Selections from Dreamsongs Section One

Dreamsongs Sections #1

by George R.R. Martin

BONUS: Each selection includes extensive commentary by author George R. R. Martin

Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, collected into two stunning volumes, that offers fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.

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Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Audiobook, Short Stories, Science Fiction Fantasy

Audiobook

First published January 1, 2003

About the author

George 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...

Reviews

[Joel]

Before George R.R. Martin became famous for writing 1,200-page epic fantasy, he was revered for his short fiction, which is kind of funny when you think about it. He's like a smack dealer for his longtime fans -- the first ones were small, just a taste; suddenly they need more and more pages to get that same high. "Oh, Warriors, a new Martin book, so sweet, so thick and fat... what the fuck? He just EDITED it? What is this weak methadone shit? Who the fuck cares about Wild Cards?"

Much of his short fiction -- early-, mid- and late-career, has been collected in the two-volume Dreamsongs, which was released in three volumes on audio. Because you care, I will give brief reviews of the stories as I listen. (Though I should also mention that the real fun are the biographical interludes, narrated by Martin himself). I'm only doing Volume 1 for now. I can't handle 30-plus uninterrupted hours of short fiction.

Part One: A Four-Color Fanboy -- Fan-fiction and early writing

Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark - This story was written for a comic fanzine when GRRM was 17 and his beard probably wasn't quite so majestic as it is today, and he liked to convey atmosphere by writing stuff like, "Darkness was all around, black as night, and the dark castle loomed blackly in the dark blackness of night's deep dark blackness. Of night." D- (Hey, I'm not grading on a curve here. I still have to listen to this shit.)

The Fortress - Written just three years later for a college class, the improvement between this story and the prior one is stunning, at least in terms of simple prose. It's... kind of boring though. GRRM takes the historical fact of the mysterious surrender of the Finnish fort Sveaborg to the Russians in 1808, and imagines what really happened: the Finnish surrendered the fort... to the Russians in 18... Hmmm. Well, I'm sure his teacher gave him a better grade for the nice writing alone, but I kept waiting for demons or aliens or something to pop out. Nope. D+

And Death His Legacy - Another college-era piece. Have you talked to any college students about politics recently? Remember how nuanced and non-reactionary their views aren't? That's this story. A guy takes it into his own hands to deal with a foaming-at-the-mouth rightie politician. Rather grim and on the nose, albeit amusing if only because the villain's speeches are pretty much the Tea Party/Sarah Palin/Michele Bachmann talking points writ large. The narrator even uses a cornpone accent! C-

Part Two: The Filthy Pro -- Early sales and award contenders

The Hero -- The first (readable) story that really seems to fit into Martin's genre wheelhouse; not coincidentally, also his first professional sale. Find within: a lightly sketched sci-fi setting on an alien world, a brief, underwritten battle scene, a twist-the-knife ending. Er, except the ending is totally obviously coming from about a quarter of the way through. Some nice writing though -- Martin has quickly progressed to a point where his prose isn't going to be a distraction. C

The Exit to San Breta -- So, this is a nicely written piece and all, with some lovely poetic bits about nighttime driving, and it marries supernatural elements with a near-future sci-fi setting, but the story... the story is pretty much Stephen King light, or C-grade Twilight Zone. Actually, no, I'm pretty sure I read it in Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark. It might have been a bit fresher a few decades back, but... C

The Second Kind of Loneliness - Ahh, that's more like it... here is a story that I enjoyed without making caveats or looking too hard for what to praise. A man posted to a remote output in space muses on life, solitude, and loneliness that can exist within, even when in the middle of a crowded party. Sure, isolation and space are obvious subjects/tropes/topics/whatever, but GRRM handles then with insight and sensitivity here, albeit layered to with sheen of a young man's angst (these are journal entries, did I mention that?). Plus, a cool black hole gate to another universe! B

With Morning Comes Mistfall - I had high hopes for this one, since I knew it was Martin's first Hugo-nominated story, and though I can't say I'm disappointed, I wasn't blown away. Another sci-fi story, set on a mist-shrouded alien world that may or may not be inhabited by mysterious mist-wraiths. Really, though, it is about the unknown as a driver for the human imagination, and how with too many answers comes the death of wonder and a lessening of what it means to be human. Obviously, this means a great deal to someone who creates and inhabits fantasy worlds for a living. Once again, very finely written, but perhaps a bit obvious about what it's about. B

Part Three: The Light of Distant Stars -- '70s sci-fi stories

A Song for Lya -- I am in the midst of this, the longest story yet (when released, it was nominated for the Hugo for best novella), and at the halfway point, it feels like nothing so much as a deleted chapter from Hyperion, somehow transported into the past. Not saying that's a bad thing. (...) Ok, I am finished, and yeah, I feel the same: very Jack Vance/early Dan Simmons. One of those alien encounter stories that is really all about humanity. It hammers the theme a bit hard (Can you ever truly know another person? Well? CAN YOU???) but does so with lyricism and a gentle sadness, while exploring an interesting concept of religion. Certainly the strongest story thus far. A-

This Tower of Ashes -- Hmm. I am beginning to see a theme here: another story about a guy pining for a girl, and the shattering loneliness of it all. George, George, George, I know you were just a troubled, unlucky-in-love twentysomething, but ease back on the emo themes a bit, huh? Even a cool alien jungle setting, complete with drug-producing killer spiders, can't do much to liven up another mopey a tale of unrequited love. B-

