What do you think?
Rate this book
Nightflyers: The Illustrated edition
On a voyage toward the boundaries of the known universe, nine misfit academics seek out first contact with a shadowy alien race.
But the real enigma is the Nightflyer itself, a cybernetic wonder with an elusive captain no one has ever seen in the flesh.
Soon, however, the crew discovers that their greatest mystery – and most dangerous threat – is an unexpected force aboard the ship wielding a thirst for blood and terror…
Dark and beautiful art by David Palumbo brings the words of George R.R. Martin to life in a story of horror, murder and outer space that you do not want to miss.
208 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1985
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,532 books123k followersGeorge Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,329 reviews
January 19, 2021
Много харесвам научната фантастика на Джордж Мартин... Неговите разкази и новели съдържат дълбок смисъл, заредени са със силни емоции, а и повечето персонажи в тях са ярки и запомнящи се образи!
Атмосферата в историите като цяло е мрачна, понякога се появяват хорър елементи, обаче, преди всичко представляват задълбочена философска фантастика... След като прочетох великолепната поредица „Дюн“, вече си мисля, че Джордж Мартин се е повлиял значително от Франк Хърбърт, може би дори повече, отколкото от Джон Толкин. Освен това, за да осъзнаят по-добре фентъзи епосът „Песен за огън и лед“, според мен читателите е хубаво да се запознаят и с вълнуващите научнофантастични творби, които авторът е създал много години преди да започне забележителната „Игра на тронове“. Любимите ми истории от този сборник са „Песен за Лиа“ и „Нощен летец“.
Атмосферата в историите като цяло е мрачна, понякога се появяват хорър елементи, обаче, преди всичко представляват задълбочена философска фантастика... След като прочетох великолепната поредица „Дюн“, вече си мисля, че Джордж Мартин се е повлиял значително от Франк Хърбърт, може би дори повече, отколкото от Джон Толкин. Освен това, за да осъзнаят по-добре фентъзи епосът „Песен за огън и лед“, според мен читателите е хубаво да се запознаят и с вълнуващите научнофантастични творби, които авторът е създал много години преди да започне забележителната „Игра на тронове“. Любимите ми истории от този сборник са „Песен за Лиа“ и „Нощен летец“.
September 24, 2018
I’m a huge A Song of Ice and Fire fan, but I haven’t ventured out into Martin’s other writing before Nightflyers. I wanted to really love this novella since it has a very interesting premise. How could a haunted house in space not intrigue you? Unfortunately, Nightflyers is an okay read with mediocre characters.
What hindered me from rating Nightflyers anything about three stars are the flat characters and the repeated use of the same descriptors. I had a hard time remembering who was who and differentiating between them. None of the characters’ descriptions stood out or had any interesting fact that made them recognizable. Instead, Martin decided to use the same descriptors over and over from the first few pages until the last. It didn’t help me remember who was who, it only made me role my eyes in annoyance.
The main reason I decided to pick up Nightflyers was because of the adaptation. The few clips and sneak peeks that I’ve seen excited me. Unfortunately, I think Nightflyers will work better as in a visual medium rather than a novella. I think the television show will be able to dive deeper into the characters’ pasts and this future world with greater detail making a more cohesive story.
I’m not the best person to comment on the horror aspects of a novel because I rarely read them. I usually find them uninteresting and not scary since my imagination is awful. I have never once between scared or frightened while reading. However, Nightflyers features some tense and unsettling moments that are sure to get into the heads of readers.
Overall, Nightflyers was a little disappointing though I am glad I read it. I love reading stories that mix science fiction and horror because it has the potential to create truly scary and unsettling stories.
What hindered me from rating Nightflyers anything about three stars are the flat characters and the repeated use of the same descriptors. I had a hard time remembering who was who and differentiating between them. None of the characters’ descriptions stood out or had any interesting fact that made them recognizable. Instead, Martin decided to use the same descriptors over and over from the first few pages until the last. It didn’t help me remember who was who, it only made me role my eyes in annoyance.
The main reason I decided to pick up Nightflyers was because of the adaptation. The few clips and sneak peeks that I’ve seen excited me. Unfortunately, I think Nightflyers will work better as in a visual medium rather than a novella. I think the television show will be able to dive deeper into the characters’ pasts and this future world with greater detail making a more cohesive story.
I’m not the best person to comment on the horror aspects of a novel because I rarely read them. I usually find them uninteresting and not scary since my imagination is awful. I have never once between scared or frightened while reading. However, Nightflyers features some tense and unsettling moments that are sure to get into the heads of readers.
Overall, Nightflyers was a little disappointing though I am glad I read it. I love reading stories that mix science fiction and horror because it has the potential to create truly scary and unsettling stories.
June 1, 2021
This 1980 story provides glimpses of the the Game of Thrones author before he dug into his, "Throne" novels. An okay, quick sci fi terror. 5 of 10 stars
August 9, 2023
After reading Nightflyers, I now understand why no one ever talks about this 1980 sci-fi horror entry from the great GRRM. It's because his writing has come a long way from this to his iconic A Song of Ice and Fire series, which began in 1996. But though there's a noticeable difference in quality between the two, Nightflyers isn't a bad book.
The story follows a crew of scientists who commission a starship called Nightflyer to take them into deep space in pursuit of a legendary alien race known as the volcryn, which have supposedly been travelling through interstellar space for generations. The scientists aim to study the volcryn, find out the purpose of their journey, and ultimately make first contact with them. To achieve this, they have a telepath, Thale Lasamer, on board, who they hope can communicate with the alien species. But soon enough things start to go wrong, and in And Then There Were None (in space) fashion the crew starts to be killed off one by one by a mysterious killer. GRRM killing off most of his characters? No! He's never done that before...right?
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, though it does have some flaws. With one or two exceptions, the characters are barely-developed cannon fodder for the killer, the story drags at times, and women are portrayed horribly; GRRM makes it sound like their only purpose is to "sex" the other members of the crew, which they all seem to do, regularly, and with a number of different partners. On the plus side, I really liked Melantha and (eventually) Royd as characters, the reveal of the killer's identity was interesting and unexpected, and I really enjoyed the encounter with the volcryn near the end of the story.
Overall, this was a good book. My edition also has illustrations by David Palumbo, which are black-and-white detailed sketches, and I thought those were very good. If you're interested in the book, I definitely recommend picking up a version with his illustrations. I think they make the book better.
What's that? You want this review to end with some cringe-worthy dialogue? Your wish is my command:
"And you, Melantha, you must play chess with me, and find a way to touch me, and..."
"And sex with you?" she finished, smiling.
"If you would," he said quietly.
3.5 stars
The story follows a crew of scientists who commission a starship called Nightflyer to take them into deep space in pursuit of a legendary alien race known as the volcryn, which have supposedly been travelling through interstellar space for generations. The scientists aim to study the volcryn, find out the purpose of their journey, and ultimately make first contact with them. To achieve this, they have a telepath, Thale Lasamer, on board, who they hope can communicate with the alien species. But soon enough things start to go wrong, and in And Then There Were None (in space) fashion the crew starts to be killed off one by one by a mysterious killer. GRRM killing off most of his characters? No! He's never done that before...right?
