Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Science Fiction. Short Stories. HTML:Even before A Game of Thrones, George R. R. Martin had already established himself as a giant in the field of fantasy literature. The first of two stunning collections, Dreamsongs: Volume I is a rare treat for readers, offering fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master. Gathered here in Dreamsongs: Volume I are the very best of George R. R. Martin�??s early works, including his Hugo, Nebula, and Bram Stoker award�??winning stories, cool fan pieces, and the original novella The Ice Dragon, from which Martin�??s New York Times bestselling children�??s book of the same title originated. A dazzling array of subjects and styles that features extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume I is the perfect collection for both Martin devotees and a new generation of fans. �??Fans, genre historians and aspiring writers alike will find this shelf-bending retrospective as impressive as it is intriguing.�?��??Publishers Weekly �??Dreamsongs is the ideal way to discover . . . a master of science fiction, fantasy and horror. . . . Martin is a writer like no other.�?��??The Guardian (U.K.) PRAISE FOR GEORGE R. R. MARTIN �??Of those who work in the grand epic-fantasy tradition, Martin is by far the best. In fact . . . this is as good a time as any to proclaim him the American Tolkien.�?��??Time �??Long live George Martin . . . a literary dervish, enthralled by complicated characters and vivid language, and bursting with the wild vision of the very best tale tellers.�?��??The New York Times �??I always expect the best from George R. R.… (more)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2003
Physical description
xiii, 683 p.; 25 cm
Publication
New York : Bantam Books, 2007.
Pages
xiii; 683
ISBN
9780553805451
Local notes
Short story collection, divided in sections with Martin doing autobiographical introductions to each. Additionally, Gardner Dozois has a five page introduction to the book as a whole.
The short stories included are:¨
Only Kids are Afraid of the Dark
The Fortress
And Death His Legacy
The Hero (The Thousand Worlds)
The Exit to San Breta
The Second Kind of Loneliness
With Morning Comes Mistfall (The Thousand Worlds)
A Song for Lya (The Thousand Worlds)*
This Tower of Ashes (The Thousand Worlds)
And Seven Times Never Kill Man (The Thousand Worlds)
The Stone City (The Thousand Worlds)
Bitterblooms (The Thousand Worlds)
The Way of Cross and Dragon (The Thousand Worlds)**
The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr (The Thousand Worlds)
The Ice Dragon
In the Lost Lands
Meathouse Man (The Thousand Worlds)
Remembering Melody
Sandkings (The Thousand Worlds)***
Nightflyers (The Thousand Worlds)****
The Monkey Treatment*****
The Pear-Shaped Man
* Winner of the 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
** Winner of the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and 1980 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
*** Winner of the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, the 1980 Locus Award for Best Novelette and the 1980 Nebula Award for Best Novelette.
**** Winner of the 1981 Locus Award for Best Novella.
***** Winner of the 1984 Locus Award for Best Novelette.
The short stories included are:¨
Only Kids are Afraid of the Dark
The Fortress
And Death His Legacy
The Hero (The Thousand Worlds)
The Exit to San Breta
The Second Kind of Loneliness
With Morning Comes Mistfall (The Thousand Worlds)
A Song for Lya (The Thousand Worlds)*
This Tower of Ashes (The Thousand Worlds)
And Seven Times Never Kill Man (The Thousand Worlds)
The Stone City (The Thousand Worlds)
Bitterblooms (The Thousand Worlds)
The Way of Cross and Dragon (The Thousand Worlds)**
The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr (The Thousand Worlds)
The Ice Dragon
In the Lost Lands
Meathouse Man (The Thousand Worlds)
Remembering Melody
Sandkings (The Thousand Worlds)***
Nightflyers (The Thousand Worlds)****
The Monkey Treatment*****
The Pear-Shaped Man
* Winner of the 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella.
** Winner of the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story and 1980 Locus Award for Best Short Story.
*** Winner of the 1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette, the 1980 Locus Award for Best Novelette and the 1980 Nebula Award for Best Novelette.
**** Winner of the 1981 Locus Award for Best Novella.
***** Winner of the 1984 Locus Award for Best Novelette.
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User reviews
LibraryThing member fyrefly98
The Dreamsongs books are a compilation of George R. R. Martin's best known short stories and novellas. The span a variety of genres, often blending science fiction, horror, and fantasy. The books are broken into two volumes; the audiobooks are broken into three volumes, and are labelled "Unabridged
Part 1: A Four-Color Fanboy – introduction read by George R. R. Martin about his start publishing in comic fandom.
