 Collection containing title story (Avon Books) | |
| Author | George R.R. Martin |
|---|---|
| Country | USA |
| Language | English |
| Published | 1974 |
A Song For Lya is a science fiction novella by American writer George R.R. Martin. It was published in Analog Science Fiction and Fact magazine in 1974 and won the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1975. It was also nominated for the 1975 Nebula Award for Best Novella and Jupiter Award for Best Novella, and took second place in the Locus Poll. [1]
The story deals with two telepaths named Robb and Lyanna ("Lya" for short), who visit the planet Shkea by an invitation of the planetary administrator, who is disconcerted by the culture of the native alien population, the Shkeen, and how it affects humans. The Shkeen are an ancient culture, but their progress has stalled at a stone age level for thousands of years. Their religion is centered on a jelly-like parasite called the Greeshka. At middle age, they allow themselves to be infected by it, and ten years later visit a cave where there is a large mass of Greeshka and allow themselves to be consumed by it. The administrator is concerned because a growing quantity of humans have joined that religion, including his predecessor.
Besides working as a team, Robb and Lya are a couple, and they pride themselves that their telepathy allows them a closer bond and much better understanding of one another than the one regular humans have, but at the same time Lya has feelings of existential dread, and a feeling of isolation that not even their powers can surpass.
Robb and Lya attend a ceremony for Shkeen that are about to get infected with Greeshka and the following day they explore the city to find some who are already infected. They find some, both Shkeen and human, and Lya reads in their minds how lonely they were before converting, and how the Greeshka has removed the loneliness. That night, Robb and Lyanna have an emotional discussion and Lyanna disappears. Robb and a local team visit one of the caves where the Shkeen are consumed by the Greeshka, and when he tries to read the emotions on a Shkeen in the middle of the process, he receives a feeling of love that overwhelms him and is unable to resist it, until he loses consciousness.
When he wakes up, one of the locals tells him that after he tried to read the people in the cave, he lost control and tried to walk into the Greeshka, and the rest of them had to render him unconscious to get him out. Later, Lya communicates with him in his sleep, telling him that she went to a cave and allowed herself to be consumed by the Greeshka, which she says is a link to an afterlife of sorts where the minds of every person who has been absorbed by it live and share love without any loneliness. She pleads to him to join her, but he rejects it.
At the end, afraid that if he stays longer in Shkea he will succumb to the attraction of the Greeshka, Robb decides to return to his homeworld, hoping to find a means of transcendence and to overcome loneliness that is not Shkeen, but purely human.
In his essay "The Light of Distant Stars", Martin said it was inspired by the first serious romance he was involved in. [2] [3] [4] [5]
A Song for Lya is set in the same fictional "Thousand Worlds" universe as several of Martin's other works, including Dying of the Light , Sandkings , Nightflyers , "The Way of Cross and Dragon" and the stories collected in Tuf Voyaging . [6]
In his later book series A Song of Ice and Fire , the names Robb and Lyanna are used for two members of House Stark, Robb Stark being the son of Eddard Stark and Lyanna Stark being Eddard's younger sister, as well for the character of the young Lyanna Mormont. Additionally, the afterlife and collective consciousness within the Greeshka in A Song for Lya parallels the afterlife and collective consciousness within the Weirwood trees described by the Children of the Forest in A Song of Ice and Fire.
George Raymond Richard Martin, also known as GRRM, is an American novelist, screenwriter, television producer and short story writer. He is the author of the series of epic fantasy novels A Song of Ice and Fire, which were adapted into the Emmy Award-winning HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019) and its prequel series House of the Dragon (2022–present). He also helped create the Wild Cards anthology series, and contributed worldbuilding for the 2022 video game Elden Ring.
A Song of Ice and Fire is a series of epic fantasy novels by the American novelist and screenwriter George R. R. Martin. He began writing the first volume, A Game of Thrones in 1991, publishing it in 1996. Martin originally envisioned the series as a trilogy but as of 2023 has released five out of a planned seven volumes. The fifth and most recent entry in the series, A Dance with Dragons, was published in 2011. As of 2023 Martin continues to write the sixth novel, titled The Winds of Winter. A seventh novel, A Dream of Spring, is planned to follow.
A Game of Thrones is the first novel in A Song of Ice and Fire, a series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 1, 1996. The novel won the 1997 Locus Award and was nominated for both the 1997 Nebula Award and the 1997 World Fantasy Award. The novella Blood of the Dragon, comprising the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel, won the 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novella. In January 2011, the novel became a New York Times Bestseller and reached No. 1 on the list in July 2011.
