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Summary: "It's Good to be King"
Review: "Sandkings" is a wonderful story about the darker side of human nature. The central character, Simon Kress, is a man who has a fascination with the macabre, especially in his choices of pets. The story's setting is futuristic and occurs on another planet, which gives Kress a larger variety of abnormal pets from which to enjoy.At the story's beginning, Kress has rather mundane piranha and two rather unusual off-world creatures. He is detained for a lengthy business affair and finally comes home to find that his aquatic pets have annihilated themselves and one of his other bizarre pets has apparently fallen to the lone survivor. Kress searches the local pet stores and finally comes across one store with some rather interesting creatures. They appear insect-like, though the store's representative seems to take offense when Kress makes this rather innocent observation. What intrigues Kress about the creatures is their propensity to fight very human-like wars. The store's owner also tells him that these creatures do one other thing that sets them apart from the animal kingdom. These creatures actually will worship their owner. Kress is intrigued. With his purchase of the creatures, however, Kress launches himself on a macabre side trip through the Twilight Zone. He discovers a gruesome fact. Even gods have to face the inescapable law that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Fans of Martin's A Song of Fire and Ice series will love this earlier work of the master. Excellent plotting and character development seem to be a forte that has always been a strength of Martin's writings. For those interested in experimenting with e-books, this is a good, inexpensive way to begin your electronic library.
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Summary: Am I missing something?
Review: ... I thought the book was horrible. With th exception of the last 2 pages, the book was predictable, unnecessarily violent, repulsive, and basically a total turn off. Perhaps I'm missing something - but I don't think this short novel was worth my time. .
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Summary: A sample of the versatility and imagination of GRRM
Review: George R. R. Martin is not just one of the best fantasy or science fiction writers of our time, it is hard to pin him down into any genre. Some of the stories in this volume could better be described as horror rather than fantasy or science fiction. Sandkings, the title story and easily the best of the lot falls into this category. Simon Kress, a rather unpleasant character, acquires as pets these exotic, quasi insect creatures comprised of a physically distinct body (with brain and alimentary functions) and a number of dispersed mobile units who serve as foragers and warriors. Picture an ant-nest or a beehive, except that the queen is of a vastly higher level of consciousness and intelligence and can command her mobiles to undertake more complex projects. Kress' selfishness and sadism wreak havoc on his pets till they transform from loyal subjects (almost disciples in a way) to something beyond scary. It is as if a people long oppressed finally turn on their master. This is just the bare outline, the story itself is compelling and left me gasping by the end (which I am not going to spoil for you - take my word that it is one of the most gripping finales you will read). The other stories are shadowed by Sandkings but are excellent in themselves. I particularly liked The Way of Cross and Dragon, a searing look at religion and the religious hierarchy. Also Star Lady, a tale of the loss of innocence on a planet with no rule of law, and then in a way, a strange redemption as well. The mood throughout the book is dark and this is not a book you want to read in a low mood. I strongly recommend it however as a superb example of storytelling and a sample of the versatility and imagination of George R. R. Martin.
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Summary: 5 Stars for Sandkings
Review: I first read 'Sandkings' in the annual Best of SF edition of OMNI magazine when I was in 8th grade oh so many years ago... I am STILL in awe of this story. When I saw the book at a store several years ago I figured maybe George had taken his amazing short-story and lengthened it to novel-size...or had simply written a sequel or well I didn't really care as long as it was built upon the best short-story I had ever read. I am sorry to say that it was just a collection of short stories with 'Sandkings' being one OF them. This in NO WAY dimishes how utterly original this story is, though. I'm telling you the last written line of 'Sandkings' is worth the price of the book alone...but please, please do NOT spoil the surprise by skipping ahead and doing so. The main character is flawed in that he loves to be sadistic with these tiny adaptable creatures that learn to revere him as deity. But what happens along the way is horrific...and amazing. Spend an hour or two and read this short story and get to know one of the best novelists of the past 20 years. George R.R. Martin is fast becoming one of THE prominant names in the fantasy field (just check out his 'Song of Ice & Fire' series beginning with 'A Game of Thrones') but he was first a sci-fi author...he's not just good at both, he's fantastic...
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Summary: Awesome
Review: I have just finished the story Sandkings in an electronic format on my PDA and let me tell you this: the story is awesome! Try it and I am sure you will not regret the 60 minutes spent.
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Summary: A winning SF collection.
Review: I lean more toward fantasy than science fiction, but Martin crafts futuristic stories that are rich with character, so his work is an exception. The two standouts here are "Fast-Friend", a beautiful tale in which a man pursues his lost, transformed love into deep space in the hopes of both reunion and scientific knowledge, and the title story, in which a jaded collector of exotic lifeforms acquires some pets which satisfy even his bloodthirsty desires. Chilling at times. Worth seeking out.
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Summary: One of the most original SF short stories yet written
Review: I read Sandkings over 15 years ago and still call it to mind when asked about my favorite SF works. It contains some of the most singularly chilling moments I've read while slowly exposing you to one horrifying revelation after another about Martin's unique and brilliant life forms, which consist primarily of a large mouth (the maw) and a powerful psionic brain - but oh how they hunger and grow... (a good friend actually dropped the book at one point because of a particularly scary moment). Sandkings is a short, extremely rewarding read for anyone seeking a fresh, exciting, adrenaline-filled afternoon with a brilliantly original story.
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Summary: Memorable Sci-Fi/Horror Story
Review: I read this story a long time ago--I think I was still in junior high. I stumbled across it in an anthology of science fiction short stories. I don't even remember the title of the anthology but I remember this story. It gave me the willies. It's amusing to look at the cover art displayed above. I kind of imagined the sandkings to look like that thing that crawled in Ricardo Montalban's ear in Star Trek the Wrath of Khan, or that adult thing that lived in the sand-tank and got mad when somebody poked a stick at it.
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Summary: Only 1 story in the e-book
Review: I think most of the reviewers here read the paperback because they refer to this as a collection of short stories. However, the eBook only has the title story. Nevertheless, for the price, this story is really worth it. It was quite an entertaining read and certainly one of the better short stories I've read in a while.
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Summary: Only 1 story in the e-book
Review: I think most of the reviewers here read the paperback because they refer to this as a collection of short stories. However, the eBook only has the title story. Nevertheless, for the price, this story is really worth it. It was quite an entertaining read and certainly one of the better short stories I've read in a while.
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