Dying of the Light

"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 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