Only Kids Are Afraid Of The Dark – read by Adrian Paul. Dr. Weird (a spirit superhero) fights Sagel, a demon who is the Destroyer of Souls. Comic books just aren’t my thing, and I probably would have liked it more had I been alive during the golden age of superhero comics, but it's still probably better than most of the stories I wrote when I was 17.
The Fortress – read by Mark Bramhall – Tensions rise to the point of mutiny when an Admiral seeks to surrender a Finnish fortress without waiting for the aid of the Swedish. Pretty specialized audience – most people probably don't know the importance of the incident to Scandinavian history. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight, as well.
And Death His Legacy – read by Scott Brick – A dying man conceives a plan to assassinate a dangerous religious/political leader. Not entirely effective as a story – I didn’t quite get the connection between the two men – but painfully applicable to the world today, considering it was written 40-odd years ago.
Part 2: The Filthy Pro – read by George R. R. Martin – Introduction to his first stories as a “real” Writer.
The Hero – Read by Roy Dotrice – A war hero asks to be decommissioned at the end of his term of service so that he can leave the War Worlds and go live on Earth. Pretty obviously of the Vietnam generation; didn’t do much for me.
The Exit To San Breta – Read by Scott Brick – In a future where cars are collectibles and highways are falling apart, a guy gets in a wreck with a ghost car. Pretty standard urban legend-type stuff.
The Second Kind Of Loneliness – Read by Barry Mendenhall – A man, nearing the end of his four-year solo term of duty aboard a deep space station awaits his replacement, although he can’t quite reconcile himself with returning to the things he ran from on Earth. Emotionally much stronger than the other stories so far, and although the ending was relatively easy to see coming, a very honest and powerful story.
With Morning Comes Mistfall – Read by Claudia Black – Scientist-explorers come to Wraithworld, a planet shrouded in mists, and potentially home to the mysterious wraiths, tall ghost-like figures linked to several deaths since settlement. The expedition’s goal is to conclusively prove (or disprove) the wraith’s existence – but at what cost comes knowledge? I liked this one, although I think I might have liked it more if things had been left a little ambiguous and its point hadn’t been hammered home quite so loudly.
Part 3: The Light Of Distant Stars – Read by George R. R. Martin – talking about early science fiction novels he read that influenced his work. All six of the stories in this section are part of his “future history”, all set in the same universe, although each on a different planet.
A Song For Lya – Read by Mark Bramhall – Two telepaths are sent to a planet where humans are converting to the local religion… a religion which includes a ritual suicide. This one wavered between being legitimately emotionally moving and seeming like the existential angst about loneliness and connection and love that everyone goes through as a teenager. Still, that teenage angst made it very recognizable and relatable. The best so far.
This Tower Of Ashes – Read by Kirby Heybourne – A loner and naturalist gets a visit from his ex-wife and her new lover, and takes them into the forest of the Dream-Spiders to prove something to them and to himself about the value of the forest and the choices we make for love. Not bad, but coming off of A Song for Lya it seemed a little weak. Also, the ending was somewhat confusing – I thought I had a bead on his message, but then I wasn’t quite sure.
And Seven Times Never Kill Man – Read by Roy Dotrice – The Steel Angels, humans of a militant religion, are systematically wiping out the Ja’en-shi, an animal-like but intelligent race, in what seems to be a holy war, while a trader in alien artifacts is trying to convince them to fight back. Was kind of ambivalent about this one. There wasn’t really a protagonist with whom I identified, and I had a harder time picturing and slipping into the world he created.
The Stone City – Read by Adrian Paul – Tells the story of a human traveler/explorer, stranded on a far-flung world, unable to get a berth on a ship that going anywhere exciting. I had a hard time following what was happening in the story and what was happening in flashback, and so I think I missed the point of the story.
Bitterblooms – Read by Kim Myguest – On an ice world, a young girl stranded outside gets taken in by a witch. I thought this story was pretty predictable. Not unentertaining, but not one of the better ones in this collection.
The Way Of Cross And Dragon – Read by Roy Dotrice – A Knight Inquisitor of the militant order of the interstellar Catholic church is sent to investigate a heresy involving Judas Iscariot. I liked this one – not much really happened in terms of story, but there were some interesting musings on the nature of faith and reason and belief and truth. It would have felt right at home in my “Belief in Question in Modern Literature” English class in high school, but I suspect that my teacher didn’t read enough science fiction to put it on the syllabus.
