Portraits of His Children

Rating:
Summary: the clash-
Review: As a confirmed devotee of George R.R. Martin's books, I found "portraits of his children" disturbing in its implications. He never addresses it directly and in the end denies it, but the feeling is that this book is about incest. Yes, incest. From an author whose characters never seem to have sex, it feels almost like a betrayal.

The imagery is all you expect from George R.R. Martin. It is vivid, poinant, and moving. The writing is, as always, flowing to the point of the poetic.

Despite the impact of this book- the deviation from the norm- George R.R. Martin remains my favorite Sci-fi author, and one of my favorite authors in general. I suppose this deviation is just another example of his versitility as has previously been seen in his adventures through time, place, and alternate worlds.

If you like this book, my suggestion would be the "Wild Card" series especially where he is author as well as editor.

If you aren't comfortable with the edge this piece has, try "Dying of the light" which has a closer flavor to that of his short stories.

Enjoy!

Rating:
Summary: least of the best
Review: I am flat out a fan of George R.R. Martin! That from a person who doesn't use the word "fan", but it is a truthful confession because I have bought mags with intros written by him. :-)

Ok, too the point, his writting is beautiful as usual; HOWEVER, and you knew there had to be one..., the title piece "portraits of His Children" felt rather like a betrayal. I had come to expect certain things over the years. From an author who seldom even allows his characters to have sex, and never writes about it, implications of incest are REALLY TOO MUCH!

I will still rush to read every newly found article, story, and book; but I have never trusted him as much as I did before that story. This is a very mixed collection, and shows his diversity well.

Rating:
Summary: least of the best
Review: I am flat out a fan of George R.R. Martin! That from a person who doesn't use the word "fan", but it is a truthful confession because I have bought mags with intros written by him. :-)

Ok, too the point, his writting is beautiful as usual; HOWEVER, and you knew there had to be one..., the title piece "portraits of His Children" felt rather like a betrayal. I had come to expect certain things over the years. From an author who seldom even allows his characters to have sex, and never writes about it, implications of incest are REALLY TOO MUCH!

I will still rush to read every newly found article, story, and book; but I have never trusted him as much as I did before that story. This is a very mixed collection, and shows his diversity well.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Stories
Review: Mr. Martin is easily becoming one of my favorite authors. I will admit that I had not read any of his works until the `Song of Fire and Ice' series was created. I figure you have to begin somewhere though. While reading this book, I found that he not only can sweep you off to other worlds with ease, but also make you teary eyed when reviewing just what his characters are going through and the strength and/or weakness that they reveal. It's a shame that this book isn't more popular. It truly is great. From a group of men playing with all their heart in the last super bowl (only to be replaced with a computer with no emotion to emulate them), to a group of old `friends' finally confronted with their failures and being told why exactly they came to be, you'll be surprised by just how much you'll be pulled into their lives. There are eleven stories all together, and I'd recommend each and every one of them. All run the gamut of emotions. All represent a different facet of our lives.

On a further note, I don't have a clue what the `Incest' guy was talking about. The story that is the namesake of the book has a scene where a father and daughter are laying together in bed consoling each other, I assume that he might have interpreted what happened incorrectly (or then again, perhaps I did).

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Stories
Review: Mr. Martin is easily becoming one of my favorite authors. I will admit that I had not read any of his works until the 'Song of Fire and Ice' series was created. I figure you have to begin somewhere though. While reading this book, I found that he not only can sweep you off to other worlds with ease, but also make you teary eyed when reviewing just what his characters are going through and the strength and/or weakness that they reveal. It's a shame that this book isn't more popular. It truly is great. From a group of men playing with all their heart in the last super bowl (only to be replaced with a computer with no emotion to emulate them), to a group of old 'friends' finally confronted with their failures and being told why exactly they came to be, you'll be surprised by just how much you'll be pulled into their lives. There are eleven stories all together, and I'd recommend each and every one of them. All run the gamut of emotions. All represent a different facet of our lives.

On a further note, I don't have a clue what the 'Incest' guy was talking about. The story that is the namesake of the book has a scene where a father and daughter are laying together in bed consoling each other, I assume that he might have interpreted what happened incorrectly (or then again, perhaps I did).

Rating:
Summary: George starts slipping....
Review: Now THIS is where I thot George started seriously slipping (if it wasn't when I saw the small amount of new work in his previous collection, NIGHTFLYERS). There is 1 good new story here -- "In the Lost Lands." It has the mood & magic of so many of George's early greats. Some of the other stories R recycled from George's earlier collections: it's a pleasure 2 C "With Morning Comes Mistfall," "Second Kind of Loneliness," & "Lonely Songs of Laren Door" again, & they certainly brighten up this package. "Unsound Variations" is a pretty good chess story. "Under Seige" is pretty solid, 2. But the others R mostly disappointments. "Portraits of His Children" won a Nebula Award, & tho it's a vivid series of character sketches, I didn't get what all the fuss was about. It's tuff 2 keep crankin out greats at the low rates of pay in the SF field. Is that why George took a 10-year vacation to TV?

Rating:
Summary: Wonderful!!
Review: The story "Unsound Variations" was just amazing! a single move in a chess tounament that one of the weaker players made ruins the lives of the rest of the team in ways both disturbing and unimaginable...

The "Ice Dragon" won an award and after reading it and wiping your tears away you will know why... its simply amazing how one man has so many stories that, in just a few pages can cut through a persons layers of bitterness and expose emotions that one may have believed to have been long since dead.
("With Morning comes Mistfall" and "Lonely Songs of Loren Dorr" fit into this category...Not to mention the Title story about a Daughters mystical Paintings...)

For you anarchists out there you will find the story "closing Time" has a pleasent way of dealing with the whole mess out there....

A total of 11 wonderous and magical stories affiriming that GRR Martin was the Master even before the Song of Ice and Fire was Created.

Buy this book! It will be [$$$], but its worth it if you want to laugh and cry again.

Rating:
Summary: If you have incest on the brain -- don't read this!
Review: This is a group of richly crafted short stories that draw the reader into a brief interlude with a variety of emotions: Hatred, jealousy, indifference, deceit, love, agony, despair... Each story is different. One deals with the very last Super Bowl. Another a fatal chess move and how it effects a team of chess players the entire lives. Still one is about wishes granted for a price, that never seem to turn out as the buyer intended. One of my personal favorites is about a game of the mind with sometimes deadly -- but always irrevocable consequences. Each pearl of a story is both unique in form and color. No constant incest theme. No Fall of the House of Usher here (My deepest regards to Poe). Just a perfectly marvelous read!