I enjoyed this book more than I thought I would, though it does have some flaws. With one or two exceptions, the characters are barely-developed cannon fodder for the killer, the story drags at times, and women are portrayed horribly; GRRM makes it sound like their only purpose is to "sex" the other members of the crew, which they all seem to do, regularly, and with a number of different partners. On the plus side, I really liked Melantha and (eventually) Royd as characters, the reveal of the killer's identity was interesting and unexpected, and I really enjoyed the encounter with the volcryn near the end of the story.
Overall, this was a good book. My edition also has illustrations by David Palumbo, which are black-and-white detailed sketches, and I thought those were very good. If you're interested in the book, I definitely recommend picking up a version with his illustrations. I think they make the book better.
What's that? You want this review to end with some cringe-worthy dialogue? Your wish is my command:
"And you, Melantha, you must play chess with me, and find a way to touch me, and..."
"And sex with you?" she finished, smiling.
"If you would," he said quietly.
3.5 stars
June 12, 2020
Haunting and clever; a few plot holes, but I enjoyed it.
The concept of xenomythology is a fascinating one. Good ideas abound in this. I would love for this to be longer or to have another book set in this universe and expanded upon. Good stuff.
The concept of xenomythology is a fascinating one. Good ideas abound in this. I would love for this to be longer or to have another book set in this universe and expanded upon. Good stuff.
June 9, 2010
I have to admit that, although I love George R.R. Martin's writing, I didn't have the highest of hopes for this collection of short stories by him, written in the 1970's., simply because author's early works are not always as good as later ones.. and the cheesy cover art didn't help either, I must admit.
However - I was wrong. The stories in this collection are truly top-flight sci-fi, with a horror edge. All demonstrate Martin's amazing talent for characterization, and are both emotionally effective and thought-provoking.
Nightflyers:
The title story is the most formulaic - it's a bit like 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Alien.
A diverse team of research investigators on a badly-funded space mission run into trouble, and gradually meet diverse (and unpleasant) ends. Is their mysterious captain to blame? Or is the truth yet spookier than that?
However, familiarity of the horror plot structure aside, the story succeeds (where many such tales do not) in being genuinely tense and scary.
This story (novelette?) was made into a movie in 1987, which I've never seen. However, it apparently stars Michael Praed (of the BBC's Robin Hood fame), which makes me want to see it right there!
Override:
A short but effective story which explores labor relations on an alien planet.
On an unspoiled paradise planet, executed criminals from offworld are mechanically turned into remote-controlled zombies used for onerous mining labor. But when a corporate boss who thinks the practice is disgusting threatens a corporate takeover which would ban the corpse-handlers, violence ensues.
Notable for its remarkable use of perspective - the reader doesn't really side with what one might expect...
Weekend in a War Zone:
In a not-so-distant future, hardworking citizens can take the weekend off and play tennis, golf... or pay to sign up for a weekend of war games, tromping through the woods, roughing it, and 'playing soldier' - much as many people do in today's paintball games - except in these games, the guns are real, and casualties are frequent. A nerdy businessman signs up for one of these weekends for the first time, hoping to impress his boss into giving him a promotion - but ends up discovering a side to himself he hadn't guessed at.
Excellent psychological insight....
And Seven Times Never Kill Man:
A group of militaristic Christian-esque fundamentalists colonizes a world inhabited by a furry, peaceful intelligent alien race whom they view as animals to be slaughtered, in order to clear the way for settlement. An independent trader is shocked and horrified by the violence, and tries to organize a resistance - but the effort is worse than pathetic. BUT - an unpredictable twist ensues!
Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring:
A brief but interesting musing on religion and the origins of universes, as a scientist experiments with wormhole technology.
A Song for Lya:
A competent and professional psychic couple are asked to investigate why human colonists are converting in disturbing numbers to an alien religious suicide cult. But what they discover may rip them apart.... A melancholy musing on love and the true desires of humanity...
However - I was wrong. The stories in this collection are truly top-flight sci-fi, with a horror edge. All demonstrate Martin's amazing talent for characterization, and are both emotionally effective and thought-provoking.
Nightflyers:
The title story is the most formulaic - it's a bit like 2001: A Space Odyssey meets Alien.
A diverse team of research investigators on a badly-funded space mission run into trouble, and gradually meet diverse (and unpleasant) ends. Is their mysterious captain to blame? Or is the truth yet spookier than that?
However, familiarity of the horror plot structure aside, the story succeeds (where many such tales do not) in being genuinely tense and scary.
This story (novelette?) was made into a movie in 1987, which I've never seen. However, it apparently stars Michael Praed (of the BBC's Robin Hood fame), which makes me want to see it right there!
Override:
A short but effective story which explores labor relations on an alien planet.
On an unspoiled paradise planet, executed criminals from offworld are mechanically turned into remote-controlled zombies used for onerous mining labor. But when a corporate boss who thinks the practice is disgusting threatens a corporate takeover which would ban the corpse-handlers, violence ensues.
Notable for its remarkable use of perspective - the reader doesn't really side with what one might expect...
Weekend in a War Zone:
In a not-so-distant future, hardworking citizens can take the weekend off and play tennis, golf... or pay to sign up for a weekend of war games, tromping through the woods, roughing it, and 'playing soldier' - much as many people do in today's paintball games - except in these games, the guns are real, and casualties are frequent. A nerdy businessman signs up for one of these weekends for the first time, hoping to impress his boss into giving him a promotion - but ends up discovering a side to himself he hadn't guessed at.
Excellent psychological insight....
And Seven Times Never Kill Man:
A group of militaristic Christian-esque fundamentalists colonizes a world inhabited by a furry, peaceful intelligent alien race whom they view as animals to be slaughtered, in order to clear the way for settlement. An independent trader is shocked and horrified by the violence, and tries to organize a resistance - but the effort is worse than pathetic. BUT - an unpredictable twist ensues!
Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring:
A brief but interesting musing on religion and the origins of universes, as a scientist experiments with wormhole technology.
A Song for Lya:
A competent and professional psychic couple are asked to investigate why human colonists are converting in disturbing numbers to an alien religious suicide cult. But what they discover may rip them apart.... A melancholy musing on love and the true desires of humanity...
October 15, 2019
Spook-A-Thon: Read a book with a spooky setting
3.5 Stars
I received Nightflyers last year from the publisher Bantam Books unsolicited.
And I still don't know why?
This is my first George R.R. Martin novel. I've never read his most famous work which is The Game of Thrones. And I've only watched 15mins of the first episode of the show, I tried watching it 2x. The first time fell asleep on it and the second time I just realized I hated it.
