Dreamsongs: Volume II by George R.R. Martin
Dreamsongs: Volume II by George R.R. Martin. New York: Bantam Books, 2007. ISBN: 978-0-553-80658-8
I reviewed Volume I back in July, and have finally gotten around to reading and now blogging Volume II. The stories are good. I certainly enjoyed the Haviland Tuf, biogenetic engineer extraordinaire. I suppose I should look up Tuf Voyaging (1986), which is a whole collection of Tuf stories, published as a novel.
Less successful, in my view, are the TV scripts. TV is for watching, not reading. Since these for the most part, never got made, this is admittedly the only way to experience them, but they're not worth the effort, in my view.
The "Wild Card" stories were better, almost (but not quite) good enough to make me want to read the series, either the original, or the revived versions, in which Martin invites lots of other writers to the party.
The final group of stories is a mixed bag. Even Martin admits that some of them are difficult to classify. SciFi? Horror? Fantasy? Who cares? They're stories! “The Hedge Knight” is still my favorite, even though I've read it at least twice before, once in its original Robert Silverberg Legends anthology, and once somewhere else.
Finally, the book ends with a bibliography of Martin's writings, compiled by Leslie Kay Swigart. If you're a fan of Martin's work, you'll want to read this collection. If you're a fanatical fan, you'll want to consult the bibliography, for sure. Recommended for both those fans, and anyone who enjoys a good story or two.
I reviewed Volume I back in July, and have finally gotten around to reading and now blogging Volume II. The stories are good. I certainly enjoyed the Haviland Tuf, biogenetic engineer extraordinaire. I suppose I should look up Tuf Voyaging (1986), which is a whole collection of Tuf stories, published as a novel.
Less successful, in my view, are the TV scripts. TV is for watching, not reading. Since these for the most part, never got made, this is admittedly the only way to experience them, but they're not worth the effort, in my view.
The "Wild Card" stories were better, almost (but not quite) good enough to make me want to read the series, either the original, or the revived versions, in which Martin invites lots of other writers to the party.
The final group of stories is a mixed bag. Even Martin admits that some of them are difficult to classify. SciFi? Horror? Fantasy? Who cares? They're stories! “The Hedge Knight” is still my favorite, even though I've read it at least twice before, once in its original Robert Silverberg Legends anthology, and once somewhere else.
Finally, the book ends with a bibliography of Martin's writings, compiled by Leslie Kay Swigart. If you're a fan of Martin's work, you'll want to read this collection. If you're a fanatical fan, you'll want to consult the bibliography, for sure. Recommended for both those fans, and anyone who enjoys a good story or two.
Labels: collections, dreamsongs, fantasy, George R.R. Martin, science fiction, scifi, short stories
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