Author: George R.R. Martin
Cover Artist: Martina Pilcerova
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Binding: Hardcover
Publication Date: July 2008

In July Subterranean published this book containing two novelettes by George R.R. Martin. Both of these stories have been first published in 1976 so if you are hoping for new material I will have to disappoint you. Subterranean has chosen an interesting format to publish these stories though. They are presented in a similar fashion to the Ace Double novels of the 1950s and 1960s. In his collection Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective Martin, a publication I have begun to realize that is central to Martin’s work, he mentions them as some of his earliest exposures to (written) science fiction. Stories that took him to “walk beneath the light of distant stars” as he puts it himself. Like the Ace publications this book has two covers and is printed back to back and upside down. I was born too late, and on the wrong continent to have been exposed to any of these double novels myself but I thought it an interesting idea anyway. Martin has carefully selected two stories that were not included in Dreamsongs. They were probably included in some of Martin’s earlier collections but I had not read them before.

Starlady is set in the same universe as Martin’s first novel Dying of the Light and a number of other short stories. Other than a few references to places, events and alien species, the story does not seem connected to any of these. It is set on Thisrock, a place where life is cheap, justice hard to find and anything is available for a price. Janey Small, or Starlady as she will be known, and her companion Golden Boy find this out the hard way. Raped, robbed and stranded on the planet they are taken in by the pimp Hairy Hal. Hal sets Starlady straight on the facts of life. It is either work for him or take their chances outside. Not much of a choice in truth. Life with Hairy Hall is not enough to quell Starlady’s ambition and need for vengeance.

In Fast-Friend, a story that as far as I can tell does not share it’s universe with any of Martin’s other stories, we see a human civilization that is struggling to escape from the solar system. The first expeditions into interstellar space have found life, to their amazement and ruin, and one of these species holds the key to breaking the speed of light. Darks as they are called are creatures that convert matter, any matter, into energy. They travel the vast emptiness of space at increasable speeds. Spaceships are food to them, they are very dangerous, there is simply no outrunning them. By merging human and dark however, Fast-Friends can be created. These creatures are the link between humanity’s far-flung colonies. The only way to communicate effectively. Brand, the main character of our story, and his lover Melissa had the chance to become a Fast-Friend. Melissa took it but fear got the best of Brand. He now infinitely regrets the lost opportunity.

As always Martin’s science fiction is very much character driven. Even in these relatively short stories (the whole book has just over 70 pages), he manages to create an amazing depth in his characters. Starlady is ambitious, vengeful, a bit possessive of Goden Boy and very resilient. Brand on the other hand yearns for the love he’s lost. Although Melissa is not quite out of reach they are separated by her transcendence and the infinite distance of space. Brand travels the stars in search of enough courage to join her without facing up to the fact he never will be able to. Brand is one of the realistic, flawed characters that Martin likes to write about, whatever the genre he is writing. And they are usually his best.

My appreciation for short fiction is a fairly recent thing and I am not as well read in this department as I might like. Still, whenever I read one Martin’s short stories I am amazed by how much he can put into so few words. Starlady and Fast-Friend is not a particularly cheap book, it is listed for 20 US$ at the Subterranean website, but for that you do get two stories by a master of the craft as well as a good quality hardcover with good artwork by Martina Pilcerova (who did some fine Ice and Fire artwork as well). I don’t think I ever read anything by Martin that disappointed me and these stories are no exception. Good stories, interesting format, good artwork, what more could we ask for?

View/Post Comments

Buy it now at Amazon!

Topics: George R.R. Martin, Martina Pilcerova, Short Fiction, Starlady and Fast-Friend, Subterranean Press