Dreamsongs, Volume II

Starred review from October 8, 2007
Equal parts short fiction collection and candid retrospective, this second and concluding volume of Martin's shelf-bending compendium highlights a wide variety of his later work, including two stories set in the shared, superhero-laden universe of Wild Cards; “The Hedge Knight,” a prequel to the epic Song of Ice and Fire fantasy saga (A Game of Thrones
, etc.); and “Doorways,” an action-packed, exceptionally plotted pilot script for a science fiction television series that never aired. Other notable selections include “Portraits of His Children,” the Nebula-winning story of a self-absorbed writer forced to come face-to-face with the consequences of his own heartlessness, and two outstanding cautionary tales featuring space-faring ecological engineer and savvy opportunist Haviland Tuf. Science fiction, fantasy and horror fans alike will be blown away by the diversity and quality of stories as well as by Martin's extensive and frank commentary about his life and experiences in the publishing and television industries, backed up by a 24-page bibliography. Both physically and thematically immense, this extraordinary collection is one to cherish.

October 15, 2007
This career retrospective of fantasy author Martin's short stories, novellas, and television scriptsmany of them award winnershas much to recommend it to speculative fiction fans. Highlights from Volume I include "A Song for Lya," a novella about a telepathic couple surprised by a powerful religion with a parasite at its center; "Sandkings," a horror/sf blend about an exotic pet collector who stages war games among a mysterious species that expands beyond his control; and "Nightflyers," a novella about a spaceship and its unseen captain. Volume II kicks off with two excellent tales of Tuf, the interplanetary ecoengineer, and includes strong stories from the Martin-edited "Wild Cards" series, a werewolf mystery called "The Skin Trade," and a wonderful chess-and-time-travel story, "Unsound Variations." The only likely disappointment comes from "The Hedge Knight," a novella prequel to Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" series. It's not that the novella is badit's superbbut it will remind Martin fans that his masterwork, with its parade of complex characters, marvelous world-building, turn-on-a-dime plotting, and an epic scale that can't be equaled in short works, remains unfinished. Highly recommended for all libraries with sf, fantasy, or horror readers. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 7/07.]Neil Hollands, Williamsburg Regional Lib., VA

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