George R.R. Martin wrote other good books, too, you know.

Most of these books I carry at my store.  Long before Game of Thrones, I was reading every Martin book I could find.  Decades before he was THE George R.R. Martin.

I'm doing these reviews from memory, so I might be slightly off on some particulars, but this is how I remember his oeuvre.

Tuf Voyaging.  This is the book that turned me into a fan.  A series of short stories starring a galactic trader who just wants to do his business in peace, but it seems like every planet he lands on becomes a situation that he has to outsmart everyone to survive.  Wonderfully fun S.F.  Martin shows us how the hero is smarter than everyone else, not just says it.  (Much like the equally wonderful Miles Verkosigan stories by Lois McMasters Bujold).  After this, I started searching out Martin's stories.

Dying of the Light and Windhaven.  I don't actually remember these books much, only that I was disappointed.  Pretty average, was the way I remember them.  I will say, though, that Linda loved them.

Fevre Dream.  A perfectly realized vampire story.  So much better than Interview with a Vampire, that I find myself almost offended that the latter book is so much better known.  (I found Anne Rice's book so turgid that I couldn't finish.)  This novel covers much of the same territory, but oh so much better.

Armageddon Rag.  Frankly, I was a little disappointed in this rock and roll story.  Apparently, it didn't do well and sent Martin into the purgatory of Hollywood for a few years.  But, you know what?  It was a better book than most anyone else's.

About that Hollywood experience.  Linda and I loved the Beauty and Beast T.V. show starring Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman.  Guess who's show that was?  Just guess?

Then he came back and wrote a little story called, The Song of Ice and Fire.