Recommendation: Like almost every collection of short stories, there are some hits and some misses, but the gems are good enough to make the whole thing worthwhile. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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Selections" (there are a few stories which are not recorded, although those are in audio Volumes II and III). The stories are organized roughly by time written, with an introductory bit to each section read by the author himself.Part 1: A Four-Color Fanboy – introduction read by George R. R. Martin about his start publishing in comic fandom.
Only Kids Are Afraid Of The Dark – read by Adrian Paul. Dr. Weird (a spirit superhero) fights Sagel, a demon who is the Destroyer of Souls. Comic books just aren’t my thing, and I probably would have liked it more had I been alive during the golden age of superhero comics, but it's still probably better than most of the stories I wrote when I was 17.
The Fortress – read by Mark Bramhall – Tensions rise to the point of mutiny when an Admiral seeks to surrender a Finnish fortress without waiting for the aid of the Swedish. Pretty specialized audience – most people probably don't know the importance of the incident to Scandinavian history. I had a hard time keeping the characters straight, as well.
And Death His Legacy – read by Scott Brick – A dying man conceives a plan to assassinate a dangerous religious/political leader. Not entirely effective as a story – I didn’t quite get the connection between the two men – but painfully applicable to the world today, considering it was written 40-odd years ago.
Part 2: The Filthy Pro – read by George R. R. Martin – Introduction to his first stories as a “real” Writer.
The Hero – Read by Roy Dotrice – A war hero asks to be decommissioned at the end of his term of service so that he can leave the War Worlds and go live on Earth. Pretty obviously of the Vietnam generation; didn’t do much for me.
The Exit To San Breta – Read by Scott Brick – In a future where cars are collectibles and highways are falling apart, a guy gets in a wreck with a ghost car. Pretty standard urban legend-type stuff.
The Second Kind Of Loneliness – Read by Barry Mendenhall – A man, nearing the end of his four-year solo term of duty aboard a deep space station awaits his replacement, although he can’t quite reconcile himself with returning to the things he ran from on Earth. Emotionally much stronger than the other stories so far, and although the ending was relatively easy to see coming, a very honest and powerful story.
With Morning Comes Mistfall – Read by Claudia Black – Scientist-explorers come to Wraithworld, a planet shrouded in mists, and potentially home to the mysterious wraiths, tall ghost-like figures linked to several deaths since settlement. The expedition’s goal is to conclusively prove (or disprove) the wraith’s existence – but at what cost comes knowledge? I liked this one, although I think I might have liked it more if things had been left a little ambiguous and its point hadn’t been hammered home quite so loudly.
Part 3: The Light Of Distant Stars – Read by George R. R. Martin – talking about early science fiction novels he read that influenced his work. All six of the stories in this section are part of his “future history”, all set in the same universe, although each on a different planet.
A Song For Lya – Read by Mark Bramhall – Two telepaths are sent to a planet where humans are converting to the local religion… a religion which includes a ritual suicide. This one wavered between being legitimately emotionally moving and seeming like the existential angst about loneliness and connection and love that everyone goes through as a teenager. Still, that teenage angst made it very recognizable and relatable. The best so far.
This Tower Of Ashes – Read by Kirby Heybourne – A loner and naturalist gets a visit from his ex-wife and her new lover, and takes them into the forest of the Dream-Spiders to prove something to them and to himself about the value of the forest and the choices we make for love. Not bad, but coming off of A Song for Lya it seemed a little weak. Also, the ending was somewhat confusing – I thought I had a bead on his message, but then I wasn’t quite sure.
And Seven Times Never Kill Man – Read by Roy Dotrice – The Steel Angels, humans of a militant religion, are systematically wiping out the Ja’en-shi, an animal-like but intelligent race, in what seems to be a holy war, while a trader in alien artifacts is trying to convince them to fight back. Was kind of ambivalent about this one. There wasn’t really a protagonist with whom I identified, and I had a harder time picturing and slipping into the world he created.
The Stone City – Read by Adrian Paul – Tells the story of a human traveler/explorer, stranded on a far-flung world, unable to get a berth on a ship that going anywhere exciting. I had a hard time following what was happening in the story and what was happening in flashback, and so I think I missed the point of the story.
Bitterblooms – Read by Kim Myguest – On an ice world, a young girl stranded outside gets taken in by a witch. I thought this story was pretty predictable. Not unentertaining, but not one of the better ones in this collection.
The Way Of Cross And Dragon – Read by Roy Dotrice – A Knight Inquisitor of the militant order of the interstellar Catholic church is sent to investigate a heresy involving Judas Iscariot. I liked this one – not much really happened in terms of story, but there were some interesting musings on the nature of faith and reason and belief and truth. It would have felt right at home in my “Belief in Question in Modern Literature” English class in high school, but I suspect that my teacher didn’t read enough science fiction to put it on the syllabus.
