Martin, George R. R.

(US, 1948– )

George R. R. Martin's work was, to begin with, entirely within the science fiction genre, notable successes including the story collection Sandkings (1981), and Tuf Voyaging (1986), a set of linked stories about a wandering ecological engineer on a giant if half-derelict starship. Martin began to diverge into the area of fantasy, however, with Fevre Dream (1982), a vampire story set on a nineteenth-century Mississippi paddle-boat, and has begun an extensive heroic fantasy sequence with A Game of Thrones (1996). He has also worked as a scriptwriter for the television series The New Twilight Zone and Beauty and the Beast. Martin has not been innovative in terms of plots or scenarios, but his stories are fast-paced, and often act as defining examples of the sub-genre they have a dopted, whether this is within fantasy or science fiction.

Tim Powers, Michael Swanwick. See FANTASY  TS