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Selections from Dreamsongs 3: Selections from Wild Cards and More Stories from Martin's Later Years: Unabridged Selections
Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for listeners: a compendium of his shorter works, collected into three stunning volumes, that offers fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.
Whether writing about werewolves, wizards, or outer space, George R. R. Martin is renowned for his versatility and expansive talent, highlighted in this dazzling collection. Included here in Volume III are acclaimed stories such as the World Fantasy Award winner “The Skin Trade” as well as the first novella in the Ice and Fire universe, “The Hedge Knight,” plus two never-before-published screenplays. Featuring extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume III, is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity–and an unforgettable listening experience for fans old and new.
Whether writing about werewolves, wizards, or outer space, George R. R. Martin is renowned for his versatility and expansive talent, highlighted in this dazzling collection. Included here in Volume III are acclaimed stories such as the World Fantasy Award winner “The Skin Trade” as well as the first novella in the Ice and Fire universe, “The Hedge Knight,” plus two never-before-published screenplays. Featuring extensive author commentary, Dreamsongs, Volume III, is an invaluable chronicle of a writer at the height of his creativity–and an unforgettable listening experience for fans old and new.
Audio CD
First published January 1, 2007
About the author
George R.R. Martin
1,502 books123k followersGeorge Raymond Richard "R.R." Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school, and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin's first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: The Hero, sold to Galaxy, published in February, 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete a M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern.
As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher.
In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin's present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.
http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
September 25, 2016
Apparently, audiobook only includes the intro to Section 7. I may have to dig up the paper copy to get these two stories. Also, I have decided that the opening essays at the beginning of each of these sections comprise exactly the sort of autobiography of GRR Martin that I want. I have enjoyed many of the essays more than the following stories.
SHELL GAMES, the first story in Section 8: Doing the Wild Card Shuffle, made me definitely interested in checking out the Wild Cards series. However the second “From the Journal of Xavier Desmond” left me wanting more. With SHELL GAMES, I didn’t feel like I needed to read the rest of the series to understand the story. JOURNAL felt more like a series of sketches that would tie the world together nicely, but doesn’t stand on its own as a story. While I will still check out a WILD CARDS book to see how I like them (probably the awesome audio book version coming soon) I’m not rushing to put it on my list ahead of Jeffrey R Derego’s UNION DUES book.
The Heart in Conflict (Section 9) collects a number of Martin’s works that defy neat cataloguing as one speculative genre or another.
UNDER SIEGE is a wonderfully dark time travel story. It emphasizes that even antiheroes and misanthropes need motivation to do the right thing. The story drug me along so much that I was expecting kittens and unicorns and it made me forget that Martin likes crushing dreams. Love it.
THE HEDGE KNIGHT is the first of the Dunk and Egg stories set in the same world as a Song of Ice and Fire. Damn GRR Martin for making me want to jump into this world before the series is finished. He finally gives us characters that are thoroughly unreprehensible, and by the end of the series I expect them to die in a heartbreakingly tragic fashion.
THE SKIN TRADE is urban fantasy that spends just a bit too much time hiding from acknowledging the monsters. Once the veil is pulled back this rolls solidly into a story that feels like an intro to a Hunter campaign or a Werewolf campaign. There’s some great worldbuilding and magic, and pulpy characters with noir flair.
UNSOUND VARIATIONS was a nihilistic exploration of the choices we make. THE GLASS FLOWER was an exploration of identity and humanity. PORTRAITS OF HIS CHILDREN darkly subverts the expectations of the punishment of a distant father and husband. The journey is rewarding and the punishment is absolute.
SHELL GAMES, the first story in Section 8: Doing the Wild Card Shuffle, made me definitely interested in checking out the Wild Cards series. However the second “From the Journal of Xavier Desmond” left me wanting more. With SHELL GAMES, I didn’t feel like I needed to read the rest of the series to understand the story. JOURNAL felt more like a series of sketches that would tie the world together nicely, but doesn’t stand on its own as a story. While I will still check out a WILD CARDS book to see how I like them (probably the awesome audio book version coming soon) I’m not rushing to put it on my list ahead of Jeffrey R Derego’s UNION DUES book.
The Heart in Conflict (Section 9) collects a number of Martin’s works that defy neat cataloguing as one speculative genre or another.
UNDER SIEGE is a wonderfully dark time travel story. It emphasizes that even antiheroes and misanthropes need motivation to do the right thing. The story drug me along so much that I was expecting kittens and unicorns and it made me forget that Martin likes crushing dreams. Love it.
THE HEDGE KNIGHT is the first of the Dunk and Egg stories set in the same world as a Song of Ice and Fire. Damn GRR Martin for making me want to jump into this world before the series is finished. He finally gives us characters that are thoroughly unreprehensible, and by the end of the series I expect them to die in a heartbreakingly tragic fashion.
THE SKIN TRADE is urban fantasy that spends just a bit too much time hiding from acknowledging the monsters. Once the veil is pulled back this rolls solidly into a story that feels like an intro to a Hunter campaign or a Werewolf campaign. There’s some great worldbuilding and magic, and pulpy characters with noir flair.
UNSOUND VARIATIONS was a nihilistic exploration of the choices we make. THE GLASS FLOWER was an exploration of identity and humanity. PORTRAITS OF HIS CHILDREN darkly subverts the expectations of the punishment of a distant father and husband. The journey is rewarding and the punishment is absolute.
June 13, 2012
This is the third and final volume of Martin’s collection of short stories. I found these later stories much less intriguing.
