Customer Reviews

Song for Lya (Coronet Books)

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

It was twenty-years old, and had an ugly cover, so I figured A SONG FOR LYA was out-of-print for a good reason. But since being blown away by A GAME OF THRONES, I have yet to find anything of Martin's less than superb. This short, but fabulous book turned out to be no exception.

Sci-Fi and Horror are blended to excellent result in this collection of 10 short stories, featuring telepaths, ghosts, strange life forms, and very imaginative worlds. The standouts were "With Morning Comes Mistfall", "Override", and the Hugo Award-Winning title-story, "A Song For Lya", but in truth- there wasn't a bad apple in the bunch.

My personal favorite was, "Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels" where Nuclear Armageddon has destroyed the face of the Earth long ago, and only two groups of people have survived. It took me a few pages to realize just what I was reading, but then it really pulled me in!

Several of these stories have also appeared in Martin's later collections, but unfortunately, they too are all out-of-print at the moment. However, the popularity of A Song Of Ice And Fire means that many of these collections and stories will soon be republished in the near future. So if you can't find them in libraries or used bookstores... be patient!

A fine collection of early (1971 - 1974) fiction from a much underrated master of the short story. Although George R.R. Martin has attained a great degree of success as a novelist, his most memorable work has been in the short story/novella format. A SONG FOR LYA was the author's very first book, published initially in February of 1976 in an Avon paperback edition, and while it may not be his finest collection, the stories presented here have the invigorating freshness and energy of a dazzlingly talented then-young writer first making his mark in the world.

The most notable of the stories, "A Song For Lya" arguably still ranks as Martin's finest work. "Lya" is a beautifully sad meditation on love and loss, telling a moving tale of a young, vital woman who is willingly absorbed into The Greeshka, a strange collective "religion" that ultimately sucks the individuality out of those who choose to join it. It deservedly won the Hugo Award as best novella of 1973. "With Morning Comes Mistfall" is an equally powerful story, a melancholic examination of what happens when the cold pursuit of knowledge ultimately leads to the destruction of an important, beautiful myth.

Other stories include: "Override", in which animated corpses are used as cheap labor in a mining colony, "Dark, Dark Were The Tunnels", a claustrophobic horror tale about a devolved worm-like man who makes disastrous contact with humans exploring his deep underground home turf, and "The Second Kind of Loneliness", a Poe-like tale of isolation, loneliness and madness in a remote space outpost.

This is a nice, oversized paperback repackaging of one of George R.R. Martin's best short story collections. The simple fact that it's the only such collection currently available by this fine writer makes it an absolute must-buy.

These stories are by far the greatest short fantasy/scifi fiction I have ever read. Martin puts Bradbury to shame in this spectacular collection. Each character is well defined, living in worlds lightyears away from our own...but at the same time, very similar. My favorites were "Override" and "Dark, Dark Were the Tunnels", and "The Exit to San Breta". "A Song for Lya", probably the featured story of this novel, was, in my opinion, the most poorly written. But at the same time, it was the most powerful. It was one of those stories (as with all in this collection) that someone could write hundreds of pages trying to explain, and never get it right. But in less than fifty pages, Martin captured one of the most elusive ideas that we all have in our minds, and all understand to some degree, and put it into a very touchable setting, so we can examine it closely. Truly, these stories are each a masterpiece. Martin is an author that has never once yet let me down on anything he has written.

Martin, while best known for the sword-and-sorcery epic Song of Ice and Fire, should not be overlooked in the science-fiction and short story genres. A Song for Lya contains, in my opinion, his best two works to date. With Morning Comes Mistfall is a marvel of modern literature. While it's a simple story on the surface, deep symbolism conveys breathtaking views of contemporary society. The Second Kind of Loneliness is an introspective piece dealing with the human psyche and how it reacts to extreme pressures. Once again, Martin's powerful writing brings readers to a new understanding of themselves and those around them. The other eight stories in this collection also live up to Martin's well-deserved reputation. I highly recommend this book, even above his higher-profile output.

This is certainly not the best GRRM collection, but it is the best one currently available. Well, I believe it's the only one available. Yes, you read that right. GRRM is one of the best shorter stories writers-alive today {certainly in SF/F/H} and he has only one of his collections in print -a lesser collection?
Welcome to the world of SF: most of the goodies are o.o.p.
This book has the tremendous "With Morning Comes Mistfall," "A Song For Lya," "Dark, Dark were the Tunnels," and "Override."
The others are fun {most notably "Second Kind of..."} too, but pale a bit in comparison with the above mentioned. You always have that with collections and such.
If you are new to this writer this will be a fine starting collection. You could dive in his multi-volume ASOIAF, but I advice you to invest a bit of money in this book first. Just to sample his themes and writing. Keep in mind that the series ASOIAF is however written by the "older" GRRM -with all respect- and therefore different than this collection. Nonetheless, this will give you some insight in this writer/author.
You could label this as SF and the series as Fantasy, but people who like a bit of everything {SF,F and H} will the more like this writer's writings. GRRM's writings always lays some stress on the darker aspects of life. That's visible in some of these stories, but even more in recent o.o.p. collections.
I recently asked this writer -E-Mail communication- if any more reprints are in the making. He replied with saying yes, but I believe he aimed at "Tuf Voyaging." It should come out this year and like most his writings is a classic.
It is only to be hoped that his best collection "Songs the Dead Men Sing" will one day be reprinted.
Best of luck. Keep your GRRM books nice and clean. They deserve it.