And Seven Times Never Kill Man -- So this Hugo-nominee is a very Song for Lya-esque story about space colonizers oppressing the "alien" locals, a struggle built around religion, etc. And I'm sure I would think it was really good if I had ANY IDEA WHAT THE HELL IS HAPPENING. The POV jumps around a lot and I never was quite sure what scene I was in (listening to it rather than reading didn't help matters), and the ending gets a bit... vague. It doesn't help that there is almost no online discussion about it, which surprises me. Grade? A somewhat arbitrary... C

The Stone City -- Another longer entry, this one wanders a bit for the first hour or so but ends very well. I like the general concept a lot: a young boy dreams of traveling the stars, heading into the inner core of the galaxy, where no man has gone before (you know, literally). But when he gets there, he finds it isn't so easy to leave. Not easy at all. And yet the planet where he is stranded, with its ancient stone city, holds a whole universe of mysteries all its own. B

Bitter Blooms -- Advanced technology as a power indistinguishable from magic: a young girl living on a harsh world is seduced by the "magic" of a local witch who can fulfill all of her heart's desires. It is very easy to see where this one is going, and the concepts are very familiar (by now, anyway -- tough to rag on a near 40-year-old story for not feeling fresh enough), and yet... something about the writing carries it the way it didn't in a few of Martin's other trope-filled tales. And maybe I have A Dance with Dragons on the brain, but there are a lot of seeds of his fantasy saga in here: endless winters, clans and sigils, even some familiar names (Royce!). B+

The Way of Cross and Dragon -- "So Jesus called back the dragons, and they came, and everywhere the fires went out." Hmmm... I don't remember that part from Sunday school. I love this concept -- an exploration of the way a religion would shape and mutate if exported across stars and galaxies. You think you know where it is going when you find out the main character is an agent of the church tasked with putting down a heretical sect that has canonized Judas Iscariot. Then you find out that in this tradition, Judas never betrayed Jesus, but laid waste to the countryside with dragons after the crucifixion. Neat! B+

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Final thoughts? As you might expect, a bit of a mixed bag pulled from the earliest period in an esteemed writer's career. I have a feeling the best is still ahead in the future volumes of this collection, but this is a nice taste anyway.

Best story: A Song for Lya
Worst story: Only Kids are Afraid of the Dark
Favorite story: A tie -- Bitter Blooms and The Way of Cross and Dragon

[Alex]

The stories in Section 1: A Four-Color Fanboy are thoroughly adequate but not particularly noteworthy. While this section is fascinating from an academic sense, the entertainment value is limited. The autobiographical bits were a lot more engaging than the fiction. I really dig GRR Martin’s fanboy roots.

[Alex]

The stories in Section 1: A Four-Color Fanboy are thoroughly adequate but not particularly noteworthy. While this section is fascinating from an academic sense, the entertainment value is limited. The autobiographical bits were a lot more engaging than the fiction. I really dig GRR Martin’s fanboy roots.

The stories in Section 2: The Filthy Pro were a definite step forward from his early fandom fiction. I enjoyed “The Exit to San Breta” the most, with its Twilight Zone trappings and comfortable ghost story. “With Morning Comes Mistfall” is a sad meditation on the removal of wonder from our lives.

The stories in Section 3: The Light of Distant Stars seem to expand from Dying of the Light (or set up its construction) but few grabbed me as much as the novel. I liked the themes explored by Seven Times more as Speaker for the Dead.

The Way of Cross and Dragon was a fascinating cynical view on belief through the lens of the colonialism of the Catholic Church to the stars. The religion of Saint Judas was delightfully constructed.

A Song for Lya carries many of the trademarks of the brand of existential horror where we struggle with being just bags of meat. Yet here there is hope whereas in Ligotti there is despair. But the hope is still spurned. Rather grim. It could have benefitted from some judicious trimming, though.

Bitterblooms was the standout from this set. This was crafted in a fascinating fashion. It’s got that Expedition to the Barrier Peaks vibe with distinctly less death. It’s also got the dangers of being captured by the fae and is tied into the whole Arthurian myth.

[Jason]

Although Amazon lists this as abridged, it is not. Nor does it contain the full contents of the print version. Instead (as best as I can tell) they split the unabridged audiobook into three volumes and print into two (in the UK, the print edition is a single volume just to ensure everyone is confused).

Contents:

* Introduction
* A Four-Color Fanboy
o Only Kids Are Afraid Of The Dark
o The Fortress
o And Death His Legacy
* The Filthy Pro
o The Hero
o The Exit To San Breta
o The Second Kind Of Loneliness
o With Morning Comes Mistfall
* The Light Of Distant Stars
o A Song For Lya
o This Tower Of Ashes
o And Seven Times Never Kill A Man
o The Stone City
o Bitterblooms
o The Way Of Cross And Dragon

[Alibabababaei]

4.5

[Jeremy Stock]

I thoroughly enjoyed these stories, and the autobiographical information/circumstances that Martin gives about each story. I had not realized what an altogether true talent that George R.R. Martin is. From his early works he showed his prowess, and seeming purely God given ability.

These are must-reads for any and all fantasy and science fiction fans. Out of all the stories included, only one was unenjoyable. Some, like "The Second Kind of Loneliness," was downright brilliant.

You won't be disappointed.

[Claire Gilligan]

I never knew GRRM could write such fun sci-fi! Intriguing, too, his takes on the different alien and otherworldly human societies, especially their various religions. I'd read more of his sf in a heartbeat!

[Leslie]

Granted, I am a diehard fantasy fan and had trouble with some of the more "science" sci-fiction stories. But for the most part, I did enjoy the stories in this book.

[Svenja]

As expected, varying quality of the stories but most were really really good!

[Maple_stan]

Some high highs and some low lows, not all short stories are equal, but that’s kind of the point. I really enjoyed a song for lya and a different kind of loneliness