3 George R.R. Martin books that I like better than "Game of Thrones"
George R.R. Martin will head out on for 鈥淎 Dance With Dragons,鈥� the long-awaited new installment in his 鈥�Game of Thrones鈥� series. My town, Seattle, is one of the few to make the tour cut, but I won鈥檛 be among the expected throngs. As I suspected after reading Book 1 in the fantasy series, the epic story was compulsively readable 鈥� but also too violent, too randomly ruthless to keep my allegiance. It seemed Martin was creating an emotional connection with characters purely to set them up for their awful final fates.
If you felt the same, you might enjoy a few gentler, kinder books, also by a talented fantasy and science fiction writer 鈥� that same George R.R. Martin, in his earlier years. The plots of his earlier books are simpler 鈥� which can be seen as a plus or minus 鈥� but still engrossing, while their characters are more sympathetic and their fates generally more compassionate.
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Looking at online reviews of these earlier Martin works, it鈥檚 striking how the main criticisms are that they are not for 鈥淕ame of Thrones鈥� fans. If that鈥檚 the reason Martin鈥檚 current fans didn鈥檛 like them, it stands to reason that those turned off by 鈥淭hrones鈥� might want to give them a try. Some of my favorites, which I read as a teen but still enjoy through adult eyes, are:
1. (co-written with Lisa Tuttle): Lovely linked stories about Maris, who lives on a world divided between a landbound lower-class and elite 鈥渇liers鈥� who soar on constructed wings. Both fans and critics compare it to Anne McCaffrey鈥檚 鈥淧ern鈥� series.
2. : A dated but entertaining novel from the early 鈥�80s mixing 鈥�60s nostalgia, midlife crisis, mystery, and horror. The story centers on a music journalist following the resurrection of the 鈥淣azgul鈥� (catch the Tolkien reference?), a fictional rock band that disbanded after a tragic concert death.
3. : Martin was both editor and one of the writers on this alternate history of the US, featuring linked stories by different authors, which now numbers 20 volumes. The idea: An alien virus over Earth in 1946 reshapes human DNA, killing the majority of those it touches, but transforming a small number into superheroes and disfiguring others. Fans of Alan Moore鈥檚 "Watchmen" (from the same era) will find a lot to love.
Seattle writer Rebekah Denn blogs at
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