Aside from the fact that I am almost beyond my breaking point waiting for Dances With Dragons to come out, and needed a Martin fix it was, actually, Stephen Martiniere's cool-ass cover that drew my attention to this book. I vowed, at one point, to never read any of Martin's "side-work" until A Song of Ice and Fire was finished. The Hedge Knight stuff was acceptable as it gave history lessons of Westeros. I needed a SciFi as, for some reason, I stopped Bank's Use of Weapons 200 paqes in and haven't been able to pick it up since. Nothing wrong with it-just haven't been able to do it.At KW I wrote:Just started Hunter's Run a very intriguing looking SciFi by two New Mexico authors and a famous editor/author. George R. R. Martin, Daniel Abraham and Gardner Dozois - and it's based on Dozios' rough draft from the very early '70s. You can feel Martin and Abraham's influence right away as it's stocked with Mexican/New Mexican folklore.
I'm just 10 pages in, but the bare bones of the original fight talked about in the above synopsis have taken place. It's definitely Martin writing that scene while Abraham fills in the lore. Like Stephen R. Donaldson's "Man Who" detective novels where Puerto del Sol is modeled after Albuquerque, you can already feel the same thing with Diegotown. Like the Hegria in those books mirroring the real life dive bar the El Madrid, there really is an El Rey in downtown Albuquerque...Initially it's really funny seeing a couple of white guys try to create a bastard 'vato' character, but Espejo's dillema is so compelling that you can give them a break and suddenly they are doing a very commendable job, so far.
OK here's the rant I promised at the Watch, but they'll never come over and see it anyway-lazy butts stealing our Martin forum away from us...
When I first attended Bubonicon (the New Mexico SciFi/Fantasy con) 5 years ago it was to confirm the rumors that Donaldson was starting the Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. Having read the first 3 ASOIAF books in the meantime I was in awe as I watched George R. R. Martin and his entourage of Parris, Sage Walker, Melinda Snodgress and Daniel Abraham walking from The Owl Cafe back to the hotel. Now I'm kinda pissed that such an entourage exists-so buying this book feels like: If you can't stop Martin's side projects, join 'em. As a Martin fan you're painfully aware that there was a big gap between ASOS and Crows and now an even bigger gap between that book and whenever DWD will ever come out. The second time I saw Martin at the convention he was combative with everyone wondering if AFFC would ever come out-now I think most of his fans have thrown-up their hands. I haven't given up but I have thrown up my hands.
It's stuff like this, working with The Dabel Bros on various projects and focusing on the "Wild Cards" series, that originated from a long-running Albuquerque, New Mexico campaign of the role-playing game Superworld, gamemastered by Martin. That seem to have totally distracted him from concentrating on ASOIAF. With the publication of WC's Inside Straight and this year's Busted Flush and managing his contributors, yes for the most part great NM talent:
Melinda M. Snodgrass, Walter Jon Williams, Leanne C. Harper, Chris Claremont, Victor Milán, John J. Miller, and Abraham. It's not like he's sitting around being idle, but he's still pissing off, and in some cases, alienating his ASOIAF fans.