Sandkings

I was quite excited to find this book in the library discard pile - I first saw Sandkings in an Outer Limits reboot in the 90's. This is a short story collection of Martin's stories from the 1970's. Like a lot of authors starting out in the period, the stories are weird and sometimes unsettling. For example "In the House of the Worms", a story set far in the future with a dying a sun, the humans worship the worms, and each year, their king sacrifices part of himself to be more like the worms... However, a few of them such as Star Lady captures what it means to be human. As for Sandkings- this isn't the same story the Outer Limits episode was based on, which is rather disappointing. However, the story in this book is incredibly well show more written, and a fun read. Its the best in this volume. show less

I first read Sandkings as a youngster with a purloined copy of Omni magazine. To this day I still get a little creeped out around anthills and/or secretly wonder if I fed the ants right if they'll begin to decorate their hills with pictures of me. Came across this again today and found it as deliciously creepy as I did the first time

https://nwhyte.livejournal.com/3651558.html

I have a feeling that I actually read “Sandkings” when it was first published in Omni in 1979, borrowed from a colleague of my parents' at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Studies. At twelve, I didn't really know what to make of it. At 53, it's a brutal story of what it means for a flawed man to become a god. The narcissistic protagonist acquires four colonies of sandkings, creatures which build their own civilisations in his terrarium, worshipping him. He treats them badly, and they change and grow to match his personality. His attempts to liberate himself from the problem that he has created end in disaster. It's not a nice story but it's very well crafted; we are fascinated by the show more awfulness of the central character.

Of course, now we know that George R.R. Martin is fascinated by flawed characters. Looking back on Game of Thrones, it's remarkable how memorable the out-and-out villains are - Tywin, Cersei and Joffrey; Ramsay Bolton; Daenerys at the end. And his good characters certainly also have flaws, and are tempted to apotheosis (this is Daenerys' downfall). The world of the sandkings is convincingly like ours, just a little worse, perhaps.

Also on both ballots for Best Novelette that year was “Options”, by John Varley. The other Hugo finalists were “Fireflood”, by Vonda N. McIntyre; “Homecoming”, by Barry B. Longyear; “The Locusts”, by Larry Niven & Steve Barnes; and “Palely Loitering”, by Christopher Priest. The other Nebula finalists were “The Angel of Death”, by Michael Shea; “Camps”, by Jack Dann; “The Pathways of Desire”, by Ursula K. Le Guin; and “The Ways of Love”, by Poul Anderson. I have read the first of these but can't remember if I have read any of the others. I suspect the voters got it right. show less

I have no idea what to rate this, my first and last horror book.
I thought it was sci-fi. I thought it would be interesting. But, no. It's one of those books that stays with one forEVER and crops up in nightmares as well as other times of deep stress. I remember every word as though it was written in fire and if I see this book in a bookstore I step away from the shelf, shuddering.

So is that one star, or five, or none?

I actually only read the short story Sandkings", not the entire book of short stories.

Anyway, what a deliciously gruesome story. It made me shiver with macabre delight :D"

The title story from this collection was mentioned in a list of the best short stories ever, and since I've enjoyed George R.R. Martin's other work I was particularly interested in hunting it down. That story focuses on a character's slide from casual selfish evil to total villainy, and provides a tantalizing glimpse of a vivid Sci-Fi setting.

This collection features seven Martin short stories from the late 70s, including two Hugo winners. For the most part these are stories about people set on interesting and dangerous alien worlds. The title story, "Sandkings," is probably Martin's best known short story, and is very well done, if not exactly my cup of tea (it's more of a horror story set in a sci fi world). My favorite was "Bitterblooms," a sad and strangely beautiful story about a young woman's struggle for survival on a world that endures winters that last for years. "The Way of Cross and Dragon," "In the House of the Worm," and "The Stone City" were also pretty good.