Archive for the ‘George R R Martin’ Category
Sandkings by George R R Martin
Posted on: January 26, 2020
What if I told you that Game of Thrones was Martin’s weakest work?
First, you’d punch me.
Then, as I was getting up off the floor, you’d say “wait, he wrote something else?”
Yes! Many something else’s! Lots of really good something else’s! Lots of excellent horror and science fiction!
If you enjoyed Game of Thrones even the tiniest bit, do yourself a favor and find some of Martin’s non-fantasy short stories. “A Song for Lya” will make you weep. “Fever Dream” will make you enjoy vampire fiction again. “The Pear Shaped Man” is creepy AF. I never get sick of rereading “Nightflyers”. And “Sandkings” is enjoyable as hell. And that’s about one millionth of all the great stuff he’s written.
“Sandkings”, published in Omni magazine in 1979, barely counts as Vintage Science Fiction (at least how I arbitrarily reckon). This story won the Hugo and the Nebula. Unless you are willing to dig through dusty back corners of used bookstores, your best bet for reading “Sandkings” is to buy a digital copy, or get your hands on either Martin’s Dreamsongs volumes or the Vandermeer edited Big Book of Science Fiction. Dreamsongs and Big Book go for about $30 a piece, and in my opinion are a steal at any price.
Spoilers ahead.
So what is “Sandkings” about? It’s about how easy it is to think that something small must be stupid. How easy it is to think that something that communicates differently, that thinks differently, that grows differently, must be dumb. And making dumb animals do silly things for our entertainment is fun, right?
I love how this story plays with foreshadowing, and how Jala Wo plays Kress like a violin. She knows when she has him, and she strings him along, and it is horrible and wonderful and I don’t feel bad at all that Kress gets exactly what he deserves. Remember the movie Gremlins? That’s the rated G, very kindergarten version of “Sandkings”.
Simon Kress likes to have exotic pets. He craves being able to brag that he has something that no one else has. He’d never heard of Wo and Shade’s shop until that day, but isn’t that where one buys the oddest things, at store’s no one has ever heard of?
Wo sells him some tiny sandkings, along with the required giant aquarium, and the instructions to keep them fed, and treat them kindly. The tiny sandkings, about the size of beetles, have a hive mind and a bit of telepathy. Treat them right and they will see you as their god.
Of course Kress can’t resist!
Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad, edited by George R. R. Martin
published in 1988, with new material added and republished by Tor Books in January 2015
Where I got it: received review copy from Tor (thanks!)
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Wild Cards: Aces Abroad is the fourth book in a shared universe anthology series. The good news is that you can easily read this as a stand alone, and the better news is that it’ll all make way more sense if I give you just a little bit of background about the series.
Started in the late 1980s, the Wild Cards shared universe envisions an alternative history where our first contact with an alien species causes the Wild Card virus to be released into Earth’s atmosphere. The virus killed much of the population, and physically affected nearly all who survived, granting them superpowers or horrid mutations. Some people grew wings and could fly, others turned into grotesque parodies of human beings. If your gift was a boon, you became known as an Ace, and if your gift came with physical deformaties, you became known as a Joker. Many Aces became successful business owners and celebrities, whereas society had no idea what to do with the Jokers, these hideous creatures who used to be our parents, friends and neighbors. As the decades passed, Jokers became more accepted in society, but many still reside in ghettos and fear for their own safety. Many of the characters in Wild Cards reminded me more of X-Men characters rather than traditional “good guy” superheroes. Most of these people want to live their life in peace, and help their friends and families. None of these people are traditional comic book superheroes.
I’ve certainly read themed anthologies before, but I’ve never read a shared universe. Each author was credited in the table of contents, and again the first time their writing appears in the volume. But after that, it’s just chapter after chapter, and if you aren’t paying attention it’s easy to forget which author’s work you are reading. The fact that eleven authors (Stephen Leigh, George R.R. Martin, John J. Miller, Leanne C. Harper, Gail Gerstner-Miller, Walton Simmons, Edward Bryant, Lewis Shiner, Victor W. Milan, Melinda M. Snodgrass and Michael Cassutt) could seamlessly put novel together, and then 25 years later two more authors (Kevin Andrew Murphy and Carrie Vaughn) could slip their new stories in unnoticed is pretty damn incredible.
Epic: Legends of Fantasy, edited by John Joseph Adams
published November 2012
where I got it: Received ARC from the publisher
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Epic Fantasy requires the story to be bigger, the dragons be faster, the warriors be stronger, and everything generally be more. And Epic: Legends of Fantasy offers up just that – more mythos, higher stakes, more of simply everything.
Many of the entries are part of the author’s larger work, taking place in an epic fantasy world that the author has already written hundreds and sometimes thousands of pages about. Randomly, the stories I read first happened to be part of larger works, and at first, the lack of stand alone works bothered me, but I quickly came to appreciate it, and to learn the collection had plenty of stand alone stories as well. An anthology like this is a brilliant method of introducing readers to these larger fantasy worlds created by famous authors such as Robin Hobb, George R R Martin, Michael Moorcock, Melanie Rawn, Tad Williams, and many others, and serves as an excellent introduction to the writings of newer authors as well.