George R. R. Martin is a wizard of character. He can write any story in any setting and the reader feels almost instantly like he knows and understands the people. The emotions and thoughts and actions are real to a point that is rare in any fiction.
Many of these stories just didn’t work for me. The characters are there, just as powerfully as ever but some of them just aren’t doing anything or are so despicable I find I don’t want to be that intimately part of their psyches.
“The Skin Trade” is a fresh take on the werewolf mythos that offered some very intriguing ideas. I’d almost like to read more stories in that world to find answers to some of the questions that the story leaves behind.
“The Hedge Knight” is a prequel to Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and as such is a tremendously successful alternate world fantasy that doesn’t have any fantastical elements. It’s a great story of what it means to be a knight in a world that is very much like medieval Europe.
The other stories were enjoyable but ultimately forgettable.
What intrigues me so especially about George R. R. Martin’s writing is the seeming ease with which he tells a story. He never stops to provide background information. His exposition is never obtrusive enough to even notice it. He uses flashbacks and other ‘forbidden’ writing devices like candy and it all works for him. The prose is always solid and simple and eloquent all at once.
I’ll definitely have to look for more of his books.
George R. R. Martin is a wizard of character. He can write any story in any setting and the reader feels almost instantly like he knows and understands the people. The emotions and thoughts and actions are real to a point that is rare in any fiction.
Many of these stories just didn’t work for me. The characters are there, just as powerfully as ever but some of them just aren’t doing anything or are so despicable I find I don’t want to be that intimately part of their psyches.
“The Skin Trade” is a fresh take on the werewolf mythos that offered some very intriguing ideas. I’d almost like to read more stories in that world to find answers to some of the questions that the story leaves behind.
“The Hedge Knight” is a prequel to Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and as such is a tremendously successful alternate world fantasy that doesn’t have any fantastical elements. It’s a great story of what it means to be a knight in a world that is very much like medieval Europe.
The other stories were enjoyable but ultimately forgettable.
What intrigues me so especially about George R. R. Martin’s writing is the seeming ease with which he tells a story. He never stops to provide background information. His exposition is never obtrusive enough to even notice it. He uses flashbacks and other ‘forbidden’ writing devices like candy and it all works for him. The prose is always solid and simple and eloquent all at once.
I’ll definitely have to look for more of his books.
January 3, 2017
This is a selection of stories read by various authors, based off The Dreamsongs collection. George R. R. Martin provides three sections of commentary for each of the three sections. In fact the first section, which is teleplays in the paper collection, is just commentary by Martin for about 30 minutes. He also adds some commentary on the section Doing the Wild Card Shuffle and The Heart in Conflict. The last one isn't that exciting but the first commentary talks all about his Wild card anthologies that he edits and how it got started. All of the information in the commentaries was really invaluable information pertaining to Martin the writer.
The audio commentary was done pretty well. It is always a bonus when you get separate authors per story, as we get here. When the protagonist was an old man we got a voice that was old. When the protagonist was female we got a female voice. There was one story "The Skin Trade" that was told from two different perspectives, one male and one female. At first it was rough going to follow along, but as it got further into the story it got easier to understand. This was a hiccup in an otherwise pretty good job of voice acting for this collection.
The stories were mostly pretty good, but The Wild Card stories were average. I got a re-read in here with "The Hedge Knight" which is a very good novella. "The Skin Trade", which I haven't read before was an excellent horror/mystery story. While stories like "Under Siege" and "Portraits of His Children" were both solid stories. All-in-all this was above average work and fun to listen to.
The audio commentary was done pretty well. It is always a bonus when you get separate authors per story, as we get here. When the protagonist was an old man we got a voice that was old. When the protagonist was female we got a female voice. There was one story "The Skin Trade" that was told from two different perspectives, one male and one female. At first it was rough going to follow along, but as it got further into the story it got easier to understand. This was a hiccup in an otherwise pretty good job of voice acting for this collection.
The stories were mostly pretty good, but The Wild Card stories were average. I got a re-read in here with "The Hedge Knight" which is a very good novella. "The Skin Trade", which I haven't read before was an excellent horror/mystery story. While stories like "Under Siege" and "Portraits of His Children" were both solid stories. All-in-all this was above average work and fun to listen to.
April 10, 2011
Some stories are great, some are not so hot; of the former I most liked The Skin Trade and Unsound Variations. The latter category more or less encompasses the stories that take place in a world more fully developed elsewhere, Wild Cards and Song of Ice and Fire. Too many laundry lists of characters. RR can write a great story when he wants to, though.
August 13, 2013
Can't say enough good things about this man's writing. Depth of character, background, storyline...he hits the mark every time. Loved the hedgenight prequel, and Portraits of His Children was worthy of his old venue, The Twilight Zone, with or without Rob (what was his name?) Sterling. Narratives by George added immensely.
December 20, 2014
Listened to this on my work commute. The first section is for Martin's fans, a discussion of his life as s screenwriter. Then an assortment of stories and novellas. I really enjoyed the werewolf mystery, and the final story of an author who is visited by his characters. Of all the stories, The Hedge Knight really stood out, and the reader was perfect for it.
September 28, 2012
This was an up and down audio selection. The Hedge Knight of course rules. I also liked the Skin Trade narrated by Claudia Black and a male person. They would each narrate a POV. Also the Glass Flower was awesome as well. Under Seige ruled also. There ya go that is all I got!
July 26, 2013
nice collection of shorts. Always wanted to read a Wild Cards story, and found it to be a good one. Also like the short bio in there by Martin about his Hollywood experiences.
August 30, 2013
May have to read more from the Wildcards series after reading this.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews