George R. R. Martin

George Raymond Richard Martin (sometimes called GRRM by fans; born September 20, 1948 in Bayonne, New Jersey) is an American writer of science fiction and fantasy, and also a screenwriter and producer. He has been an instructor in journalism (in which he holds a master's degree) and a chess tournament director.

Biography

Martin was a prolific author of short fiction in the 1970s, and won several Hugo Awards and Nebula Awards before he started to turn his attention to novels late in the decade. Although much of his work is fantasy or horror, a number of his earlier works are science fiction occurring in a loosely-defined future history.

In the 1980s he turned to work in television and as an editor. On television, he worked on the new Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast series. As an editor, he oversaw the lengthy Wild Cards cycle, which took place in a shared universe in which an alien virus bestowed strange powers or disfigurements on a slice of humanity during World War II, affecting the history of the world thereafter (the premise was inspired by comic book superheroes and a Superworld superhero role-playing game of which Martin was gamemaster). Contributors to the Wild Cards series included Stephen Leigh, Lewis Shiner, Howard Waldrop, Walter Jon Williams and Roger Zelazny. His own contributions to the series often featured Thomas Tudbury, "The Great and Powerful Turtle," a powerful psychokinetic whose flying "shell" consisted of an armored VW Beetle.

Martin's short story of the same name was adapted into the feature film Nightflyers (1987).

In 1996 Martin returned to writing novel-length stories, beginning his lengthy cycle A Song of Ice and Fire (ostensibly inspired by the Wars of the Roses and Ivanhoe), to great critical acclaim. In November of 2005, A Feast for Crows, the fourth book in this series, became The New York Times #1 Bestseller and also achieved #1 ranking on The Wall Street Journal bestseller list.

Martin is opposed to fan fiction. ^*

Themes

Martin's work is rarely cheerful; critics have described it as "dark" and "cynical." His first novel, Dying of the Light, set the tone for most of his future work; it is set on a mostly abandoned world that is slowly becoming uninhabitable as it moves away from its sun. This story, and many of Martin's others, have a strong sense of melancholy. His characters are often unhappy, or at least unsatisfied.

His characters are also multi-faceted, each with surprisingly intricate pasts, inspirations, and ambitions. No one is given an unrealistic string of luck, however, so misfortune, injury, and death (and even false death) can befall any character, no matter how attached the reader has become. Some of his characters are tragic heroes, meaning they have traits that inevitably lead to their downfall.

Fandom

In addition to writing, Martin is known for his regular attendance at science fiction conventions and his accessibilty to fans. In the early 70's, critic and writer Thomas Disch identified Martin as a member of the "Labor Day Group", writers who congregated at the annual Worldcon, usually held around Labor Day.

Martin's fan group, the Brotherhood without Banners, is known for throwing lavish and raucous parties at the conventions he attends, most notably at Worldcon and Boskone. For the last two Worldcons running (as of 2005), the party they have thrown has been voted "Best of Worldcon".

The Brotherhood Without Banners is sometimes known among other fans as "George's Cult", because of their highly enthusiastic and evangelistic nature. It is also remarkable for skewing relatively young, contravening the general "greying" trend of literary science fiction fandom. According to the BWB website, the organization currently numbers approximately 500 members.

Bibliography

Novels

Dying of the Light (1977)
Windhaven (1981, with Lisa Tuttle)
Fevre Dream (1982)
The Armageddon Rag (1983)
Dead Man's Hand (1990, with John J. Miller)

A Song of Ice and Fire series:
- A Game of Thrones (1996)
- A Clash of Kings (1998)
- A Storm of Swords (2000)
- A Feast for Crows (2005)
- A Dance with Dragons (forthcoming)
- The Winds of Winter (forthcoming)
- A Dream of Spring (forthcoming)

Shadow Twin (2005, with Gardner Dozois and Daniel Abraham)

Novellas

The Hedge Knight (1998) - set in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire
The Sworn Sword (2003) - sequel to The Hedge Knight

Collections

A Song for Lya (1976)
Songs of Stars and Shadows (1977)
Sandkings (1981)
Songs the Dead Men Sing (1983)
Nightflyers (1985)
Tuf Voyaging (1987, collection of linked stories)
Portraits of His Children (1987)
Quartet (2001)
A RRetrospective (2003)

Wild Cards (as editor)

Wild Cards I (1987)
Wild Cards II: Aces High (1987)
Wild Cards III: Jokers Wild (1987)
Wild Cards IV: Aces Abroad (1988)
Wild Cards V: Down & Dirty (1988)
Wild Cards VI: Ace in the Hole (1990)
Wild Cards VII: Dead Man's Hand (1990)
Wild Cards VIII: One-Eyed Jacks (1991)
Wild Cards IX: Jokertown Shuffle (1991)
Wild Cards X: Double Solitaire (1992)
Wild Cards XI: Dealer's Choice (1992)
Wild Cards XII: Turn of the Cards (1993)

Wild Cards: Card Sharks (1993)
Wild Cards: Marked Cards (1994)
Wild Cards: Black Trump (1995) (these three books are a trilogy)

Wild Cards: Deuces Down (2002)
Wilds Cards: Death Draws Five (2006)

Awards

"A Song for Lya" 1975 Hugo Award for Best Novella
"Sandkings" 1980 Hugo Award for Best Novelette and Nebula Award for Best Novelette
"The Way of Cross and Dragon" 1980 Hugo Award for Best Short Story
"Portraits of His Children" 1986 Nebula Award for Best Novelette
"The Pear-Shaped Man" 1988 Bram Stoker Award for Long Fiction
"The Skin Trade" 1989 World Fantasy Award for Best Novella
"Blood of the Dragon" 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella

A more complete list of Martin's awards and nominations can be found at The Locus Index to Science Fiction Awards.

Footnotes

External links

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