Speculative Fiction

Dreamsongs: Volume II by George R. R. Martin (Dreamsongs #2)

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 7 Comments
This is a review off the second volume of George R R Martin’s Dreamsongs compendium where many of his earlier works are catalogued.  The review of the first Dreamsongs can be found here.

The continuation of Martin’s short story compendium had less stories I liked as compared to his first, but it also had less stories overall, and the ones I enjoyed were phenomenal.  A Taste of Tuf introduced me to cat loving protagonist Tuf Haviland who I believe could be an avatar for Martin himself (though GRRM insists he’s more like the Turtle of the Wild Card series) in addition to adding more books to my reading list.  I entirely skipped over The Siren Song of Hollywood after losing interest in the first story.  It was okay, but the screenplay style threw me off.  Doing the Wild Card Shuffle was 50/50.  The story I disliked was my least favorite of the entire volume, and in fact hung me up on reading it for about a month, but the story I loved is my favorite in the entire collection.  What an appropriate unity of opposites.  This section also had me adding books to my reading list. The Heart in Conflict section was a nice round out.  I wasn’t over the moon about any of the stories in it, but there was a draw to them still.  Two of them factor greatly into something major recently introduced in the television series.

As with Volume I, this is not going to be a review of the entire collection, but rather a commentary and brief analysis on the stories that struck a chord.

Dreamsongs Volume II

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Dreamsongs: Volume I by George R. R. Martin (Dreamsongs #1)

/ The Shameful Narcissist / 14 Comments
This is a review off the first volume of George R R Martin’s Dreamsongs compendium where many of his earlier works are catalogued.  The review of the second Dreamsongs can be found here.

Every great writer starts somewhere, but there are few who display their first fruits in a compendium for all to read. George R R Martin, author of the soon to be legendary A Song of Ice and Fire series, is one of those few.  Dreamsongs, broken into two volumes and those volumes themselves split into several sections, shows the rough and the rougher in the initial part and later the luster when time and experience serves to smooth.

This is not going to be a full review of the collection, but rather a highlight and brief examination of the select few that struck in me a cord.  I was only able to complete one story in the first section known as A Four-Color Fanboy, and any attempt at others were met with resignation that it couldn’t be done.  That part holds Martin’s dullest stones, but even there, the spark of brilliance dwells.  By The Filthy Pro I was immersed, and the author also gives a foreword on each section.  His own admission on the first part’s status prompted me to speak of it without impunity for Martin himself recognizes it as his more amateur work paving the epic way.

The stories I shall touch on are as follows:

  • The Second Kind of Loneliness
  • The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr
  • The Ice Dragon
  • Nightflyers

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