Some works were fairly new, but others were older than I am. the Moorcock for example was originally written in 1961. A pure classic sword and sorcery, complete with sexualized and helpless female, it might be offensive to today’s readers, but I’m happy Adams included it, as what’s the point of talking about Epic Fantasy if we’re not going to touch on the journey the genre has taken?
Clocking in at over 600 pages, Epic: Legends of Fantasy is itself a bit of a doorstopper. We eat clunksters like this for breakfast, so I was surprised at how long it took me to plow through it. ahh, but spending 600+ pages in one fantasy world is one thing. Try spending that quantity of pages in over a dozen fantasy worlds. More often than not, my brain needed a little break in between. This isn’t the kind of anthology to gorge on, this is the kind you savor, over many winter evenings.
Here’s my thoughts a handful of the entries:
Fevre Dream, by George R R Martin
Published in 1982
where I got it: borrowed from a friend
why I read it: been on a GRRMartin kick lately
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I’ve been on a George R R Martin kick lately, along with most of the epic fantasy blogosphere. While everyone else is reading a nearly infamous fifth book, I’ve been hitting the backlist. When a friend offered to lend me his autographed copy of Fevre Dream along with the recently released graphic novel (which I haven’t read yet), I jumped at the chance. George R R Martin writing vampire horror on an antebellum Mississippi River? Sign me up!
beware – spoilers ahead.
Fevre Dream opens with a very depressed steamboat owner. Abner Marsh has had nothing but bad luck. Steamboats crushed in ice, or destroyed by the river. Few want to work with him, some believe he’s cursed. One day he’s approached by a wealthy gentleman named Joshua York who makes Marsh an offer he can’t refuse. Their partnership agreed upon, York supplies massive sums of money, and Marsh hires the best riverboat builders, engineers, and pilots money can buy. Soon, the Fevre Dream is born. She’s over 300 feet long, trimmed in silver, and nearly covered in mirrors. Once you’ve laid eyes on the Fevre Dream, you can never forget her.
It’s not long before Marsh and his crew suspect something strange is going on. York is never seen in the day time, and seems to only drink a homebrew wine. Betraying York’s trust to never enter his room or ask detailed questions, Marsh breaks into his room in an attempt to discover his secret.
- In: George R R Martin | NPR | radio
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I’m a very lucky girl.
I’m very lucky because I’m friends with J.W., who is friends with A.R..
And A.R. is a director at our local university public radio affiliate. Next thing I know, J.W. and I are recording a segment of a local radio show called “Arts & More”.
not exactly a pod cast, but as I like to say it’s pretty damn cool.
J.W. and I have a Nice Little Chat (<– click that) about George R R Martin, specifically Nightflyers and Fevre Dream, two lovely non-epic-fantasy books he wrote “before he was famous”. (btw, you can read my longer article on Martin’s Nightflyers here)
with any luck, we’ll get to do this again. . . and hopefully be a little better rehearsed! that four minute segment took about 90 minutes and most of A.R.’s patience to get just right.
it was buckets of fun, and I am a very lucky girl.
Long term author love
Posted on: September 2, 2011
I’ve been on a GRRMartin kick lately. You know, Sandkings, Nightflyers, Song for Lya, a friend of mine lent me (the novel and the graphic novel!) Fevre Dream, which I’m a little embarrased to say I’ve never read before.
One of these days I’ll re-read my way through book 4 of Song of Ice and Fire, I promise.
I was blabbing about Martin over the phone with my Mom the other day (Hi Mom!), and she asked if she should pick up Game of Thrones sometime, since it’s all anyone’s been talking about. Before I could even start envisioning my mother reading all that sex and violence stuff, I blurted out “No! Let me lend some of his older short stories! I think you’ll like them better”, and that was that.
There’s nothing better than an author with a multi decade long oeuvre.
But what happens when an author strays from their usual?
As a reader and genre fan, what’s your reaction when an author writes in different genres either over time, or all at the same time? love it? dislike it? don’t care?
I sure was surprised to find that one of my favorite historical fictions (The Walking Drum) was written by a guy who is famous for westerns. And that one of my favorite contemporary fiction books (The Sun, The Moon and The Stars) was written by a guy famous for a long running fantasy series. I tried the westerns and they didn’t do much for me, but I’m now a huge fan of Vlad Taltos and worry that Brust would have a hard time selling anything non-Vlad.
When recommending a genre-hopping author, do you recommend certain series, or specific titles within a genre? When exploring a genre-hopping author that’s new-to-you, will you stick to a specific genre, or look at everything they’ve ever written? Some authors make it easy (Robin Hobb, I’m looking at you!) by using different pen names for different genres. Others, like Joe Lansdale, not so much.
Eh, just something interesting that popped into my head. I think I’ll lend my Mom Martin’s Dreamsongs, and she can see what she thinks.
and yes, I almost titled this article “me love you long time”.
Nightflyers and the first song
Posted on: August 25, 2011
sorry for the crappy photo. . .
