George RR Martin Biography
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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.
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 series, as well as Beauty and the Beast. 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 perhaps inspired by
comic book superheroes). 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 who
used VW Beetles as armor.
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 War of the Roses), to great critical
acclaim.
Themes
Martin's work is rarely cheerful. His first
novel, Dying of the Light, sets the tone for 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.
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 cycle:
A Game of Thrones (1996)
A Clash of Kings (1999)
A Storm of Swords (2000)
A Feast for Crows (November 2005 expected)
A Dance with Dragons (March 2006 expected)
The Winds of Winter
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)
GRRM: A Rretrospective (2003)
Uncollected short fiction
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)
Awards
"A Song for Lya" (1974) Hugo
"Sandkings" (1979) Hugo and Nebula
"The Way of Cross and Dragon" (1979) Hugo
"Portraits of His Children" (1985) Nebula
****
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URL of Original Article:
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Date Article Copied:
September 15, 2005
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