Review: Silence in Solitude by Melissa Scott (The Roads of Heaven Trilogy, Book 2)

Synopsis: In Five-Twelths of Heaven, Silence Leigh discovered her talents as a female mage. Now, she struggles to control the strange power of molding reality. Her unique abilities - as both pilots as well as mage - make her the only person capable of reaching long-lost earth. Mysterious captors hold the planet apart; no one has contacted mankind's home for centuries. But more than one obstacle stands in her way. Silence finds herself making a deal: she will undertake a hopeless rescue mission in exhange for a unique map. In she succeeds, Earth is save. If she fails.... (from the back of the book)

Review: This is the second in Scott's The Roads of Heaven trilogy, and unlike in many ways to the first. This novel starts with Silence in mage-training, but tevents force her, her husbands (yes, both of them) and her magus master on the run. To escape, they are forced to make a deal with an old acquaintance of her master. He will remove the price on their head and give them the map to Earth they need in exchange for the impossible - Silence must rescue his daughter and heir from the heart of the very government trying to capture them. Again the story starts a bit slow, but picks up quickly and by the end, is edge-of-your-seat. I liked watching Silence grow. Having spent most of her life with men, in a "man's" job, or being asked to pretend to be a man (or to act less female) it was interesting to see her navigate an entirely feminine setting. Even though she is female, she holds most females in contempt, doubting their intelligence and worth - simply because they are not like her. To see her change as a character made the book that much more interesting.
There are some cheesy bit, and the end was a bit far-fetched (SPOILER: I mean, if you can change or damage another ship's keelsong that easily, why doesn't everyone do that?) But in the end, the story is not about the battle of the Hegemon and I understand what Scott didn't want to spend loads of time on that. The story is about getting to Earth - and by the end of this second novel, Silence, her Husbands and her mentor have all they need to make the trip. I'm eager for the third and final to see where Scott takes us on this journey.

Bookmarks: 7 of 10

Awards: None

ISBN: 0-671-65699-7
Date Finished: 5-8-2015
Pages: 313