But I'm an open minded person and Nightflyers seemed interesting so I figured I'd read it eventually. I've had this book for almost a year and every month I've planned on reading it but never did. I hadn't intended to read it for Spook A Thon until yesterday when it just felt right.
On the back of this book Nightflyers is described as a tale that combines the deep space thrills of Alien and the psychological horror of The Shining. And though its less than 200 pages, the story never felt rushed. George R.R. Martin is an incredible writer(obviously) and I he never waste one moment in this book. Every character is fleshed out and the setting was so incredibly tense.
My only problem with this book is that I felt it was TOO short. I wanted more. I rarely wish a book was 100 pages longer but with Nightflyers another 100 pages would have made this a 5 star read.
I might read The Game of Thrones....one day... maybe.
3.5 Stars
I received Nightflyers last year from the publisher Bantam Books unsolicited.
And I still don't know why?
This is my first George R.R. Martin novel. I've never read his most famous work which is The Game of Thrones. And I've only watched 15mins of the first episode of the show, I tried watching it 2x. The first time fell asleep on it and the second time I just realized I hated it.
But I'm an open minded person and Nightflyers seemed interesting so I figured I'd read it eventually. I've had this book for almost a year and every month I've planned on reading it but never did. I hadn't intended to read it for Spook A Thon until yesterday when it just felt right.
On the back of this book Nightflyers is described as a tale that combines the deep space thrills of Alien and the psychological horror of The Shining. And though its less than 200 pages, the story never felt rushed. George R.R. Martin is an incredible writer(obviously) and I he never waste one moment in this book. Every character is fleshed out and the setting was so incredibly tense.
My only problem with this book is that I felt it was TOO short. I wanted more. I rarely wish a book was 100 pages longer but with Nightflyers another 100 pages would have made this a 5 star read.
I might read The Game of Thrones....one day... maybe.
December 16, 2021
“Man invents gods because he’s afraid of being alone, scared of an empty universe, scared of the darkling plain.”
In the infinite deep and dark nooks of space, it is said that an ancient alien race, called the volcryn, have been roaming the universes for millennia. Their history predates that of Christ, and a group of scholars finally have the chance to venture into space and get a chance to make contact with them. Led by the passionate Karl D'Branin, this crew manages to board a ship called the Nightflyer, led by a captain who chooses to remain hidden from the rest of the crew members, for reasons he refuses to divulge. During this trip, the crew navigate the darkest corners of space, but they soon discover that the true danger to their lives lies way closer than they realized. Their very own ship is hiding a sinister presence, intent on annihilating all of them in unimaginably brutal ways.
This is actually the first story I read by Martin, having largely avoided his more popular fantasy series due to a lack of interest, since I was overly exposed to that world from the TV show. I was very curious to read his SF works though, to see how he tackles the genre. I am glad to say that this story did not disappoint. The atmospheric element in this story is top-notch, and the reader can easily imagine themselves far from any known humanity, sinking deeper and deeper into the depths of space. There is a bleakness to the story, giving us the impression that we're doing nothing but slowly heading to our doom, and the only safe space we have, our ship, the only location sheltering us from the ruthlessness of the depths of space, serves as a nest to a chaotically destructive evil presence. Nowhere is safe, and darkness is closing in, and despite the confines of the story being quite limited, since we don't really get to see much except for the ship, we get the sense that this world is immense, and that its history goes eons back, and that our characters are definitely not the centre of the universe. The alien entities described are fascinating, and I was left craving for more, wanting to learn more about them. The character dynamics were fun to read, and even though character work wasn't spectacular, they were still entertaining and did not bore me. This is a short story after all, and I don't expect much depth in all aspects.
But for a short story, this accomplished what it was supposed to for me. It was gripping from the start and got progressively more interesting as the events reached their climax. I loved the horror aspects here, as a fan of graphic horror, this definitely delivers, and certain scenes (like a floating eyeball staring at you right before you get brutally murdered) were a chef's kiss for the genre. This is a great blend of SF and horror, with great atmospheric prose and a looming sense of dread. This was dense in all the right ways, despite being short, and I repeat once again, the alien descriptions fascinated me.
I just discovered that this has been adapted to a series, and despite the ratings not being that high, I will be watching it to see how this story fares through visual media, because it certainly has potential.
I recommend this book if you're in the mood for some nice space SF with a nice dose of gore and horror. This was a memorable one, and looking forward to reading more by George R.R. Martin.
------------------------------------------------
“I accept what I am, but I did not choose it. I experience human life in the only way I can, vicariously. I am a voracious consumer of books, tapes, holoplays, fictions and drama and histories of all sorts. I have experimented with dreamdust.”
June 7, 2018
Nightflyer's was quite good. G.R.R. Martin is best known for his fantasy tales- but his sci-fi tales are also quite excellent. My only previous experience with his sci-fi stories were the Tuf Voyaging series and the Wild Cards stories. Nightflyers continues this excellent trend.
A mysterious phenomena is traveling through space. It is called the Volcryn. A team of human scientists charter the space ship- Nightflyer to take them on a rendezvous with the Volcryn. But all is not as it seems. The Nightflyer seems to be haunted.
From the mysterious Captain Royd-who never appears in person and only via hologram; to the odd things that seem to be happening on the Nightflyer, to finally when, one by one, the crew members are being killed off. The main heroine of this tale is Melantha Jhril, a human born on Prometheus- she is an "improved" version of humanity- faster, stronger and highly intelligent. Jhril tries to work with the Captain to solve the mystery of the killings and what exactly is going on with the Nightflyer. On a side note- I thought it rather interesting that the ship is called the Nightflyer. Stephen King once wrote a book about a mysterious traveler who flew a private plane and killed his victims-he was known as the Nightflyer, don't know if that was a factor in the naming of this tale.
The story is excellent. There is a lot of interpersonal conflict amongst the crew members. The mystery surrounding the Captain is also well done. My copy was rather nice-it had some beautiful paintings by David Palumbo that helped to bring a visual representation to the story. A nice, creepy tale about a potentially haunted space ship. Highly recommended.
A mysterious phenomena is traveling through space. It is called the Volcryn. A team of human scientists charter the space ship- Nightflyer to take them on a rendezvous with the Volcryn. But all is not as it seems. The Nightflyer seems to be haunted.
From the mysterious Captain Royd-who never appears in person and only via hologram; to the odd things that seem to be happening on the Nightflyer, to finally when, one by one, the crew members are being killed off. The main heroine of this tale is Melantha Jhril, a human born on Prometheus- she is an "improved" version of humanity- faster, stronger and highly intelligent. Jhril tries to work with the Captain to solve the mystery of the killings and what exactly is going on with the Nightflyer. On a side note- I thought it rather interesting that the ship is called the Nightflyer. Stephen King once wrote a book about a mysterious traveler who flew a private plane and killed his victims-he was known as the Nightflyer, don't know if that was a factor in the naming of this tale.