Nightflyers (short story collection) by George R R Martin
published in 1985 (stories written from 1973-1980)
why I read it: cuz I lurves me some Martin
where I got it: have no idea, it’s been on the bookshelf for a while.
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Thanks to HBO and a rather infamous 5th book, just about everyone knows who George R R Martin is. I’m not ashamed to admit it, Game of Thrones was my first Martin, and before I read it (this was maybe 5 years ago?), I’d never heard of him. Many people know him as “that epic fantasy guy”.
what if I told you he wrote tons and tons of stuff before Game of Thrones was ever a twinkle in his eye? That he’d been writing short stories since the early 70’s? Dreamsongs volumes one and two were released a few years back, and are known as the Martin short story collections. Containing everything from essays to short stories and novellas, to tv scripts to his thoughts on different parts of his life, when it comes to page count they are just as epic as his fantasies. However, if you’re looking for a smaller dose of early Martin, allow me to recommend a skinny little short story collection called Nightflyers. It’s unfortunate this little gem is out of print, it’s well worth the search on Amazon or ABE or e-bay, or you favorite local used bookstore. Along with the novella Nightflyers, written in 1980, it includes 5 more short stories written during the 70s. no dice? no worries, all the stories in Nightflyers are also in the Dreamsongs collection.
Another thing I’m not ashamed to admit is that I don’t read a lot of short story collections or anthologies. Just personal preference, I typically want something novella length or longer. Well, Martin and his Dreamsongs turned me into a short story fan, or at least a fan of his short stories. And you know what? I like his earlier science fiction based short works better than A Song of Ice and Fire, and Nightflyers is part of the reason why.
Because I just can’t help myself, you know? Nature abhors a vacuum like my credit at my favorite local bookstore abhors not being spent. Who cares that I just got a half dozen books from the library? Bookstores are my kryptonite! Even more so after one of the employees let slip they’d just gotten in a ton of vintage SF.
teh new goodies:
from bottom to top, we’ve got:
A Feast for Crows, by George R R Martin. I got this out of the library a few years ago, I wish I’d thought to buy it before they changes the cover art to the “new” style. now my Martin covers don’t match! 😦 I can’t decide if I’m going to buy into the hype and purchase Dance with Dragons in hardback, or just get it from the library and wait to purchase until it’s in paperback.
Doomsday Book by Connie Willis. I’ve never read any Willis, but I keep hearing really good things about her.
Lord Valentine’s Castle by Robert Silverberg. Another one I’d gotten from the library a few years ago, it was my first Silverberg. After I finished it, I remember my husband asking me what I thought of it as this is one of his favorites too, and I expressly remember saying that not only did I want to learn how to juggle, but if we ever had a son, I wanted to name him Valentine.
Moon over Soho by Ben Aaronovitch. I really enjoyed the first book in this series, Midnight Riot, and I’ve been hearing this 2nd one is just as fun too.
Stalking the Unicorn, by Mike Resnick – it just looked fun. and the acknowledgement pages makes some reference to a friend of Resnick’s who is the “God emperor” of something, which made me chuckle. and that brings us to . . .
The Heaven Makers, by Frank Herbert. You wouldn’t know it by skimming the review index, but I am a HUGE Frank Herbert fan. I think I’ve read maybe a dozen books by him, and I know most of his discography by sight. But this is one I have never even heard of! Anyone know anything about this title?
HBO’s Game of Thrones
Posted on: April 18, 2011
Looking through my readers, feeds and tagsurfers, I suddenly feel just plain obligated to post about GAME OF THRONES, HBO’s new epic fantasy series.
For those of you who have been living under a rock, Game of Thrones is the first book in George R R Martin’s epic fantasy series called A Song of Ice and Fire. Frantic and obsessive fans are eagerly awaiting book five, which is scheduled to hit bookstores this summer. In this series, noble families fight for the throne, younger siblings come to understand they are nothing more than bargaining chips and wedding fodder, old magics are brewing in the frozen north, and good men and women take empire destroying secrets to their graves. Oh, and there is tons and tons of sex. And after the sex, there is tons and tons of violence, kidnapping, brutal murder, betrayal, more sex, and more betrayal.
(And just for kicks, these are all images from the board-game, cuz I totally dig the game. It looks all complicated, but you can learn the rules in about 2 minutes, and it’s a ball to play.)
And now, on to HBO’s version.
First, the good.
Peter Dinklage, Sean Bean, Harry Lloyd, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. They were excellent. Harry Lloyd absolutely made Viserys, and I knew I recognized that wonderfully crooked smile from Doctor Who! Peter Dinklage and Sean Bean are always a pleasure to watch, and Coster-Waldau had Jaime down.
I really liked the credits/intro as well. Great way to cram a lot of important geographical info into a small amount of time, especially for viewers who aren’t familiar with the books. They immediately know we’ve got two (for now) important cities on one continent, and across a narrow sea there is another city where some action will be taking place. Animation came off as a little cartoony and higher tech than this world warrants, but I can forgive it.
the Little Red Reviewer 
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