I love the Ice Dragon! It's such a good story. Just want to clarify that it's not set in Westeros or part of the ASOIAF universe. I also thought it was when I first read it, but George himself confirmed that's not the case. I'll link it in the reply section to this comment if I can find it. It's an awesome story, though. Glad you liked it! 😁
 Re: Gary Gianni signing? noybusiness February 10 2015, 13:16:31 UTC COLLAPSE Is The Ice Dragon in the world of A Song of Ice and Fire like the back cover of it says? LIKE  Re: Gary Gianni signing? grrm March 2 2015, 19:22:49 UTC COLLAPSE No, it is not. The world of Ice & Fire did not exist when I wrote THE ICE DRAGON.
I copied and pasted this part from GRRM's blog. Back when it was still on his Live Journal site. Apparently, some publishers marketed the book as being part of the ASOIAF universe to sell more copies, but GRRM himself said that's not the case. Sorry for the long comment lol. I just thought it might be interesting since I've also thought it took place in Westeros. 😅
@@rick3269 I appreciate you taking the time to do that! I wasn't sure until I read it on the cover, but I also found it strange that The Ice Dragon was published over a decade before A Game of Thrones. Someone mentioned it was on the Wiki, but I couldn't find the original source. Thanks to this, I found it. I'll pin your comment and add a note to the video description. Thank you so much!
Excellent mini-reviews, Johanna! On the question of animals and consciousness, I find it interesting how we (humans) keep revising our estimates of how conscious animals are, and yet at any given time we seem to think we’ve got it all figured out. Since the trend is to discover that animals are in fact more conscious than we’ve given them credit for, I wonder what we’ll figure out in the future. Have a great rest of your day too!
Thank you, Philip! I agree with you! I still remember when that 2012 statement was made, and I felt like it was a victory. There's still so much to learn about consciousness, and I never get tired of the topic. Cheers!
Ubik ... Safe when taken as directed! So glad you enjoyed this one Johanna. PKD certainly has many common themes throughout his works which become obvious the more you read. My personal favourite is the Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch. It's 'ABOUT SOMETHING' and I would definitely recommend it.
Small Things Like These is a great Christmas seasonal read. Foster was also great, a little scaled back, and from a child's perspective. Quite evocative of emotion that landed for me. I would like to read her recent one.
Small Things Like These sounds fascinating, and I love your comparison to the good samaritan effect. The Christmas season really amplifies this as well. It sounds like this book packs a punch! Solaris sounds very interesting too
Yeah, Small Things is not a plot-driven story, but it did get me thinking. It's so short that I'm sure you could read it in a sitting, and I think it's perfect for Christmas time. Thanks! 💕
You're on a bit of a sci-fi kick! I read Solaris and really enjoyed it, and enjoyed the ending for the same reasons. And I loved his atmospheric writing early on that gave the reader minor horror vibes. I had never heard of the The Ice Dragon! But I've honestly never really explored GRRM's other works.
I really am on a sci-fi kick. I've been on a positive streak so far with every one I've picked up. Solaris was such a distinct experience. I had never heard of the Ice Dragon either, and it's a fun YA short story. Thank you, Josh!
The way you talked about Ice Dragon left me a bit surprised, but I think I get it. It's hard to say everything that should be said about a story like that one and avoid spoilers. It's refreshing to hear you talk about the intention of Small Things Like This. I haven't read it, but I appreciate stories that twist my conscience, as you put it. I've found that many people prefer to shun these kinds of tales. Solaris sounds fascinating. I'll have to pick it up. Ubik sounds interesting, and it also sounds like one of those books you have to read to get a good idea for it. From the way you describe it, it sounds like a less onerous, more "adventury", 1984. I would actually be very interested to hear your thoughts on Vance. I'm tempted to read him, but I've never known whether to listen to people that recommend him. As I've come to trust your reviews, you might be the one to put my indecision to rest :P Currently reading: Lions of Al-Rassan
Thank you! I could easily see getting annoyed by the moral question in Small Things, but I think its brevity and historical setting worked in its favor. I don't know much about that time in Ireland, and I sensed it was depicting some true controversies, but I just read that the author denies this. I hope you enjoy Ubik and Solaris if you pick them up. They are so different from one another! I'll do my best to describe Jack Vance's writing in a future video. Enjoy Lions!
I really liked The Ice Dragon! I didn't realize it was written so long ago. I'm Jeff Vandameer's Southern Reach trilogy, on the 3rd book right now. Very entertaining sci-fi. Also reading Janny Wurts' Master of Whitestorm. Very cool seeing her earlier stuff and comparing it to Wars of LIght and Shadow. Cheers!
I was surprised when I saw the copyright! I am eager to read The Southern Reach trilogy someday! I haven't heard of Whitstorm, but I'm curious about Sorcerer's Legacy. I'm going to wait until after WoLaS before adding it to my TBR. Thanks, Jarrod!
I somehow had no idea about the short stories set in the ASOIAF world, great to hear you enjoyed it! And I have been meaning to read something by Keegan for a while now, so I might check this work out sometime soon. It sounds really fascinating! Great reviews as always 🥰
I just pinned a comment and added a correction in my description. The Ice Dragon is not in the same world as ASOIAF though the cover of my edition says it is. That was a publishing mistake, but I still recommend the story! It's a fun YA short story that that beautiful illustrations. I hope you enjoy it and Keegan as well. Thank you, Esmay! ❤️
A lot of heady reads! I did Solaris many years back and also found it quite intellectually intriguing as well as emotionally atmospheric and powerful in its strange way. I really want to try out PKD at some point! Also I had no idea of the existence of this GRRM novella, but it sounds delightful!