The story is excellent. There is a lot of interpersonal conflict amongst the crew members. The mystery surrounding the Captain is also well done. My copy was rather nice-it had some beautiful paintings by David Palumbo that helped to bring a visual representation to the story. A nice, creepy tale about a potentially haunted space ship. Highly recommended.
January 29, 2019
7'5 /10
Buena ambientación, lástima que el formato de novela corta se queda corto (valga la redundancia) para poder desarrollar los personajes un poco más y adornar algunas escenas.
Edición espectacular que he leído en una sentada. A ver como será la adaptación de Netflix.
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
Buena ambientación, lástima que el formato de novela corta se queda corto (valga la redundancia) para poder desarrollar los personajes un poco más y adornar algunas escenas.
Edición espectacular que he leído en una sentada. A ver como será la adaptación de Netflix.
https://dreamsofelvex.blogspot.com/20...
November 6, 2018
Blech.
In the introduction to Nightflyers, Martin discusses how he thinks horror fiction should be. In his opinion, there should be comedy and characterization, not just terror, because those moments make the horror elements more impactful. Reading that, I felt some optimism; horror as a genre has never worked well for me, because without investment in the characters I feel bored rather than scared.
Unfortunately, there was no humor or characterization here. At all. Instead, there's sexism like whoa and long wait for anything to actually happen.
The characterization largely consists of information about the sexual exploits of the female members of the crew, particularly the heroine, Melantha Jhirl, who is more evolved than all the other humans, which she mostly exhibits through her smarts and lack of sexual inhibitions. She promises to sleep with the male main character in an incredibly cringe-inducing scene. Honestly, the whole thing feels like an older man's masturbatory fantasy about getting a much younger, hotter woman to sleep with him.
So far as the horror goes, cardboard people do get murdered and then their body parts float about in grisly fashion. The premise of it did not feel particularly original to me, though maybe it would have felt fresher when originally released in 1980. I still would not have liked this story, though.
Only positive for me here was Adenrele Ojo's narration, but a diverse female narrator cannot make this feel any less like it was written by a cishet white man.
In the introduction to Nightflyers, Martin discusses how he thinks horror fiction should be. In his opinion, there should be comedy and characterization, not just terror, because those moments make the horror elements more impactful. Reading that, I felt some optimism; horror as a genre has never worked well for me, because without investment in the characters I feel bored rather than scared.
Unfortunately, there was no humor or characterization here. At all. Instead, there's sexism like whoa and long wait for anything to actually happen.
The characterization largely consists of information about the sexual exploits of the female members of the crew, particularly the heroine, Melantha Jhirl, who is more evolved than all the other humans, which she mostly exhibits through her smarts and lack of sexual inhibitions. She promises to sleep with the male main character in an incredibly cringe-inducing scene. Honestly, the whole thing feels like an older man's masturbatory fantasy about getting a much younger, hotter woman to sleep with him.
So far as the horror goes, cardboard people do get murdered and then their body parts float about in grisly fashion. The premise of it did not feel particularly original to me, though maybe it would have felt fresher when originally released in 1980. I still would not have liked this story, though.
Only positive for me here was Adenrele Ojo's narration, but a diverse female narrator cannot make this feel any less like it was written by a cishet white man.
January 4, 2019
What do you get when you cross Alfred Hitchcock’s “Psycho”, Ridley Scott’s “Alien”, and Shirley Jackson’s “The Haunting of Hill House”? The answer is George R.R. Martin’s now-classic 1980 sci-fi/horror novella “Nightflyers”, a delectably creepy tale about a haunted spaceship.
SyFy network recently aired an 11-episode mini-series based on the novella, but it wasn’t the first time anyone has tried to adapt the story to the big screen. In 1987, director Robert Collector attempted it. I remember seeing it in the theater (I was 15 years old), and I remember liking it, although I remember absolutely nothing else about the movie, which most likely indicates that it fell into the rather large category of “decent but forgettable ‘80s horror films”. By the way, you can see the entire film, free, here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPYgB...).
I haven’t watched the series yet.* It’s been DVRed, with the hopes of someday binge-watching it, but my success rate with that stuff is close to nil. I had 32 episodes of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” on there, and the thought of watching all of that was too daunting, so I ended up just erasing it all. “Nightflyers” shows promise, however, as it is on SyFy, which has lately been churning out some decent programming, most notably “The Expanse”, based on a great series of books by James S. A. Corey (a pseudonym, by the way).
The story is your basic haunted-house-in-space where a team of scientists on a mission to seek out an alien species called the volcryn (which may or not be mythical) encounters strange goings-on aboard their hired space ship, the Nightflyer, captained by a hologram named Royd Erris. When members of the team start dying off one at at time (in pretty gruesome ways), the survivors start turning on the mysterious captain and then on each other.
With the success of Martin’s “Game of Thrones” series, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would pick up some of his earlier works to be adapted for the screen. “Nightflyers” is actually a decent novella, deserving of being given a decent screen adaptation.
Random House recently published a beautiful hardcover illustrated edition with gorgeous artwork by the painter David Palumbo. A must-have if you are a Martin fan or a fan of beautiful illustrated editions.
*1/15/26 addendum: I still haven't.
SyFy network recently aired an 11-episode mini-series based on the novella, but it wasn’t the first time anyone has tried to adapt the story to the big screen. In 1987, director Robert Collector attempted it. I remember seeing it in the theater (I was 15 years old), and I remember liking it, although I remember absolutely nothing else about the movie, which most likely indicates that it fell into the rather large category of “decent but forgettable ‘80s horror films”. By the way, you can see the entire film, free, here: (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPYgB...).
I haven’t watched the series yet.* It’s been DVRed, with the hopes of someday binge-watching it, but my success rate with that stuff is close to nil. I had 32 episodes of “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.” on there, and the thought of watching all of that was too daunting, so I ended up just erasing it all. “Nightflyers” shows promise, however, as it is on SyFy, which has lately been churning out some decent programming, most notably “The Expanse”, based on a great series of books by James S. A. Corey (a pseudonym, by the way).
The story is your basic haunted-house-in-space where a team of scientists on a mission to seek out an alien species called the volcryn (which may or not be mythical) encounters strange goings-on aboard their hired space ship, the Nightflyer, captained by a hologram named Royd Erris. When members of the team start dying off one at at time (in pretty gruesome ways), the survivors start turning on the mysterious captain and then on each other.
With the success of Martin’s “Game of Thrones” series, it was perhaps inevitable that someone would pick up some of his earlier works to be adapted for the screen. “Nightflyers” is actually a decent novella, deserving of being given a decent screen adaptation.
Random House recently published a beautiful hardcover illustrated edition with gorgeous artwork by the painter David Palumbo. A must-have if you are a Martin fan or a fan of beautiful illustrated editions.
*1/15/26 addendum: I still haven't.
