Martin may be the greatest storyteller I've ever had the pleasure of reading. I know I'm prone to hyperbole, but this time I mean it. As evidenced by these collections, I'll read anything by him: fantasy, sci-fi, horror, crazy amalgams of these, anything. It's the characters who matter, and Martin creates the best characters I've ever been around. He is also a master of the show-not-tell school of storytelling: a must with me.

My favorite story in this volume was definitely "The Hedge Knight." I'm actually contemplating rereading the entire Song of Ice and Fire cycle (as it now stands) because, man, I miss the Seven Kingdoms. So much love.