Recommendation: Like almost every collection of short stories, there are some hits and some misses, but the gems are good enough to make the whole thing worthwhile. 3.5 out of 5 stars.
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LibraryThing member Cecrow
Dreamsongs is a collection of Martin's shorter fiction. This volume is presented roughly chronologically and at the same time thematically. Each section is prefaced with the book's biggest bonus: an essay-style biographical introduction that describes Martin's mindset at the time he wrote the
The first two sections contain his early efforts, growing in quality and hinting at the accomplished author he was later to become. A focus on science fiction comes next, with his earliest published successes. Collected together their common universe becomes apparent, yet each stands alone. I was especially looking forward to the fourth section focussed on fantasy, although I found none of them to be suggestive of the tone and style of his recent novels. I enjoyed all of the stories in these section, although I'd admit "The Stone City" was the weakest link.
The last section in this first volume is for the horror genre, which I've never been a fan of and was tempted to skip. However, this section proves to contain his best work. Some is easily categorized as sf, including this volume's highlight "Sandkings" (his most famous work outside of "Ice and Fire") which fits neatly into the universe presented in the earler sf section.
A collection like this invites contrast between its first and last story, and doing so demonstrates how well Martin has honed his craft over the years. Any fan of the author should not resist this set, for its several memorable pieces. Their presentation here is especially of interest for those of an age with Martin who may share his memories, and for the education and inspiration it can offer to any would-be author.
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stories, influences on the work, how they saw publication, and the reception each enjoyed.The first two sections contain his early efforts, growing in quality and hinting at the accomplished author he was later to become. A focus on science fiction comes next, with his earliest published successes. Collected together their common universe becomes apparent, yet each stands alone. I was especially looking forward to the fourth section focussed on fantasy, although I found none of them to be suggestive of the tone and style of his recent novels. I enjoyed all of the stories in these section, although I'd admit "The Stone City" was the weakest link.
The last section in this first volume is for the horror genre, which I've never been a fan of and was tempted to skip. However, this section proves to contain his best work. Some is easily categorized as sf, including this volume's highlight "Sandkings" (his most famous work outside of "Ice and Fire") which fits neatly into the universe presented in the earler sf section.
A collection like this invites contrast between its first and last story, and doing so demonstrates how well Martin has honed his craft over the years. Any fan of the author should not resist this set, for its several memorable pieces. Their presentation here is especially of interest for those of an age with Martin who may share his memories, and for the education and inspiration it can offer to any would-be author.
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LibraryThing member chosler
Science fiction, fantasy, and horror short stories and novellas from Martin’s teen years through the early 1980s, including many award winners, esp. “The Sandkings” and “A Song for Lya.” Explicit violence/gore and language, some non-explicit sex.
LibraryThing member CKmtl
Like many of his current readers, I was vaguely aware that Martin wrote more than epic fantasy, but I hadn't read any of it. Dreamsongs is the perfect cure for that. This first volume roughly spans his the first half of his career, from the comics fanzines of the 60s to the horror boom of the
Martin notes that many of these stories were intended to be the starting points of series. It's quite unfortunate that they didn't come to fruition, as many of the characters and settings are very intriguing. I would have loved to be able to find more "Thousand World" (Martin's main sci-fi universe) stories... or see more of Gray Alys' unfortunate clients.
The comment/mini-memoir pieces that introduce each section provide great context for the stories.
While nearly all of the stories are excellent, the very first one, "Only Kids Are Afraid Of The Dark", is a bit rough. You have to admire Martin's guts, though... many authors would sooner curl up and die than let one of their green adolescent stories out into the wild.
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80s.Martin notes that many of these stories were intended to be the starting points of series. It's quite unfortunate that they didn't come to fruition, as many of the characters and settings are very intriguing. I would have loved to be able to find more "Thousand World" (Martin's main sci-fi universe) stories... or see more of Gray Alys' unfortunate clients.
The comment/mini-memoir pieces that introduce each section provide great context for the stories.
While nearly all of the stories are excellent, the very first one, "Only Kids Are Afraid Of The Dark", is a bit rough. You have to admire Martin's guts, though... many authors would sooner curl up and die than let one of their green adolescent stories out into the wild.