August 27, 2018
Ohhh, dear GRRM,
You sneaky son of Nebula and Hugo! How dare you?!? You tricked me. Yes, you did. All I expected was some nice sci-fi, maybe some aliens, maybe some laser guns and tons of flying spaceships. And I would have been satisfied. Completely. But you... You... You made me read horror instead of sci-fi! And it was scary!
Detailed opinions:
Nightflyers - sneaky. Weird. But good. But it's pure horror. The idea is interesting and I also loved the secondary story about volcryn. Even if I still have some questions about it. It will be cool to see it as a TV series and I believe some other stories would make a great TV shows too. It's typical horror in space, but I liked the twist.
"Override" - kinda predictable, but fun to read.
"Weekend in a War Zone" - that's my kind of party. Vicious, but great. Kinda predictable, but I liked the concept. The main character is my inner Goddess.
"And Seven Times Never Kill Man" - I didn't get this one, or the point of it. But the world building was cool.
"Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring" - great concept also. Interesting in scientific way.
A Song for Lya - so, listen. If you heart was not broken by reading sad books since you were a child, this one will break it. It's so sad. I think it would make a great TV show too. Please, do. A great look at religion and love.
Overall: I am pleasantly surprised - the stories had depth, emotion, unexpected factors. Somehow it was hard to believe that it was written ~1970-1980 since they felt very recent. GRRM is great at creating world, cultures and descriptions.
Yours,
SS.
P.S. When The Winds of Winter will come out?
You sneaky son of Nebula and Hugo! How dare you?!? You tricked me. Yes, you did. All I expected was some nice sci-fi, maybe some aliens, maybe some laser guns and tons of flying spaceships. And I would have been satisfied. Completely. But you... You... You made me read horror instead of sci-fi! And it was scary!
Detailed opinions:
Nightflyers - sneaky. Weird. But good. But it's pure horror. The idea is interesting and I also loved the secondary story about volcryn. Even if I still have some questions about it. It will be cool to see it as a TV series and I believe some other stories would make a great TV shows too. It's typical horror in space, but I liked the twist.
"Override" - kinda predictable, but fun to read.
"Weekend in a War Zone" - that's my kind of party. Vicious, but great. Kinda predictable, but I liked the concept. The main character is my inner Goddess.
"And Seven Times Never Kill Man" - I didn't get this one, or the point of it. But the world building was cool.
"Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring" - great concept also. Interesting in scientific way.
A Song for Lya - so, listen. If you heart was not broken by reading sad books since you were a child, this one will break it. It's so sad. I think it would make a great TV show too. Please, do. A great look at religion and love.
Overall: I am pleasantly surprised - the stories had depth, emotion, unexpected factors. Somehow it was hard to believe that it was written ~1970-1980 since they felt very recent. GRRM is great at creating world, cultures and descriptions.
Yours,
SS.
P.S. When The Winds of Winter will come out?
August 29, 2024
Mi primer acercamiento a George R. R. Martin, y fue sumamente grato. Voy a tener que leer sus relatos de terror para seguir conociéndolo dentro de mi género predilecto. Nightflyers es una nouvelle corta con un tópico atípico dentro del sci-fi horror. Quitando algunos detalles, me pareció una historia de lo más inquietante.
January 27, 2020
Más allá de Canción de Hielo y Fuego, la obra de George R. R. Martin es casi tan extensa como inabarcable. Su producción en el formato corto durante la década de los años 70 y 80 es enorme, aunque nunca la ha dejado de lado. Algunas de ellas son célebres piezas de ficción que han sido galardonadas con algunos de los premios más prestigiosos del panorama fantástico. Varios Hugo, Nébula y Locus reposan en las vitrinas del escritor estadounidense. Hace unos años Ediciones Gigamesh recopilaba una selección de la obra corta de George R. R. Martin en tres volúmenes denominados Autobiografía literaria de Martin.
El pasado noviembre Ediciones Gigamesh inició el proyecto de acercar la obra corta de George R. R. Martin en un formato más económico. Dentro de su colección Onmium, la editorial publicará seis volúmenes que recopilan alguno de estos relatos salidos en las tres antologías anteriores, más alguno inédito en castellano. La traducción ha corrido a carga de un equipo coordinado por Irene Vidal Oliveras y que cuenta con las espectaculares portadas de Enrique Corominas.
Este primer volumen en concreto contiene dos novelas cortas, las premiadas Nómadas Nocturnos y Una canción para Lya, así como cuatro relatos cortos, de los cuales tres son inéditos en castellano y alguno de ellos, nos lleva al universo de Los Mil Mundos que Martin construye con su narrativa breve durante todos estos años. Solo por leer Una canción para Lya, ya merece la pena todo el volumen.
Reseña extensa en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
El pasado noviembre Ediciones Gigamesh inició el proyecto de acercar la obra corta de George R. R. Martin en un formato más económico. Dentro de su colección Onmium, la editorial publicará seis volúmenes que recopilan alguno de estos relatos salidos en las tres antologías anteriores, más alguno inédito en castellano. La traducción ha corrido a carga de un equipo coordinado por Irene Vidal Oliveras y que cuenta con las espectaculares portadas de Enrique Corominas.
Este primer volumen en concreto contiene dos novelas cortas, las premiadas Nómadas Nocturnos y Una canción para Lya, así como cuatro relatos cortos, de los cuales tres son inéditos en castellano y alguno de ellos, nos lleva al universo de Los Mil Mundos que Martin construye con su narrativa breve durante todos estos años. Solo por leer Una canción para Lya, ya merece la pena todo el volumen.
Reseña extensa en el blog: https://boywithletters.blogspot.com/2...
May 9, 2023
A group of scientists hire a ship to travel through space to intercept an alien race. Only the ship is almost entirely autonomous and has an agenda. The novel is fast-paced and bloody.
June 13, 2018
Nightflyers was ok. I wanted to give this a read before the show comes out. The others were kinda meh. They arent related to Nightflyers. I've never really felt like Martin was an amazing writer, he just has fun plots. If youre in the Mood for awesome scifi where youre wanting the world buidling and plotting of TSOIAF then read The Expanse series. I read one of the short stories a night. Its an easy read but ive read much better scifi. I honestly can see why this didnt really take off to the same degree as his other series.
December 3, 2018
*listened to audiobook* 3.5 stars
I feel like this has been done before. Regardless it was still a suspenseful read. A group boards the nightflyer never having met the pilot, nor do they ever...then things quickly get out of hand and people start dying. You learn it is all mother's fault. Kind of like psycho. I am excited for the new show on SyFy and just learned it was a movie in the 80s, so I will definitely check that out.
I feel like this has been done before. Regardless it was still a suspenseful read. A group boards the nightflyer never having met the pilot, nor do they ever...then things quickly get out of hand and people start dying. You learn it is all mother's fault. Kind of like psycho. I am excited for the new show on SyFy and just learned it was a movie in the 80s, so I will definitely check that out.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 21, 2018
I see why George R. R. Martin’s ‘Nightflyers’ is being made into a Syfy movie! This is a five-star floating-intestines-in-the-vacuum gorefest!