Ok, all i have to say is that the 2 stories "with morning comes mistfall", and "A song for Lya" made me cry, they are possible the sadest and most bueatiful stories i have ever read..

the rest of the book is full of high adventure fantasy stories that are not to be missed either...

Buy this book!

Thank You Mr. Martin

Relic113

My brother has always been an avid reader, and since he is three years older than I, when we were kids I always benefited from his library picks . It went like this: he would leave whichever then-current book face down open to mark the page. I would walk past and see both the front cover and the blurb on the back cover, and be hooked. A lot of times I would take the book and start at the beginning before he'd finished reading it (I imagine this was pretty annoying for him)--The Great Brain, the Tripods Trilogy, Bolo. Anyway, A Song for Lya was one of the titles that I discovered this way. Our copy was a battered, dog-eared, yellowed mass market with a hideous cover: a bunch of disembodied lips (think Dairy Queen but more chapped) floating in a reddish sky. I could never figure out which story the cover was supposed to illustrate.

It's the kind of book I can read over and over, which is unusual for me. Years later I tried to find my own copy, but it had gone out of print. I would always look in used bookstores, but could never turn up a copy. Now it is back in print, and I've bought copies for myself, brother, and friends. Have you re-read a book as an adult that you loved as a kid, only to be disappointed? Not this one! I was delighted to find it back in print and just as gripping as before, and thoroughly enjoyed rediscovering the rich characterization and detail packed into a few pages. All Sci-Fi short stories (although at least one can be considered a ghost story), there is great variety, imagination, and suspense, many with "Twilight Zone" twists. The stories range from "comedy" to drama, mystery, and do tend to run a bit dark, as one reviewer has pointed out. Martin uses science fiction as a backdrop to set off how the characters feel and behave. I like the writing style in that it is "unobtrusive", meaning that the story is totally captivating so that you don't even notice the words and punctuation (so you're not reading along and suddenly fetch up against uneven writing that makes you pause and think, now why did they use that word?) I don't find it to be dated. I've not read Martin's new series, so I can't say if you like one you'll like the other. The new re-print is a nice heavy quality/trade paperback, though some may find it a bit thin for the price. I'd say it's a matter of quality over quantity. The cover is glossy black that shows fingerprints and marks; the picture does not appeal to me, although it is a better than the old cover. Who cares about the cover--I highly recommend the contents of A Song for Lya.

I'm not a big sci-fi fan, and I LOVED this book. The last story is "A Song for Lya" and it's just incredible. This isn't a spoiler cuz it's the premise of the story. Two telepaths go to a planet to find out why the aliens commit suicide at the age of 50. Pure cheery GRRM at his best.

An interesting read.

This book is a collection of ten short stories by George Martin that were written in the late 60's and early 70's. The writing is not quite up to the quality of the "Ice and Fire" series, however if you look beneath the surface you can see the beginnings of the style that has made the aforementioned series a resounding success.

The stories are all off world adventures including the Hugo Award winning "A Song for Lya", however it is the story "Override" that is my favorite in this group of ten. This tale has a gut wrenching, visceral component to it that we fantasy fans have grown to love in Mr. Martins' latest offerings. In fact, I'd recommend buying this book for this story alone, it's that good.

All in all, early G.R.R. Martin, and definitely worth reading.

This is a solid package of George R.R. Martin's early short stories. But the quality varies. "Song for Lya" itself is a moving, involving, vivid, haunting, 5-star CLASSIC, & is reason enuf 4 buying the book all by itself. Also very good R "With Morning Comes Mistfall," "Second Kind of Loneliness," & "Override." Some of the rest is disappointing: "The Hero" was Martin's 1st-published story, & it's ... not bad. "FTA" is a brief joke. "Slide Show" features a series of dazzling images, but it's not much of a STORY. "Exit to San Breta" is an OK haunted-car story on a freeway of the future. "Dark Were the Tunnels" has a WAY better (& longer) sequel in George's SANDKINGS collection. But the best stuff here shows what George could do 1nce he hit his stride, & is a good curtain-raiser 4 some of the great stuff U'll find in his other collections.