Dreamsongs (Unabridged Selections)

By: George R.R. Martin

Narrated by: George R. R. Martin, Claudia Black, Mark Bramhall, Scott Brick, Roy Dotrice

Length: 51 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

BONUS: Each selection includes extensive commentary by author George R. R. Martin

Dubbed “the American Tolkien” by Time magazine, number-one New York Times best-selling author George R. R. Martin is a giant in the field of fantasy literature and one of the most exciting storytellers of our time. Now he delivers a rare treat for readers: a compendium of his shorter works, collected into two stunning volumes, that offers fascinating insight into his journey from young writer to award-winning master.

Audio Table of Contents:

Dreamsongs: Introduction by Gardner Dozois, read by Scott Brick

Section 1: A Four-Color Fanboy

• A Four-Color Fanboy Author Introduction, read by George R. R. Martin
• “Only Kids Are Afraid of the Dark,” read by Adrian Paul
• “The Fortress,” read by Mark Bramhall
• “And Death His Legacy,” read by Scott Brick

Section 2: The Filthy Pro

• The Filthy Pro Author Introduction, read by George R. R. Martin
• “The Hero,” read by Roy Dotrice
• “The Exit to San Breta,” read by Scott Brick
• “The Second Kind of Loneliness,” read by Mark Bramhall
• “With Morning Comes Mistfall,” read by Claudia Black

Section 3: The Light of Distant Stars

• The Light of Distant Stars Author Introduction, read by George R. R. Martin
• “A Song for Lya,” read by Mark Bramhall
• “This Tower of Ashes,” read by Kirby Heyborne
• “And Seven Times Never Kill Man,” read by Roy Dotrice
• “This Stone City,” read by Adrian Paul
• “Bitterblooms,” read by Kim Mai Guest
• “The Way of Cross and Dragon,” read by Roy Dotrice

Section 4: The Heirs of Turtle Castle

• The Heirs of Turtle Castle Author Introduction, read by George R. R. Martin
• “The Lonely Songs of Laren Dorr,” read by Kim Mai Guest
• “The Ice Dragon,” read by Emily Janice Card
• “In the Lost Lands,” read by Claudia Black

Section 5: Hybrids and Horrors

• Hybrids and Horrors Author Introduction, read by George R. R. Martin
• “Meathouse Man,” read by Kirby Heyborne
• “Remembering Melody,” read by Scott Brick
• “Sandkings,” read by Mark Bramhall
• “Nightflyers,” read by Adenrele Ojo
• “The Monkey Treatment,” read by Kirby Heyborne
• “The Pear-Shaped Man,” read by Roy Dotrice

Section 6: A Taste of Tuf

• A Taste of Tuf Author Introduction, read by George R. R. Martin
• “A Beast for Norn,” read by Roy Dotrice
• “Guardians,” read by Roy Dotrice

©2003 George R. R. Martin (P)2007 Random House, Inc. Random House Audio, a division of Random House, Inc.

Critic reviews

"Fans, genre historians, and aspiring writers alike will find this shelf-bending retrospective as impressive as it is intriguing." (Publishers Weekly)

Genius

GRRM is a true luminary, possibly the greatest writer on a few generations. His reflections on his life and inspirations are as well written and the stories they illuminate. As he so clearly enunciates in the last of these, the stories are always about the people and their relationships, and that's what connects us to the tale.

Masterful. Deserves far more recognition.

Martin's work on ASOIAF has undoubtedly overshadowed what would otherwise be considered some of the most creative SF short fiction that a reader could hope for.

Several of these stories could serve as the foundation for best-selling SF series.

Some narrators are better than others, but there's plenty to enjoy.

collection of short stories

struggled to finish, as it is a collection of short stories. I was looking for a longer story that I could get invested in the characters

Great Value

I didn't particularly enjoy the parts read by Martin, but many people might. the stories are quite good and more original than many collections of short stories I have read.

I COULD NOT STOP

From Larrendor to the Stone City, I lived a thousand lives in as many worlds.

Lots of Interesting Stories

Would you listen to Dreamsongs (Unabridged Selections) again? Why?

The mix of stories was engaging. Each section was previewed by a commentary read by the author and these were excellent as they helped to understand context for some of elements within a story. I read this book after reading the Game of Thrones series. After reading this book, I definitely want to continue to read the Game of Thrones (even though the TV series will now be ahead of the books.

What did you like best about this story?

Some of the stories were excellent.

Any additional comments?

The synopsis was quite long. A few stories dragged but overall the book was quite enjoyable.

Good stories and great commentary

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

I would, even though I disliked most of the sci-fi stories. I'm pretty sure most of my friends would..

What was one of the most memorable moments of Dreamsongs (Unabridged Selections)?

Ice Dragon. A simply beautiful story, I just had to listen to it in a single setting.

Have you listened to any of the narrators’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

Roy Dotrice. After listening to A Song of Ice and Fire he has definitely become one of my favorite narrators, although his narration of A Feast for Crows and A Dance of Dragons was poor compared to his earlier narrations. I'm a big ASoIaF fan, so I suppose that influences my opinion of this book (:

Good collection, thoug they aren't ALL winners....

A decent collection of stories, from differing genres.... some better than others. Martin includes some of his very first stories that he wrote when he was little more than a teenage (they are good, foreshadowing what was to come). Apart from the Game of Thrones continuity story (A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which you can get as a novella separately with a second story). At the bookends, I loved The Skin Trade, though found that Wildcards apparently isn't my thing. Other good ones are there as well. And I found I really enjoyed Martin's intra-chapter narrations about his life and how he progressed in his career as a writer. Of note, this is the version you want to spend your credit on, as it incorporates all of the other smaller collections of the same name that you can order here on Audible. Overall, an enjoyable (and long!) collection of stories (even if I fast-forwarded through a couple of them...) and an interesting diversion for any fans of George RR Martin.

Best value audiobook by far

This audiobook is many stories for the price of one and contains varied stories from throughout Martin's career. The fact that most of them came from the same universe, gave them more value than they have as individual stories. The early works arent good, but were written by a teenager/young adult, so dont give up on the audiobook until you at least get passed them. Some of the stories were excellent and worthy of purchase individually. My favorite was "A Song for Lya". The stories of people from different worlds give a lot of interesting environments for the listener to explore. The commentary gives a look at what it is like to be a pro fantasy/sci fi writer and is interesting as well.

Really nice collection

This is a great collection of early GRRM works that is well presented.

The stories themselves are a fascinating peek into Martin's pre-fantasy work, focusing mostly on Sci-Fi and even some Stephen King-esque supernatural tales. Martin's own narration offers wonderful glimpses into his life during the time these stories were written, some of them intensely personal.

A number of the readings are underwhelming but most are quite good. As with the ASOIAF series, Roy Dotrice continues to be very hit and miss. His reading is fine but his voices are WAY off. Military commanders sound like sniveling whelps, young men and women sound like withered hags and one particular seasoned officer sounded so bloated and grumbling it was almost unintelligible. Personally, I would enjoy Dotrice's readings much more if he gave up on trying to do voices and simply read them straight. But Scott Brick is the standout reader here IMO.