have left her a final gift, a book that may lead her to the Earth, which is a very big deal. But before she can do anything about that, she finds herself in a lot of tight situations, including a three-way marriage of convienience with the other two-thirds of a starship crew. Silence is a good character because she's very intelligent, but also very hard on herself and her pride gets in her way a lot.

One aspect that sets this book apart is how in the beginning, the science seems more like magic. The science that is used to fly starships, and to power as well as control almost all of the technology in human-settled space is know as the Art. It's a system based on harmonics, symbolism and mind power. It's process is explained in detail throughout the book and it is fascinating. Of the three books, the middle one is the best, but read them all. The ending feels cut-short. It's my opinion that there should have at least been another chapter, if not another book. But I'll let you form your own opinion about that.

By far the most engaging part of the book is the science/magic that ties the story together. Scott did a very good job of keeping the reader interested in the details of its inner workings. The characterization is fairly good in most of the books, although much better in the second. Many readers complain that her setences go on forever, and they do. But if one accepts this as part of her writting style they may find a gem of scence fiction that is entertaining to read.