Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Panther (1979), Edition: n.e., Paperback, 320 pages
Description
Fantasy. Fiction. Romance. Science Fiction. HTML:In this unforgettable space opera, #1 New York Times bestselling author George R. R. Martin presents a chilling vision of eternal night�a volatile world where cultures clash, codes of honor do not exist, and the hunter and the hunted are often interchangeable. A whisperjewel has summoned Dirk t�Larien to Worlorn, and a love he thinks he lost. But Worlorn isn�t the world Dirk imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew. She is bound to another man, and to a dying planet that is trapped in twilight. Gwen needs Dirk�s protection, and he will do anything to keep her safe, even if it means challenging the barbaric man who has claimed her. But an impenetrable veil of secrecy surrounds them all, and it�s becoming impossible for Dirk to distinguish between his allies and his enemies. In this dangerous triangle, one is hurtling toward escape, another toward revenge, and the last toward a brutal, untimely demise. Praise for Dying of the Light �Dying of the Light blew the doors off of my idea of what fiction could be and could do, what a work of unbridled imagination could make a reader feel and believe.��Michael Chabon �Slick science fiction . . . the Wild West in outer space.��Los Angeles Times �Something special which will keep Worlorn and its people in the reader�s mind long after the final page is read.��Galileo magazine �The galactic background is excellent. . . . Martin knows how to hold the reader.��Asimov�s �George R. R. Martin has the voice of a poet and a mind like a steel trap.��Algis Budrys.… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member Thoroughlyillread
When Dirk T'Larien receives a mysterious summons to the side of his former love, he wonders whether there's anything to salvage from the wreck of their romance. What he discovers about himself is more important, in the end, than either love or life . . .
Everything about this book is decadent, from
The book also seems to be a response to the wave of feminist sf at the time, and Suzy McKee Charnas in particular. There's a lot of pondering about women, honor, freedom and masculinity. Not a lot gets resolved, but it's interesting nevertheless.
Everything about this book is decadent, from
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its dying-world setting to its adjectival excesses. Even the relationships in the book are in a state of decay. The author struggles a bit to maintain urgency in the face of this creeping homeostasis, but persistent readers will be rewarded with a truly hair-raising chase scene and some gripping emotional drama near the end of the book. The book also seems to be a response to the wave of feminist sf at the time, and Suzy McKee Charnas in particular. There's a lot of pondering about women, honor, freedom and masculinity. Not a lot gets resolved, but it's interesting nevertheless.
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LibraryThing member BryanThomasS
An interesting effort, but having read later books, not one of the author's best. An early book for him. I found the story a bit disappointing in its emotional arc, and the plot, while taking unexpected twists and turns, left me feeling disappointed. None of the characters were very likable either.
LibraryThing member RaceBannon42
"A whisperjewel summoned him to Worlorn, and a love he thought he'd lost. But Worlorn isn't the world Dirk ta'Larien imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew. She is bound to another man, and to a dying planet that is trapped in twilight, forever falling toward night."
Dying
Worlorn is a rogue planet which is temporarily passing through a star system, and as a result will be able to support life for awhile. The planets of the outer fringe decide to each build a city on Worlorn, and hold a festival to show the inner planets their glory. Now the festival has passed. Worlorn is passing beyond the warmth of the suns and is slowly dying, a little more each day.
The book is well paced, and has a number of plot twists that have you reevaluating your views of the characters. No one seems to play with my views like Martin does. I'm a bit more torn about the ending. I just finished it, and I don't know if I like what he did or not. At the very least it was a bold way to finish of his first novel. Over all it was at very good book, and I'm eager to read more of George's early works.
8 out of 10
Dying
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of the Light is George R.R. Martin's first novel. For a debut its tremendous. While technically this is a sci-fi story at its core its its a love story. The characterization that is the bread and butter of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire novels, is abundantly evident here. Worlorn is a rogue planet which is temporarily passing through a star system, and as a result will be able to support life for awhile. The planets of the outer fringe decide to each build a city on Worlorn, and hold a festival to show the inner planets their glory. Now the festival has passed. Worlorn is passing beyond the warmth of the suns and is slowly dying, a little more each day.
