Dreamsongs vol 1

[Kennedy the Keen]

Hey guys,

First post in the literary section, was wondering if anyone else has read GRRMs Dreamsongs vol 1?

I just finished a Song for Lya and the Tower of Ash and they really hit home for me. I ussual don't read scifi but both of the stories I mention brought me back to a couple of my first loves and relationships. He is such an amazing writer even when he was younger. I can't wait to read more. I also have vol 2 and can't wait for that.

Which of GRRMs novels would you recommend? Dying of the light looks good? I almost enjoy his universe with old earth and baldur and Jamison's world and skhea with the skheens as much as I enjoy the ice and fire universe.

[Gaston de Foix]

Hey guys,

First post in the literary section, was wondering if anyone else has read GRRMs Dreamsongs vol 1?

I just finished a Song for Lya and the Tower of Ash and they really hit home for me. I ussual don't read scifi but both of the stories I mention brought me back to a couple of my first loves and relationships. He is such an amazing writer even when he was younger. I can't wait to read more. I also have vol 2 and can't wait for that.

Which of GRRMs novels would you recommend? Dying of the light looks good? I almost enjoy his universe with old earth and baldur and Jamison's world and skhea with the skheens as much as I enjoy the ice and fire universe.

I would recommend the Haviland Tuf series, my personal favourite. Check out the Skin Trade, too, it's the best of Dreamsongs Vol 2.

[Kennedy the Keen]

I would recommend the Haviland Tuf series, my personal favourite. Check out the Skin Trade, too, it's the best of Dreamsongs Vol 2.

Awesome! Thanks a lot! I will def check out the Tuf series, you hear a little bit about it in Dreamsongs, it's good to hear about it from an outside source as well! Thanks

[williamjm]

Which of GRRMs novels would you recommend? Dying of the light looks good? I almost enjoy his universe with old earth and baldur and Jamison's world and skhea with the skheens as much as I enjoy the ice and fire universe.

I think Fevre Dream is the best of his non-ASOIAF novels, but I liked Dying of the Light a lot as well.

[beautifulsouth0]

I loved Skin Trade as well. I am excited to see the graphic novels. I think it'd make a GREAT movie.

[Papirolle]

I would recommend the Haviland Tuf series, my personal favourite. Check out the Skin Trade, too, it's the best of Dreamsongs Vol 2.

Wow, I would say the exact opposite! :)

The Tuf stories in Dreamsongs were among the worst in the entire book, just awful. Also, Skin Trade must be the most overrated of all his stories. I don't understand what people see in it. A sexist main character, the story was predictable with clichéd, stereotypical characters trying to be a noir detective story. Very Bad!

The best stories in Dreamsongs 2 I would say were Sand Kings, Unsound Variations and Portraits of His Children. His best novel outside asoiaf in my opinion is Fevre Dream.

[Calibandar]

Hey guys,

First post in the literary section, was wondering if anyone else has read GRRMs Dreamsongs vol 1?

I just finished a Song for Lya and the Tower of Ash and they really hit home for me. I ussual don't read scifi but both of the stories I mention brought me back to a couple of my first loves and relationships. He is such an amazing writer even when he was younger. I can't wait to read more. I also have vol 2 and can't wait for that.

Which of GRRMs novels would you recommend? Dying of the light looks good? I almost enjoy his universe with old earth and baldur and Jamison's world and skhea with the skheens as much as I enjoy the ice and fire universe.

Dying of the Light if you're looking for more of the Sci-fi stories that you like. I agree that Martin's SF stories have real appeal, old school and really nice to read.

[Night's_King]

Welcome to the subforum! Always good to see new people. But be prepared, we can be pretty... ah... I think "special" is a fitting word. Don't be easily scared of. ^^

As for GRRM's stuff, I agree with williamjm. I really liked Fevre Dream and Dying of the Light!

[peterbound]

I personally loved the Tuf novels. I mean that sincerely. I believe it's the best thing he did outside of ASoIaF. The wild card books are great as well.

Fevre Dream is good, but I think it gets a better light shone on it around here than it deserves. It's pacing is plodding, and the charters aren't all that engaging.