The plot, an investigative B-team of slightly bent scientists sent out to explore an interesting phenomenon, organized by a benighted obsessed leader scientist with obviously too much money, is not new. However, I eventually was howling at the ironic humor in Martin’s plot (and reading with my eyes closed - don’t ask me how I do that, but hint: skimming and skipping paragraphs might also be involved along with squeezing my eyelids shut).
I do not know if it was intentional - the irony - but I did wonder .
This is the kind of story a great author who is still waiting to be noticed writes after finishing a bottle of bad whiskey, after opening his bank statement. I can see him thinking, “They want bloody gore? They want horror? Monsters? Madness? Stock stereotypical characters without depth that inevitably sell lots of books and movies to some of the Stephen King fanboy base? I’ll give it to ‘em, the entire kit-n-caboodle and the kitchen sink, too!” I do not know if Martin actually got drunk and then wrote this novella. Just saying. Great writers often do their best work stoned out of their minds - just ask Stephen King about his youthful work...
This novella is put together entirely in a coherent understandable plot. It is exciting, if relentless horror and gut-churning death is your joy; in other words, you are a fan of Saturday Syfy movies. Personally speaking, I have watched every Sharknado movie made so far, so keep that in mind when reading my review.
On the other hand, don’t judge me. We all have our weaknesses for certain entertaining cultural trash.
The plot, an investigative B-team of slightly bent scientists sent out to explore an interesting phenomenon, organized by a benighted obsessed leader scientist with obviously too much money, is not new. However, I eventually was howling at the ironic humor in Martin’s plot (and reading with my eyes closed - don’t ask me how I do that, but hint: skimming and skipping paragraphs might also be involved along with squeezing my eyelids shut).
I do not know if it was intentional - the irony - but I did wonder .
This is the kind of story a great author who is still waiting to be noticed writes after finishing a bottle of bad whiskey, after opening his bank statement. I can see him thinking, “They want bloody gore? They want horror? Monsters? Madness? Stock stereotypical characters without depth that inevitably sell lots of books and movies to some of the Stephen King fanboy base? I’ll give it to ‘em, the entire kit-n-caboodle and the kitchen sink, too!” I do not know if Martin actually got drunk and then wrote this novella. Just saying. Great writers often do their best work stoned out of their minds - just ask Stephen King about his youthful work...
This novella is put together entirely in a coherent understandable plot. It is exciting, if relentless horror and gut-churning death is your joy; in other words, you are a fan of Saturday Syfy movies. Personally speaking, I have watched every Sharknado movie made so far, so keep that in mind when reading my review.
On the other hand, don’t judge me. We all have our weaknesses for certain entertaining cultural trash.
July 26, 2018
This is the basis for the soon to be released* television show by the same name. Space, science, and a touch of the supernatural sum up the quest of a small band of scientists/linguists as they attempt to make first contact with an unknown alien race. The research team, on a typical academic budget, book a slightly shady source of transportation, the Nightflyer, piloted by a reclusive captain who only appears as a computer projection.
Shortly after their departure strange things start to happen around the ship, and it's our journey as a reader to figure out who is behind these events, and who is lying.
An interesting concept and very quick read with a mixture of typical humans, those with special abilities, and "upgraded new models", a phrase that I tired of while reading due to overuse. Genetic modification was common on one particular world, and lead them to tinker with making super humans who are always, "three steps ahead", another phrase that lead to an audible sigh when reading for the hundredth time. The repetition became tiresome, but it was with mixed emotions I finished the book. There are so many things I'd like to have seen more of, but the overuse of descriptors and flatness of the non-key characters also made me glad to have finally reached the conclusion.
We learn little of the expanse of humanity through the stars, but get glimpses of it as each individual talks about their home world. I think this will be even better when expanded for visual media and hope they go into more about the individual characters, as most felt a little unrealized, given the short nature of this story, which made me "meh" their death.
*at the time this review was written, which at the time of this edit to the review, has now been canceled.
Shortly after their departure strange things start to happen around the ship, and it's our journey as a reader to figure out who is behind these events, and who is lying.
An interesting concept and very quick read with a mixture of typical humans, those with special abilities, and "upgraded new models", a phrase that I tired of while reading due to overuse. Genetic modification was common on one particular world, and lead them to tinker with making super humans who are always, "three steps ahead", another phrase that lead to an audible sigh when reading for the hundredth time. The repetition became tiresome, but it was with mixed emotions I finished the book. There are so many things I'd like to have seen more of, but the overuse of descriptors and flatness of the non-key characters also made me glad to have finally reached the conclusion.
We learn little of the expanse of humanity through the stars, but get glimpses of it as each individual talks about their home world. I think this will be even better when expanded for visual media and hope they go into more about the individual characters, as most felt a little unrealized, given the short nature of this story, which made me "meh" their death.
*at the time this review was written, which at the time of this edit to the review, has now been canceled.
May 2, 2021
Thanks to the popularity of the fantasy series "A Song of Fire and Ice", Martin's older works came to the fore, so publishers are using the opportunity to publish them in a new attire for younger generations of readers. One of these is a collection called "Nightflyers and other stories" published for the first time in 1985. It is a collection of six SF stories/novellas that Martin wrote and published in various magazines during the 1970s and early 1980s, of which "Nightflyers" was already adapted twice, a movie in 1987 and SyFy series from 2018.
It is with that novella that opens this collection and as such should shake the reader to the core, a perfect blend of science fiction and horror. It's a novella about a nine-member expedition of scientists and an enigmatic captain of the “Nightflyer” spaceship who goes looking for a mysterious alien race called volcrynto discover advanced methods of interstellar travel, but before they reach their goal, strange things start to happen, and one by one they are getting killed.
At the editor's request, Martin expanded the original story by 7,000 words, but unfortunately, it didn't improve it. The characters are still superficial and almost all are cut out of cardboard, Martin acts as a chauvinist while describing women and needlessly using sex without excessive importance to the plot or development of characters. Although, there are interesting ideas and this would seem much more interesting as a full-blooded novel, where a lot of things could be worked out and fleshed out. Like this, it looks like a skeleton of a novel that serves as a sales pitch to the publishing houses.
"Override" has space western atmosphere combined with voodoo. His modern version, at least. A short and efficient story that is not overly special, but is a rounded whole, and as such is extremely readable.
"Weekend in a War Zone" by far the worst story in this collection. Feels forced and is predictable from the very beginning. The story of corporate people who pay to fight real wars on weekends instead of playing tennis. It feels like something that Martin wrote as an exercise in a creative writing workshop. Far below his level.
"And Seven Times Never Kill a Man" could be described as a mixture of the Warhammer 40K and Star Wars universe, with the addition of Cameron's "Avatar". Interesting idea and Martin's play with religion, as in "Nightflyers", and the plot itself makes this story very attractive, but in the end, this was still too much of a bite for Martin in this form. Like "Nightflyers", this story cries out for an extension into a novel where its potential would be fully fulfilled.
"Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring" seems more like an excerpt from a novel than a standalone story. Like the previous stories of this collection, it shows that Martin's imagination is impressive, but he fails at the realization. Like others, probably rushed writing just to get published.
"A Song for Lya" is a novella that closes this collection and is worth as much as the rest of it, if not more. The story of a pair of telepaths hired to find out why more and more people are turning to the unusual religion on the planet Shkea practiced by its inhabitants, a race that technologically stuck in Stone Age. Martin said this novella was inspired by his first serious romance, which is noticeable. An emotional story through which Martin plays again with the traditional concept of God and explores it further.
In addition to all of them being placed in the same world "Thousand Worlds", these stories explore themes of religion, technological advances of humanity, and telepathic powers, but each of them can be imagined as one of the episodes of Netflix's series "LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS". A collection worth reading only because of the last novella or if you're a diehard Martin fan.
It is with that novella that opens this collection and as such should shake the reader to the core, a perfect blend of science fiction and horror. It's a novella about a nine-member expedition of scientists and an enigmatic captain of the “Nightflyer” spaceship who goes looking for a mysterious alien race called volcrynto discover advanced methods of interstellar travel, but before they reach their goal, strange things start to happen, and one by one they are getting killed.
At the editor's request, Martin expanded the original story by 7,000 words, but unfortunately, it didn't improve it. The characters are still superficial and almost all are cut out of cardboard, Martin acts as a chauvinist while describing women and needlessly using sex without excessive importance to the plot or development of characters. Although, there are interesting ideas and this would seem much more interesting as a full-blooded novel, where a lot of things could be worked out and fleshed out. Like this, it looks like a skeleton of a novel that serves as a sales pitch to the publishing houses.
"Override" has space western atmosphere combined with voodoo. His modern version, at least. A short and efficient story that is not overly special, but is a rounded whole, and as such is extremely readable.
"Weekend in a War Zone" by far the worst story in this collection. Feels forced and is predictable from the very beginning. The story of corporate people who pay to fight real wars on weekends instead of playing tennis. It feels like something that Martin wrote as an exercise in a creative writing workshop. Far below his level.
"And Seven Times Never Kill a Man" could be described as a mixture of the Warhammer 40K and Star Wars universe, with the addition of Cameron's "Avatar". Interesting idea and Martin's play with religion, as in "Nightflyers", and the plot itself makes this story very attractive, but in the end, this was still too much of a bite for Martin in this form. Like "Nightflyers", this story cries out for an extension into a novel where its potential would be fully fulfilled.
"Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring" seems more like an excerpt from a novel than a standalone story. Like the previous stories of this collection, it shows that Martin's imagination is impressive, but he fails at the realization. Like others, probably rushed writing just to get published.
"A Song for Lya" is a novella that closes this collection and is worth as much as the rest of it, if not more. The story of a pair of telepaths hired to find out why more and more people are turning to the unusual religion on the planet Shkea practiced by its inhabitants, a race that technologically stuck in Stone Age. Martin said this novella was inspired by his first serious romance, which is noticeable. An emotional story through which Martin plays again with the traditional concept of God and explores it further.
In addition to all of them being placed in the same world "Thousand Worlds", these stories explore themes of religion, technological advances of humanity, and telepathic powers, but each of them can be imagined as one of the episodes of Netflix's series "LOVE, DEATH + ROBOTS". A collection worth reading only because of the last novella or if you're a diehard Martin fan.
October 2, 2018
I've never read anything by George R.R. Martin, and someone had recommended this book.
Nightflyers is a collection of short stories, starting with the titular story.
I was EXTREMELY disappointed.
The story is about a scientist who's hired a scientific team & a ship to rendezvous with a supposedly mythical ship that has been traveling the universe for eons. The ship's captain doesn't reveal himself to the scientists, except by hologram, and this becomes a problem for them. They start to speculate why, and then start dying, one-by-one.
The beginning of the story is beautifully written and wonderfully engaging.
But unfortunately, the story doesn't retain the promise of this beginning.
All of the scientists behaved like whiny, oversexed teenagers, wildly speculating about the captain and becoming more and more hysterical that they can't see him in person.
They're supposed to be scientists!!
Scientists are logical, they look for facts, they have rigorous methods of investigation, they don't deal in superstitious, paranoid speculation.
But none of these scientists were logical.
These characters were, by and large, unbelievable.
Some of the writing was really wonderful, and some of it was very stilted. It didn't feel like it all came from the same hand. There's no co-author mentioned, so I don't know if there was a co-author or ghostwriter, only that the writing just didn't always feel consistent.
There were parts of the plot that I really liked -- the idea of the mythical ship that has traveled the universe for eons and become part of so many different cultures' lore is really original -- where did the ship come from? Why is it always traveling? What does it want? Who are the occupants?
But the main plot -- the hysterical scientists and their untimely demises -- wasn't very original at all. It was closer to a horror novel than a science fiction novel.
Because George R.R. Martin has such a huge following, and his books are so popular, I know he's a creative and outstanding author. But there's very little of that on display in this book.
After suffering through the story, Nightflyers, I did not read the rest of the short stories in the book.
Nightflyers is a collection of short stories, starting with the titular story.
I was EXTREMELY disappointed.
The story is about a scientist who's hired a scientific team & a ship to rendezvous with a supposedly mythical ship that has been traveling the universe for eons. The ship's captain doesn't reveal himself to the scientists, except by hologram, and this becomes a problem for them. They start to speculate why, and then start dying, one-by-one.
The beginning of the story is beautifully written and wonderfully engaging.
But unfortunately, the story doesn't retain the promise of this beginning.
All of the scientists behaved like whiny, oversexed teenagers, wildly speculating about the captain and becoming more and more hysterical that they can't see him in person.
They're supposed to be scientists!!
Scientists are logical, they look for facts, they have rigorous methods of investigation, they don't deal in superstitious, paranoid speculation.
But none of these scientists were logical.
These characters were, by and large, unbelievable.
Some of the writing was really wonderful, and some of it was very stilted. It didn't feel like it all came from the same hand. There's no co-author mentioned, so I don't know if there was a co-author or ghostwriter, only that the writing just didn't always feel consistent.
There were parts of the plot that I really liked -- the idea of the mythical ship that has traveled the universe for eons and become part of so many different cultures' lore is really original -- where did the ship come from? Why is it always traveling? What does it want? Who are the occupants?
But the main plot -- the hysterical scientists and their untimely demises -- wasn't very original at all. It was closer to a horror novel than a science fiction novel.
Because George R.R. Martin has such a huge following, and his books are so popular, I know he's a creative and outstanding author. But there's very little of that on display in this book.
After suffering through the story, Nightflyers, I did not read the rest of the short stories in the book.
August 18, 2018
This review is for the novella with the same name of this book.