The book is well paced, and has a number of plot twists that have you reevaluating your views of the characters. No one seems to play with my views like Martin does. I'm a bit more torn about the ending. I just finished it, and I don't know if I like what he did or not. At the very least it was a bold way to finish of his first novel. Over all it was at very good book, and I'm eager to read more of George's early works.
8 out of 10
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LibraryThing member jwhenderson
This is the first novel by George R. R. Martin that I have read and I was not sure what to expect since he has become so successful in the last decade with the Game of Thrones series. Dying of the Light was George RR Martin's first novel, published in 1977. It is set in his SF 'Thousand World's'
The action takes place on Worlorn, a world without a sun, ejected from its home system by a supernova millions of years ago and now hurtling out of the Galaxy. For a few years as it passed the colossal red super-giant star, Fat Satan, and Worlon became a Festival Planet, with millions flocking from the outer worlds to spend a decade partying before it passed beyond the edge of the Galaxy. Now the Festival is over, most of its inhabitants departed, leaving behind a remainder determined to stay as long as possible before the planet freezes and becomes cloaked in eternal night. The story begins when the protagonist, Dirk t'Larien, is summoned to Worlorn by his former lover, Gwen Delvano, for a reason she will not identify. On Worlorn Dirk finds that Gwen is the lover and bonded partner of Jaantony Riv Wolf high-Ironjade Vikary, a visionary leader from the barbarous world of High Kavalaan. And, as he learns more about the Kavalar he becomes convinced that Gwen is ensnared in an unwanted situation. However, as Worlon passes into the night, greater stakes are raised and Dirk becomes caught in a desperate struggle for survival. This abridged version of the plot only hints at the surprising complexity that is encompassed in a novel of less than two hundred fifty pages.
The main characters are well-drawn. However the relationship between Dirk and Gwen seems a slight basis for such an elaborate setting. The Kavalar species have complex codes of honor that seem to alternately control the story and get in its way. The plot also relies too much on coincidence. For example, during a critical passage for Dirk when he is in extreme danger he just 'happens' upon another person who has been killed, thus allowing him to appropriate a weapon that is critical for his continued survival. Without giving anything away I must comment that the ending is weak as well. Overall I was disappointed in Martin's first foray into the Science Fiction novel. The pacing in the first half of the book has a tendency to drag somewhat and I was particularly disappointed at the lack of depth in the narrative given the elaborate nature of the setting. His more recent work has received the imprimatur of popularity and that suggests that he may have improved as a writer.
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milieu. The edition I read included a glossary that was helpful to some extent, but I found some terms that were annoyingly not included in the glossary. As a first novel it exhibits some of the typical weaknesses of the genre, especially as regards to pacing. The first half of the novel is terribly drawn out. There are some moments when Worlorn, the dying planet on which the action of the novel takes place, and its flora , fauna, and dying cities are beautifully described. However, I felt that the plot meandered around without a purpose for a while. In the second half, the book's various story lines coalesced into a much more driven narrative and the pacing ramps up to an ambiguous finale.The action takes place on Worlorn, a world without a sun, ejected from its home system by a supernova millions of years ago and now hurtling out of the Galaxy. For a few years as it passed the colossal red super-giant star, Fat Satan, and Worlon became a Festival Planet, with millions flocking from the outer worlds to spend a decade partying before it passed beyond the edge of the Galaxy. Now the Festival is over, most of its inhabitants departed, leaving behind a remainder determined to stay as long as possible before the planet freezes and becomes cloaked in eternal night. The story begins when the protagonist, Dirk t'Larien, is summoned to Worlorn by his former lover, Gwen Delvano, for a reason she will not identify. On Worlorn Dirk finds that Gwen is the lover and bonded partner of Jaantony Riv Wolf high-Ironjade Vikary, a visionary leader from the barbarous world of High Kavalaan. And, as he learns more about the Kavalar he becomes convinced that Gwen is ensnared in an unwanted situation. However, as Worlon passes into the night, greater stakes are raised and Dirk becomes caught in a desperate struggle for survival. This abridged version of the plot only hints at the surprising complexity that is encompassed in a novel of less than two hundred fifty pages.
