Selections from Dreamsongs 1

April 1, 2008
This large, mostly enjoyable collection includes several Hugo and Nebula Award- winning stories and covers Martin's career from his emergence in the early 1970s. In passages narrated by Martin himself, listeners learn about his inspirations, schooling as a journalist, scores of rejections, and childhood love of "funny books" en route to becoming a broadly appealing author in the sf, fantasy, and horror genres. While these sections are illuminating, Martin's pridethough well deservedis sometimes distracting. A variety of narrators supply the stories with many voices; some work better than others, even across stories. Scott Brick excels at the variety of tales thrown at him, Kirby Heyborne is reliably enjoyable, but Roy Dotrice's distinctive voice is only suitable for some of the works he narrates. The collection is reminiscent of Isaac Asimov's The Early Asimov, and, as a writer, Martin falls somewhere between Asimov and Neil Gaiman. This should do well at medium-sized to large libraries with active sf and fantasy sections.Douglas C. Lord, Connecticut State Lib., Hartford

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