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This novella is about a crew who explore deep space to observe a mythical race of species. They end up getting more than they bargained for. This is your basic horror story that has deep space as its setting.
I am the type of person who needs to read the source material before the visual rendition is shown and SyFy has made this novella into visual form. Sometimes I am glad that I read the material beforehand and this is one of those times. What sold me on this novella was the setting. This crew is all alone within deep space and there is no chance for help as we get the mystery and horror of the crew being attacked. There is some nice graphic images that accompany the horror scenes. The mystery aspect is well done as we get hints throughout to it and the requisite red herring. The only issue I had with the story is that I wish that the characters were fleshed out a little more. Some of them ran into each other and they were not distinguishable. This could be a case of this being a short story instead of a full novel.
If you are a fan of science fiction mixed with horror this is a must read. I enjoyed it and I understand why SyFy decided to produce it. I am looking forward to the television event when it finally premieres.
Actual rating is 3.5 stars.
This novella is about a crew who explore deep space to observe a mythical race of species. They end up getting more than they bargained for. This is your basic horror story that has deep space as its setting.
I am the type of person who needs to read the source material before the visual rendition is shown and SyFy has made this novella into visual form. Sometimes I am glad that I read the material beforehand and this is one of those times. What sold me on this novella was the setting. This crew is all alone within deep space and there is no chance for help as we get the mystery and horror of the crew being attacked. There is some nice graphic images that accompany the horror scenes. The mystery aspect is well done as we get hints throughout to it and the requisite red herring. The only issue I had with the story is that I wish that the characters were fleshed out a little more. Some of them ran into each other and they were not distinguishable. This could be a case of this being a short story instead of a full novel.
If you are a fan of science fiction mixed with horror this is a must read. I enjoyed it and I understand why SyFy decided to produce it. I am looking forward to the television event when it finally premieres.
December 6, 2018
Syfy вече изстреляха пилотния епизод на сериала „Nightflyers”. 2093 година космически екипаж е на път да установи контакт с извънземни форми на живот, но мисията им поема по фатална траектория, когато на борда на кораба „Нощен летец” започват серия от странни и кървави инциденти. Липсват само Сигорни Уийвър и Сам Нийл. За сметка на това пък си имаме Джордж Р. Р. Мартин, чиято новела със същото заглавие е послужила като основа на сериала. „Нощен летец” излиза на български от изд. „Бард”, под формата на сборник, в който освен описания до момента сай фай трилър ви очакват още няколко апетитни творби от автора на култовото фентъзи „Игра на тронове“. Прочетете ревюто на "Книжни Криле": https://knijnikrile.wordpress.com/201...
March 28, 2019
La gran fortaleza de Nightflyers es cómo mantiene el suspense hasta casi el final de la historia. Se trata de una novela corta, por lo que no hay tiempo para desarrollar intrincados conflictos, pero nos mantiene en un estado constante de sospecha: ¿quién o qué es Royd Eris? ¿Está diciéndoles la verdad? ¿Los acecha de veras un peligro, o son delirios de Thale Lasamer? ¿Es Royd el peligro, lo son los volcryn, es otra cosa completamente distinta o son la tripulación unos pobres desgraciados ejecutando su profecía autocumplida? Habiendo leído otras obras del autor, una sabe que el asesino no va a ser el mayordomo. Crítica completa: https://libros-prohibidos.com/george-...
October 3, 2018
Weird people on a spaceship, and one is crazy about an alien species that’s almost mythical. People begin dying off, and it’s up to Melantha to figure things out.
The story was ok. Kind of interesting. A whodunit that’s a little creepy. I only liked the main character Melantha; everyone else was kind of forgettable.
The story was ok. Kind of interesting. A whodunit that’s a little creepy. I only liked the main character Melantha; everyone else was kind of forgettable.
February 21, 2019
Το βιβλίο περιέχει έξι διηγήματα συνολικά, οπότε είναι καλύτερο πιστεύω να τα βαθμολογίσω ξεχωριστά και να πω και δύο πράγματα για τους Νυχτοπτερίτες, που είναι και το διασημότερο διήγημα του βιβλίου...
1. Νυχτοπτερίτες 3*
Το διασημότερο (και μεγαλύτερο σε έκταση) διήγημα του βιβλίου όπως προείπα, και μάλλον η μεγαλύτερη απογοήτευση. Μέχρι την σελίδα 100 περίπου μου άρεσε αρκετά, αλλά στις τελευταίες τριάντα...ξενέρωμα!
Τα υπόλοιπα διηγήματα 👇
2. Παράκαμψη 3.5*🥉
3. Σαββατοκύριακο σε εμπόλεμη ζώνη 4*🥈
4. Κι εφτά φορές ποτέ τον άνθρωπο μην τον σκοτώνεις 3.5*🥉
5. Ούτε οι πολύχρωμες φλόγες του αστροδακτύλιου 3*
6. Ένα τραγούδι για τη Λάια 4.5* 🥇🏆
1. Νυχτοπτερίτες 3*
Το διασημότερο (και μεγαλύτερο σε έκταση) διήγημα του βιβλίου όπως προείπα, και μάλλον η μεγαλύτερη απογοήτευση. Μέχρι την σελίδα 100 περίπου μου άρεσε αρκετά, αλλά στις τελευταίες τριάντα...ξενέρωμα!
Τα υπόλοιπα διηγήματα 👇
2. Παράκαμψη 3.5*🥉
3. Σαββατοκύριακο σε εμπόλεμη ζώνη 4*🥈
4. Κι εφτά φορές ποτέ τον άνθρωπο μην τον σκοτώνεις 3.5*🥉
5. Ούτε οι πολύχρωμες φλόγες του αστροδακτύλιου 3*
6. Ένα τραγούδι για τη Λάια 4.5* 🥇🏆
March 15, 2020
The feeling I had is that of a short story to which a few pages have been added just to reach the number necessary to give it the dignity of a novel. Like those subjects in middle school, where by writing a little bigger and adding some adjectives here and there, one was able to do the 4 minimum required pages. The idea in itself would not be bad, but it is developed so hastily that it is certainly not a pleasure to read it. There is also no pathos and everything seems like a homework done with minimal effort. Furthermore, the way the psychic dies is worthy of a series B splatter movie. Forgettable.
July 28, 2013
I read the first printing of this back when I was a teen, and I remember it stayed with me for a long time. Such a cool, creepy novella! I loved the two MCs of Nightflyers specifically and their strange romance. I loved the space sci-fi. I loved it so much I still have the original paperback. I go through a lot of books and many of them end up being resold or given away. I have a very short list of books that I keep forever. This was one of them.
September 24, 2022
In these few pages lies a story that manages to be both exciting and introspective and includes well crafted characters. I didn't expect much of it, since it sounded like a stereotypical space adventure, and only checked it out from the library because it's by GRRM. I'm glad I did because I really liked spending time with the character and loved the tone, the story and its themes.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,329 reviews