The main characters are well-drawn. However the relationship between Dirk and Gwen seems a slight basis for such an elaborate setting. The Kavalar species have complex codes of honor that seem to alternately control the story and get in its way. The plot also relies too much on coincidence. For example, during a critical passage for Dirk when he is in extreme danger he just 'happens' upon another person who has been killed, thus allowing him to appropriate a weapon that is critical for his continued survival. Without giving anything away I must comment that the ending is weak as well. Overall I was disappointed in Martin's first foray into the Science Fiction novel. The pacing in the first half of the book has a tendency to drag somewhat and I was particularly disappointed at the lack of depth in the narrative given the elaborate nature of the setting. His more recent work has received the imprimatur of popularity and that suggests that he may have improved as a writer.
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LibraryThing member AltheaAnn
Written well (1977) before Martin's highly-acclaimed but not-yet-with-an-end-in-sight Song of Ice and Fire series, Dying of The Light is a novel that shows many of the skills that that series has been appreciated for - complex interpersonal relationships, deft characterizations, believable
I actually finished this book really wishing that Martin had written other books in this universe because it was so fascinating - even though the story itself takes place in an extremely small, isolated sphere.
The scenario, I thought, was very Iain Banks-ish...
A 'rogue' planet in a parabolic(?) orbit is only swinging close enough to its stars to support life for 50 years. The civilized universe decides to take advantage of this and throw a festival much like a World's Fair, each planet displaying their arts, technology and unique culture - but only for a brief time.
At the time of the book, the festival is over. The vast majority of the participants have left, as the planet slowly plunges back into cold and night.
But one man (Dirk T'Larien) races through space to that planet - because he has received a token from an old love, one that he had promised, no matter what, to answer...
But when he arrives, things are not as he expected. His welcome is odd. His old lover, an ecologist, is busy studying the dying of the planet's ecosystems.
She's married - or 'betheyn' - to Vikary, a man from a harsh, warlike culture, and is also bound sexually and culturally to his partner.
But another old friend of hers is also there - and he speaks, in confidence, telling Dirk that she really wants to be rescued - that she is enslaved and oppressed.
A psychosexual drama ensues between these four - one with plenty of action and violence, but also dealing with the frictions and attractions between personalities, the complexities of human relationships and the differences between cultures.
Really a great book.
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world-building, to the degree that you want to just step right in and look around the corners to see what else is there - because you *know* that something is...I actually finished this book really wishing that Martin had written other books in this universe because it was so fascinating - even though the story itself takes place in an extremely small, isolated sphere.
The scenario, I thought, was very Iain Banks-ish...
A 'rogue' planet in a parabolic(?) orbit is only swinging close enough to its stars to support life for 50 years. The civilized universe decides to take advantage of this and throw a festival much like a World's Fair, each planet displaying their arts, technology and unique culture - but only for a brief time.
At the time of the book, the festival is over. The vast majority of the participants have left, as the planet slowly plunges back into cold and night.
But one man (Dirk T'Larien) races through space to that planet - because he has received a token from an old love, one that he had promised, no matter what, to answer...
But when he arrives, things are not as he expected. His welcome is odd. His old lover, an ecologist, is busy studying the dying of the planet's ecosystems.
She's married - or 'betheyn' - to Vikary, a man from a harsh, warlike culture, and is also bound sexually and culturally to his partner.
But another old friend of hers is also there - and he speaks, in confidence, telling Dirk that she really wants to be rescued - that she is enslaved and oppressed.
A psychosexual drama ensues between these four - one with plenty of action and violence, but also dealing with the frictions and attractions between personalities, the complexities of human relationships and the differences between cultures.
Really a great book.
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LibraryThing member jrthebutler
A whisperjewel has summoned Dirk t’Larien to Worlorn, and a love he thinks he lost. But Worlorn isn’t the world Dirk imagined, and Gwen Delvano is no longer the woman he once knew.
Subjects
Awards
Hugo Award (Nominee — Novel — 1978)
British Fantasy Award (Nominee — August Derleth Fantasy Award — 1979)
Language
Original publication date
1977
Physical description
320 p.
ISBN
0586046135 / 9780586046135
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