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LibraryThing member trinibaby9
I'm not normally a fan of short stories, however I picked this up as I am a fan of George R.R. Martin. This was excellent from the standpoint that it really gives you and idea of how Martin has developed into the author he is today. The process he has gone through to get to where he is, and the
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shaping of his stories by life's experience are fascinating. This really shows you the everyday side of GRRM. Overall and excellent read. Show Less
LibraryThing member revslick
reminded me of early L. Sprague de Camp. These short stories give you a glimpse into early crafting of Game of Thrones
LibraryThing member rivkat
This collection begins with some juvenilia, which includes the opening lines “Darkness. Everywhere there was darkness. Grim, foreboding, omnipresent; it hung over the plain like a great stifling mantle.” And it keeps on in precisely that vein, eldritch horrors and everything! Also, a head
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explodes “like a watermelon hit by a battering ram.” I kid, but even then Martin knew how to commit. You definitely can see him getting better, though—learning to use the word-torrents for his own purposes; this collection has Sandkings, for example. Also, I liked finding out that, like me, he became a sf fan through Have Space Suit, Will Travel. Show Less
LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
(Review of both Book One and Book Two)
Got both of these anthologies from the library. Together, they're a great retrospective of Martin's career.
They're worth reading, for any Martin fan, even completists who've already read nearly everything in them, as Martin introduces and arranges the contents.
It starts off with a hilarious (and, admittedly, hilariously bad) fantasy story first published in an independent fanzine when Martin was a teen... and quickly moves into his excellent sci-fi and horror stories, includes some TV scripts, and more recent short fiction. Nearly all of it is 5-star material, with, (in my opinion) the exception of the 'Wild Cards' material... but that's just me; I'm just not a fan of the superhero genre, even when it's well-done, socially relevant and gritty as hell. I just can't force myself to love it.
That's OK, though, because I love everything else here - and that's a lot to love - this collection is two big, thick books. Go read.
Got both of these anthologies from the library. Together, they're a great retrospective of Martin's career.
They're worth reading, for any Martin fan, even completists who've already read nearly everything in them, as Martin introduces and arranges the contents.
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His commentary on the stories is worth the price of admission alone.It starts off with a hilarious (and, admittedly, hilariously bad) fantasy story first published in an independent fanzine when Martin was a teen... and quickly moves into his excellent sci-fi and horror stories, includes some TV scripts, and more recent short fiction. Nearly all of it is 5-star material, with, (in my opinion) the exception of the 'Wild Cards' material... but that's just me; I'm just not a fan of the superhero genre, even when it's well-done, socially relevant and gritty as hell. I just can't force myself to love it.
That's OK, though, because I love everything else here - and that's a lot to love - this collection is two big, thick books. Go read.
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LibraryThing member shaunesay
Interesting to listen to some early and different works by George R R Martin. Honestly my favorite parts were George talking about himself and his experiences. a definite recommend for fans of the man!
LibraryThing member Andy_DiMartino
His early stuff, an interesting study. Some stories are a tad disturbing.
LibraryThing member reading_fox
A very strong collection of GRRM's early writings from the 60s-80s or so - the format seems to indicate subsequent volumes will bring us up to the present date. All of this takes place before Ice and Fire was started, and in any case is only his short format writings - there are a couple of
It features many of his better known works (to anyone who's read anything other than Song) including my favourite Way of Cross and Dragon, but sadly ends on the horror collection (inc Sandkings) with the final story being the weakest of the whole book.
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novellas. Broadly divided into a few sections from his childhood starting with comics through to becoming a professional writer - with a substantial overlap as no-one makes much money from it. There's commentary on how and why some of the stories were written and the difficulties of publishing science fiction (and fantasy before Tolkien!), followed by the stories themselves and then another section break.It features many of his better known works (to anyone who's read anything other than Song) including my favourite Way of Cross and Dragon, but sadly ends on the horror collection (inc Sandkings) with the final story being the weakest of the whole book.
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LibraryThing member martialalex92
Sandkings was really good, the rest kind of meh generally
LibraryThing member apomonis
Most of the shorts were forgettable; their plots meandering and erratic. There were some wonderful kernels of stories that unfortunately never took seed. They seemed to just aimlessly conclude...the best example of this was, 'The Stone City.'
However, 'Bitterblooms', 'With Morning Comes Mistfall'
However, 'Bitterblooms', 'With Morning Comes Mistfall'
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and 'The Second Kind of Loneliness' hit closer to the mark...I'm hoping Volume II (with later, more developed works) has a better batting average. Oh, and, 'Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark' was a really fun, energetic, and topical piece from the time period of Martin's life when he was obsessed with fanzines--my eight year old self LOVED IT. Show Less