George R.R. Martin's Blog, page 26

The Republic Under Attack

What is happening in Washington right now is shocking and dismaying… but I can’t say I find it entirely unexpected.

There have been all too many days, these past couple of years, when I feared that the United States was going the way of the Weimar Republic.

And now the moment of coup is at hand.   Rioters breaking into the Capitol, even the floor of the House and Senate.   One of them trying to haul down the American flag and replace it with a Trump flag.  Congressmen and senators being forced t...

The Deuces Return!

The deuces are back.  Puddleman and Chuckles, Cash Mitchell, Gary Bushorn, Father Henry Obst, the Jokertown Boys, the Myth Patrol, and all their friends will be returning… with Croyd Crenson and Demise, and some brand new characters that Wild Card readers need to meet.  Come January 5, Tor will be releasing a brand new edition of DEUCES DOWN, one of the scarcer volumes in the Wild Cards series… with three brand new stories, published for the first time.

The wild card virus, as all readers of the...

2022 Calendar Art by Arantza Sestayo

Heres something beautiful and fun to help us all look forward to the future a little bit more.

Artist Arantza Sestayo has delivered gorgeous visions of Westeros and beyond, which will feature in the A Song of Ice and Fire 2022 Calendar. Here is the cover, showing 1 of 13 new illustrations.

On sale 7/27/21 at your favorite bookstore.

Pre-order now: https://bit.ly/2KYE7Ch

Arantza Sestayo was born in San Sebastián, Spain and currently resides in Valencia. She has worked in the fantasy genre for 20...

Back in Print Again

I have been an editor almost as long as I have been a professional writer (I have been a writer since forever, but I was not a pro until I made my first sale to GALAXY in 1970).

The first anthology I ever edited was NEW VOICES IN SCIENCE FICTION, featuring original stories by the finalists for the very first John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer.  (I was one of those finalists.  I lost, but editing the book made up for that).   That came out in hardcover in 1975.  I would ultimately edit si...

Well Played

In the deep of winter, the nights are long and dark… and we all need good books to read, good shows to watch.   We cannot go to the movies or to the theatre so long as the pandemic lasts (not if we are sane), but we still have television, with more choices than ever before.

Looking for something good to watch?   Then let me recommend that you check out QUEEN’S GAMBIT, if you have not done so already.

It’s an adaptation of the Walter Tevis novel about a chess prodigy in the 60s and 70s.   A very ...

So True

I’ve Been Parodied

Way way back in 1969, when the world and I were young, the Harvard Lampoon did a hilarious send-up of Tolkien and LORD OF THE RINGS, called BORED OF THE RINGS.   It is still in print all these years later.   Spam and Dildo, Arrowroot son of Arrowshirt, Pepsi and Moxie a hoot.

And now, I guess, it is my turn.

The Harvard Lampoon has turned its sights on A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE and come up with LAME OF THRONES.

Yes, they sent me a copy.

No, I have not looked at it yet.   I am working up the...

More Sadness

The deaths just keep on coming in this worst of all possible years.

I was very saddened to read of the death of Ben Bova, another victim of Covid-19 (and Donald J. Trump).

Bova was a major science fiction writer, a hard science guy, talented and prolific.   I could not begin to name all his novels; the list is longer than my arm.   He wrote some good short fiction as well, including his collaboration with Harlan Ellison, Brillo, which became the basis (uncredited) of a short-lived TV series...

Hammer and Tongs and a Rusty Nail

As promised, the latest Wild Cards original is now up on Tor.com.

Wild Cards fans… and the rest of you… head on over and have a look at Rustbelt’s entry into politics, co-starring the late Vic Milan’s Harlem Hammer, Mordecai Jones.   It’s by Ian Tregillis, and you can read it for free.

Hammer and Tongs and a Rusty Nail

Vote Rustbelt

Hey, Wild Carders…

Rustbelt is running for city council, and he needs your vote.

You can read all about it in the next Wild Cards original coming to Tor.com, a brand new story by Ian Tregillis.

You can read it — for FREE — on December 2.

Meanwhile, here’s an advance peek at the cover art, from Micah Epstein.   We all love it, and I think you will too.