A Song for Lya: And Other Stories Paperback – April 1, 2001

This series of short stories has a very distinct 1970's feel (because they were written in the 70's!) which I personally do not really appreciate. It is a kind of morose look at the nature of people that has a depressive 70's way of looking at things. The fact is that it is more geared towards deep thinking (or depressive) people who like to overly ponder about the state of humanity and that kind of crap. It is not anything like George Martin's Song of Ice and Fire in terms of mood or writing, which is what put me off about this book. If you really must introspect into the multiple facets of loneliness or some equal emotional angst then I guess that you may enjoy this book, otherwise get a good sci-fi or fantasy novel that has action and not so much of this philosophical 70's drama.

A nice change from Game of Thrones. Very good. Not long

I'm a fan of GRRM, despite not having read any of the Game of Thrones series (for no particular reason other than the show continues to surprise me and it's so good). I would compare this short story to Dying of the Light, as it's about human-like characters going to an exotic location and trying to find their bearings within new surroundings. I wouldn't say this is a thriller type story, more like a deeply felt human drama, set amongst telepaths and a suicidal alien race.

This short book was one of George RR Martin's early works. I'm a huge fan of his, so I like anything he writes. This story makes you ponder what other cultures may look at as God and the Brotherhood of Man. I only gave it 4 stars because I felt the story didn't have complete closure with the 2 main characters.

Martin is a master of creating alternative worlds and possible futures. In this case the world he creates provides as much food for thought for the reader as it does for its main characters. Or almost as much, given that the reader isn't subject to the same risk / temptation ... This book is a great example of the power of science fiction / fantasy to explore interesting ideas.

I am not a book reviewer, so I can't really get into the structure of this too deeply. I picked it up as something to kill time during lunch. I was introduced to Martin by the Ice and Fire series. I am not normally a SciFi reader, but this and Tuf Voyaging have exposed me to some new work.

I thought I was buying a collection of stories per other reviewers' comments. But the kindle version only contains one story -> which is as titled.Had I know better, might as well save the two dollars for the Dreamsong collections. The story is good... but I rather pick the option of saving my two bucks for the dreamsong collections (the story is also included in there).

I love A Song Of Ice And Fire. this short story is nothing like his epic fantasy, but still a very good short story.I refuse to spoil stories or books, but the ending makes you really think about "What would you have done".Definitely recommend this one, and for the price, you really can't lose.

If you've an hour or so to spare you can read this all in one go, rather than having to devote months of your time to one of his more recent "novels". This was written close to the end of his short-story writing phase (the 1970s), and if you've followed his career from the word go as I have, you'll know what a superb short story writer he used to be. Often with little to say, beyond a cliche of an idea and a much-trodden plot, his talent was in how he wrote, not what he wrote, and this is a prime example of what I once called "well written rubbish". You enjoy it for the writing, not the shortcomings of the content. By no mans his best short piece, but this was the one that brought him to the attention of audiences beyond science fiction, by virtue of bagging an award or two. And once that milestone was reached, his career in writing took off, covering TV scriptwriting (Beauty and the Beast), and vast self indulgent fantasy novels (you know the ones I mean), and sadly he rarely wrote any further short works.You'll find better short stories than this in his two anthologies, Song Of Stars and Shadows, and Sandkings, but neither sadly is yet available in kindle. But if you read for the joy of the written word alone, with no other requirement, this is a must in any collection. You'll want to read it many times over to wring out every last bit of enjoyment.

One of the earlier works of George R.R. Martin, 'A Song for Lya' is a pretty intriguing short story. Two 'talents' are sent amongst the Skheen on a mission to understand why they all engage in a sort of ritual suicide. Over a period of days, they explore why an ancient civilization is perfectly happy not developing further and why they all merge with a parasitic being that devours them in the end.The writing is certainly compelling and one can recognize elements of what later made George R.R. Martin so successful with his  A Song of Ice and Fire - Volumes 1-5 Box Set . At the same time the issues of love, religion, etc. are perhaps a bit big to be dealt with in ca. 70 pages. Not saying that the treatment was unsuccessful, only that some readers may find it a bit rushed and if you do not like open endings, you may find it unsatisfying.Still, an interesting short story and something to read while you are waiting for the new installment of 'A Song of Ice and Fire'. A Song of Ice and Fire - Volumes 1-5 Box Set

Wow ... How different from Game of Thrones. This is so far in the future ...or is it? This book is very thought provoking ... And it's all about choices ...Some know where they are going ... Some don't care ... And others need to be lead ... Which one are you ?I know who I am :-)

I enjoyed this short story very much . The characterisation is good enough to make me interested in the characters. The plot reminds me of an intruiging incident on one of the planets in Heinlein's  Methuselah's Children  but goes into much more detail about human reactions and understanding. Methuselah's Children

Difficult to get the scope of a bool within the few pages of a novella, but George R R created an interesting world populated with some strange beings. I would have liked to have more than this snapshot story