Nightflyers & Other Stories

This is a solid collection of 1970's science fiction from George R. R. Martin. I found all the stories enjoyable, especially the title novella.Nightflyers--A group of scientists are tracking the oldest known alien vessel through deep space. When they begin to die one by one, they blame their enigmatic captain. This is an outstanding character-driven piece with strong science fiction and horror elements. (It was made into a forgettable 1980's movie, then again into an even more forgettable cable television series in 2018.)Override--In the far future, a miner controls a team of animated corpses to dig for valuable swirlstones. However, when a business rival uses an override device to usurp his control, his day at the office takes a turn for the worse--he must fend off a zombie attack. This is one of three corpse handler stories the author wrote. This one had a strong premise, but the idea would not reach its full potential until "Meathouse Man".Weekend in a War Zone--This story posits a near future where people pay to fight in wars on the weekend. It's all fun and games, but the bullets and the deaths are real. This is a decent entertainment but feels slightly derivative."And Seven Times Never Kill Man"--An excellent portrait of two cultures at war with one another. One is a group of humanoid settlers who follow a militaristic form of Christianity warped by centuries of intergalactic conflict. The other is a primitive tribe that exalts art and pacifism. The author purposefully leaves many questions unanswered, but this story defies the easy answers and still has enough meat on the bone to satisfy.Nor the Many-Colored Fires of a Star Ring--Kerin and Jenny are researchers on a star ring, a ship whose purpose is to temporarily open a wormhole to allow colony ships to pass through. The Black Door station opens onto an uncharted vacuum that is an enigma to science. Perhaps they are on the far side of the universe where the light of the Big Bang has not yet reached. Perhaps they have been flung into the far past, pre-creation, or the far future after the universe has collapsed onto itself. They are experimenting to create a sustaining wormhole, but when they lose control of the energy within the vortex, they might just initiate a new act of creation--or destruction--with unpredictable consequences. This is a philosophical story full of grandiose ideas, part of the author's early Thousand Worlds series.A Song for Lya -- Two psychics travel to an world much older than earth to investigate why humans are being drawn towards an alien religion that always culminates in suicide. This is a strong story, with an outstanding premise built around two questions: "What is true love?" and "Does human individuality create an inherent sense of isolation?" My only complaint is that it drags on a bit too long with too much repetition. Won a 1974 Hugo Award.

Overall I found the sum total a very good read. I'm not a huge fan of psi based tales, but I enjoyed this collection.If you are buying based solely on G.R.R Martin you may be disappointed. Nightflyers is not one of his best works. He wrote it about 40 years ago. You see how much G.R.R. Martin has developed over the years.

I’m a huge fan of GRRM, and this collection of short stories shows a different side of his talent that is familiar yet refreshing.

Martin set out to blend scifi and horror when that was only a slowly emerging genre blend. I suppose he deserves some credit. But that does not mean the eponymous novella is particularly exciting to read, and most of the other short stories in this compendium were entirely forgettable. I was expecting more.

I'll read anything with George R R name on it! He is simply my favorite author. That being said, these short stories were good, but left me wanting more. In any case, he's a fantastic author, and I highly recommend him.

I bought this because I saw the movie (Nightflyers) years ago. It wasn't reviewed well but I liked it. This, original story, is better than the movie tho.

Great ride through the mind of a great classic writer. His sci-fi fantasy style is as classic as Asimov. I loved these stories.

Though I enjoyed it, I don't believe Nightflyers to be the strongest entry. Many of the other stories are just as engaging and thought provoking.

The basis for the 80s scifi horror film of the same name, the novella is just as engaging, yet obvously far more detailed and mysterious. Both are fun, but the novella is able to create far more mystery and chilling elements. Great read.

Great book! if you like GRRM's style of writing and or looking for something to read after ASOAF then this is a MUST. GRRM is also an amazing scifi writer and short story writer.

So much better than the syFy series. Don't hesitate. All is explained much better and there are no loose plot lines.

Classic, and good.

Un racconto ben fatto