A Clash of Kings is the second of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, an epic fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on November 16, 1998 in the United Kingdom; the first United States edition followed on February 2, 1999. Like its predecessor, A Game of Thrones, it won the Locus Award for best novel and was nominated for the Nebula Award for best novel. In May 2005, Meisha Merlin released a limited edition of the novel, fully illustrated by John Howe.
A Storm of Swords is the third of seven planned novels in A Song of Ice and Fire, a fantasy series by American author George R. R. Martin. It was first published on August 8, 2000, in the United Kingdom, with a United States edition following in November 2000. Its publication was preceded by a novella called Path of the Dragon, which collects some of the Daenerys Targaryen chapters from the novel into a single book.
Jon Snow, alias Lord Snow and The Bastard of Winterfell, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, in which he was portrayed by English actor Kit Harington. In the novels, he is a prominent point of view character. He is one of the most popular characters in the series, and The New York Times cites him as one of the author's finest creations. Jon is a main character in the TV series, and his storyline in the season 5 finale generated a strong reaction among viewers. Speculation about the character's parentage has also been a popular topic of discussion among fans of both the books and the TV series.
Robb Stark, also known by his Epithet, The Young Wolf is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by Scottish actor Richard Madden.
Robert Baratheon is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by English actor Mark Addy.
Brandon Stark, also known as Bran, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of epic fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones, where he is portrayed by English actor Isaac Hempstead Wright. Introduced in 1996's A Game of Thrones, Bran subsequently appears in A Clash of Kings (1998) and A Storm of Swords (2000). He is one of a few prominent characters that are not included in the fourth novel A Feast for Crows (2005), but returned in the fifth novel A Dance with Dragons (2011).
Lord Roose Bolton is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones.
Eddard "Ned" Stark is a fictional character in the 1996 fantasy novel A Game of Thrones by George R. R. Martin, and Game of Thrones, HBO's adaptation of Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series. In the storyline, Ned is the lord of Winterfell, an ancient fortress in the North of the fictional continent of Westeros. Though the character is established as the main character in the novel and the first season of the TV adaptation, a plot twist involving Ned near the end of the novel and the end of the first season shocked both readers of the book and viewers of the TV series.
Catelyn Stark, later known as Lady Stoneheart, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation Game of Thrones. She is a prominent point of view character in the first three novels. She also appears in the fourth novel, A Feast for Crows (2005) and will return in a prominent role for the forthcoming sixth novel, The Winds of Winter.
Samwell Tarly, or simply Sam, is a fictional character in the A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels by American author George R. R. Martin, and its television adaptation, Game of Thrones.
Nightflyers is a science fiction horror novella by American writer George R. R. Martin, released as a short novella in 1980 and as an expanded novella in 1981. A short story collection of the same name was released in 1985 that includes the expanded novella. In 1987, the short novella was adapted into a film by the same name. A 2018 television adaptation of the extended novella was developed; television presentation began on December 2, 2018, on the SyFy Channel.
"Cripples, Bastards, and Broken Things" is the fourth episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, which first aired on May 8, 2011. It was written by Bryan Cogman and directed by Brian Kirk. In this episode Lord Eddard Stark, the new Hand of the King, investigates the sudden death of his predecessor. Jon Snow, Eddard's bastard son, defends a new recruit who has just joined the rangers at "the Wall". Exiled prince Viserys becomes increasingly frustrated as the Dothraki horde he needs to invade Westeros and win back his crown continues to linger at Vaes Dothrak. The episode ends with Eddard's wife Catelyn arresting Tyrion Lannister on suspicion of attempting to murder her son Bran.
"The Pointy End" is the eighth episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. First aired on June 5, 2011, the episode was directed by Daniel Minahan and written by George R. R. Martin, the author of the A Song of Ice and Fire novels on which the show is based.
"Baelor" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the first season of the HBO medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones. First aired on June 12, 2011, it was written by series creators and executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Alan Taylor, his directorial debut for the series.
"The Rains of Castamere" is the ninth and penultimate episode of the third season of HBO's medieval fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 29th episode of the series. The episode was written by executive producers David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by David Nutter. It first aired on June 2, 2013.
"Oathbreaker" is the third episode of the sixth season of HBO's fantasy television series Game of Thrones, and the 53rd overall. It was written by series co-creators David Benioff and D. B. Weiss, and directed by Daniel Sackheim, his directorial debut for the series.
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