THE TOMORROW LOG, by Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, Meisha Merlin Publishing, Decatur, Ga., 2003, 352 pages, paperback, $16.

In their latest book, Sharon Lee and Steve Miller, like many characters whose exploits they chronicle, are exploring unknown territory.

For more than 15 years, the science-fiction authors from Winslow have created the textured Liaden Universe, a region composed of mercenaries, traders, spies, scouts and soldiers. (The next novel in that series, “Balance of Trade,” is due out next February.)

But now, the couple has come out with the first of what promises to be a thought-provoking new series that will be popular with their growing legions of fans.

At the center of “The Tomorrow Log” is free-lance master thief Gem ser’Edreth, whose comfortable, solitary life is about to be turned upside down.

Gem first turns down a commission from the local crime boss. Then his past catches up with him, as his cousin, Corbinye Faztherot, locates him, seeking to return him to his rightful place as captain of the starship of a space-going race, as prophesized in the titular Tomorrow Log.

These two events collide, with Gem ending up in possession of the Bindalche Trident, an ancient object of power, which is always accompanied by a human recorder of its activities, the Witness for the Telios. The bulk of the book follows Gem’s metamorphosis from lone wolf to commander of men.

One theme that the book examines is the effects of prejudice. The ship that Gem is destined to captain, the Gardenspot, was a generation ship. It was originally populated with colonists whose descendents were to settle on distant planets when they reached them. Only after hundreds of years, these later generations weren’t content to be earthbound, choosing instead to continue flying through space, working as traders and freighters. They looked down on those living planet-side as Grounders, yet they needed them as a source for parts to keep their deteriorating ships functioning. Also, the ship’s population became more and more inbred, with few healthy children, as they refused to bring aboard new shipmates.

Lee and Miller also revisit two ideas from their Clan Korval-Liaden novels – honor and family. Gem doesn’t abuse his newfound power, instead using his wits and experience to aid his renewed clan aboard the Gardenspot.

Unfortunately, while the authors tie up many of the initial subplots in “The Tomorrow Log,” much is left hanging for the next book in the series, which is frustrating and enticing at the same time. Still, Lee and Miller have woven such a colorful tapestry in which to place their characters’ adventures that not many readers will mind being left somewhat up in the air.