September 10, 2007
Martin may be best known for his Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy, but this mammoth collection of short stories (the first of two volumes) highlights his work in numerous genres, including SF, horror and fantasy. Focusing on Martin’s early output, volume one features “The Second Kind of Loneliness,” originally published in 1972, which chronicles a man’s insanity-inducing introspection millions of miles from Earth; the 1975 Hugo Award–winning “A Song for Lya”; “The Pear-Shaped Man,” a disturbing horror masterpiece about a creepy apartment neighbor; and more obscure works like a 1967 fanzine story starring the Astral Avenger and an unconventional college term paper about the Russo-Swedish War of 1808. An insightful introduction by Gardner Dozois, illustrations by Michael Kaluta and extensive—and candid—author commentary make this much more than just a compilation of stories. Fans, genre historians and aspiring writers alike will find this shelf-bending retrospective as impressive as it is intriguing.
October 15, 2007
This career retrospective of fantasy author Martin's short stories, novellas, and television scriptsmany of them award winnershas much to recommend it to speculative fiction fans. Highlights from Volume I include "A Song for Lya," a novella about a telepathic couple surprised by a powerful religion with a parasite at its center; "Sandkings," a horror/sf blend about an exotic pet collector who stages war games among a mysterious species that expands beyond his control; and "Nightflyers," a novella about a spaceship and its unseen captain. Volume II kicks off with two excellent tales of Tuf, the interplanetary ecoengineer, and includes strong stories from the Martin-edited "Wild Cards" series, a werewolf mystery called "The Skin Trade," and a wonderful chess-and-time-travel story, "Unsound Variations." The only likely disappointment comes from "The Hedge Knight," a novella prequel to Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. It's not that the novella is badit's superbbut it will remind Martin fans that his masterwork, with its parade of complex characters, marvelous world-building, turn-on-a-dime plotting, and an epic scale that can't be equaled in short works, remains unfinished. Highly recommended for all libraries with sf, fantasy, or horror readers. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 7/07.]Neil Hollands, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA
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