I would've thought the two sci-fi books would be more "heady," and while they did have deep themes, I was emotionally moved by Solaris and had fun with Ubik! That GRRM novella was fun, and I'm impressed that he can write short fiction and excellent YA fantasy in addition to everything else he's known for!
Need to get to GRRM… Surprised you read Keegan. I just read Foster and have bought Small Things, and Antarctica, having loved her writing style, lyrical yet succinct. Forgot you were reading Solaris. I read it yesterday. Have some thought too on the Guests. Don’t we say our memories make us? As for the narrative, it felt like a push and pull, he brings us in with the personal and then pushes us out with the scientific discourse, unsettling and haunting us. Well, that’s what I felt. And finally Ubik. Not read but did experience PK’s Do Androids. Strange is the word. Nice variety 🤓
I love your insight about the "push and pull" in Solaris because he did that with Harey (or clone Harey). He had a constant push and pull with her (I found the shifts a little rapid at times). Thank you so much!
Great video! I love GRRM's pre-ASoIaF stuff. I will definitely get to The Ice Dragon eventually. Maybe one day Solaris will stio freaking me out long enough to finish it. 😂 I love me some PKD. I didn't Ubik was that short. I may need to squeeze that in sometime soon. That is a beautiful Dying Earth copy! I have been looking for that one to replace my trade paperback. I know it will turn up eventually at my local used book store.
I just realized I misspoke in this video! Ubik is 227 pages, but still relatively short. I need to read more pre-ASOIAF stuff. The Ice Dragon was short and sweet. The Tales of the Dying Earth bind-up I have is checked out from the library, but it's a nice hardback edition. They seem hard to find in good condition at a reasonable price. Thanks for watching!
@@Johanna_reads 227 is still a short book. Fevre Dream from GRRM is fantastic. It is about Vampires and Steamboats in the 1850s. It has some incredibly tense moments and one of GRRM's most despicable characters. The audiobook is great too.
I haven't read anything by GRRM other than ASOIAF related works but I know so many people that love his other stories! Going to have to check them out at some point.
It says on my cover that The Ice Dragon is set in the same universe as ASOIAF though it looks like it was probably written before the series. It's fun and very short!
I can’t believe I’ve never even heard of Ice Dragon. Definitely sounds like a must read for any ASOIF fan. This is the second time I’ve come across a Stanislaw Lem book review this week. I’ve never read him, but Solaris sounds like it would be en extremely interesting read. And OMG I need to read UBIK ASAP!
Hi Dark-O, UBIK, in my opinion, is a blast to read; a wild ride, you’re not always sure about what is real. Classic, if not the easiest of PKD’s books.
Such a great video, and you just sold me another book. Guess I need to go fetch a copy of Solaris, because the themes are just soooo interesting! I may watch the movie as well, just to compare them. Dick tends to do that on his books, may be related to the lastname, ha! Jokes aside, it does seem like a cool book, I think it's on the SF Masterwork collection as well?
I think you'll love Solaris! It does have a fair amount of "info-dumps," but I think they add depth to the story. I wouldn't feel pressured to memorize all the taxonomy. Thank you so much, Livia!
I had no idea that The Ice Dragon was a thing. 100% going to be reading that. With how you felt about Solaris I think you should give Blindsight by Peter Watts a shot. While I did not enjoy it all that much it does tackle some of the same themes of consciousness that you seem to have connected with!
Tom, I love that you're recommending me a book you didn't love! I think that can show a level of maturity as a reviewer to understand different tastes or interests. I will certainly check that book out at some point!
Small correction: "Several publishers state The Ice Dragon is set in the same world as A Song of Ice and Fire, but Martin has refuted the claim." - A Wiki of Ice & Fire Although, the settings do feel similar.
I’m glad you enjoyed Solaris! I also think that the ending is perfect: visually evocative and hopeful that perhaps true contact and understanding of even the most foreign conciseness is possible. Ubik is a blast to read, PKD at his best, but the poor treatment of women is unfortunately a recurring theme in SF from that period. I’m reading Silverberg right now, The time of Changes, and loving it, except same problem creeps up… I have two daughters 19 and 15 and I’d have a hard time recommending many of the classes to them. 😢
I'm so happy I got to experience Solaris and Ubik! I agree that many older sci-fi books have poor depictions of women, but I did love Rydra Wong in Babel-17 last year. I thought she was an excellent character, and that book was published in 1966. Might be worth mentioning to your daughters. Thanks, Bart!
@@Johanna_reads Yes,I agree, Rydra is a fabulous, strong character, but I need to reread the book (before recommending it) as my first experience with it was difficult. While, I appreciated parts of it, in the end, I felt a bit lost, like Delany was -unnecessarily- confusing me. 😂
Another nice set of reviews! Great and well recognised books all of them. Unpopular opinion 1: I don't particularly like psychological/philosophical sci-fi. Unpopular opinion 2: I have vowed to never read another line by GRRM.
UBIK is my favorite PDK but it’s closely followed by The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep and The Man in the High Castle.
I’m almost done Reaper Man, and Thank you Jeeves. Trying to do Wodehouse, Pratchett and Douglas Adams for the rest of the year though next month I’m thinking of reading American Gods and Good Omens. PKD I’ve tried Man in The High Castle, I will come back to it someday. Solaris is in the TBR.