Get the Tuf omnibus. I think you'll enjoy it.

Dying of the light is depressing as fuck. Don't read that if you're feeling down at all.

[Wilbur]

Dying of the Light is an interesting book, and it reads like a Jack Vance Dying Earth novel if it was written by a depressive. The Martin voice is already in place, but the influences of the New Wave SciFi authors is obvious, even though it was already '77 when he wrote it. I recommend this one.

Fevre Dream ends on a surprisingly positive note, but please observe that it is about vampires, so if that is your thing, you may well enjoy it. It has a neat Southern Gothic feel to it, as if the author drank a lot of Hog on Ice Lite beer while writing. I liked the Southern Gothic, but the vampires were less good.

Armeggedon Rag is another book with questionable characters and plot. Martin's dystopic worldview was pretty well in place by this time, so another set of gritty, painfully realistic characters do bad and stupid stuff in support of asking the question of what does time really do to people. Sixties and Seventies stoner/rocker culture was never as cool as people thought it was.

Tuf Voyaging is actually the second most enjoyable non-ASOIAF Martin work to my taste, with an interesting protagonist and more Vancean worlds and situations, as if GRRM had decided to unleash his bad times on the Gaean Reach. Stupid people make bad decisions, and Tuf learns about human nature while large and in charge. The early Tuf novellas feature a main character who is a bit like Miro Hetzel, and the latterly-written novellas in the book remind me of Vernor Vinge's Tatja Grimm's World. I highly recommend it, and it is popular in local libraries in a new edition that shares the design language on the covers with the ASOIAF hardbacks.

Hunter's Run, written with Daniel Abraham and Gardner Dozois, is a really enjoyable SciFi work, and it is probably the GRRM book I have enjoyed most aside from ASOIAF. If Peter F. Hamilton could write a book without eye-crossing sex scenes and hip millionaires, this would be it. While the story is populated with bad people and stupid decisions in the best GRRM fashion, the overall tone is much more hopeful than any of his other works. Ramon, the protagonist, is someone that I could follow easily, and the conundrum his faces is tightly written. I highly recommend it.

[Wilbur]

Dying of the Light is an interesting book, and it reads like a Jack Vance Dying Earth novel if it was written by a depressive. The Martin voice is already in place, but the influences of the New Wave SciFi authors is obvious, even though it was already '77 when he wrote it. I recommend this one.

Fevre Dream ends on a surprisingly positive note, but please observe that it is about vampires, so if that is your thing, you may well enjoy it. It has a neat Southern Gothic feel to it, as if the author drank a lot of Hog on Ice Lite beer while writing. I liked the Southern Gothic, but the vampires were less good.

Armeggedon Rag is another book with questionable characters and plot. Martin's dystopic worldview was pretty well in place by this time, so another set of gritty, painfully realistic characters do bad and stupid stuff in support of asking the question of what does time really do to people. Sixties and Seventies stoner/rocker culture was never as cool as people thought it was.

Tuf Voyaging is actually the second most enjoyable non-ASOIAF Martin work to my taste, with an interesting protagonist and more Vancean worlds and situations, as if GRRM had decided to unleash his bad times on the Gaean Reach. Stupid people make bad decisions, and Tuf learns about human nature while large and in charge. The early Tuf novellas feature a main character who is a bit like Miro Hetzel, and the latterly-written novellas in the book remind me of Vernor Vinge's Tatja Grimm's World. I highly recommend it, and it is popular in local libraries in a new edition that shares the design language on the covers with the ASOIAF hardbacks.

Hunter's Run, written with Daniel Abraham and Gardner Dozois, is a really enjoyable SciFi work, and it is probably the GRRM book I have enjoyed most aside from ASOIAF. If Peter F. Hamilton could write a book without eye-crossing sex scenes and hip millionaires, this would be it. While the story is populated with bad people and stupid decisions in the best GRRM fashion, the overall tone is much more hopeful than any of his other works. Ramon, the protagonist, is someone that I could follow easily, and the conundrum his character faces is tightly written. I highly recommend it.