5 Great George R.R. Martin Books That Aren’t About Games or Thrones

Wild Cards, by various authors and editors
Do you love the idea of a shared universe filled with superpowered heroes and villains, but you don’t want to wait for the next Avengers movie? Wild Cards will fill that well-proportioned Steve Rogers-sized void in your heart. It all started when Martin ran the superhero RPG Superworld for a group of writers and friends in New Mexico in the early 1980s. The writers developed rich backstories for their characters, and their campaigns soon developed into an ongoing series of novels set in a world where, in 1946, an alien virus gave certain humans uncanny abilities. Melinda M. Snodgrass and Martin have been the primary editors of the series over the years, while quite a few authors, well-known and unknown, have contributed to its mix of anthologies and multi-author “mosaic novels.” It’s best to begin with Wild Cards I, since it establishes the origins of the world and many of the main characters. The books are loosely organized into trilogies, with a few standalone books in between. Deuces Down (the 16th volume) is a good choice for a trilogy-starter, while the series that begins with Aces Abroad actually lasts four books; the final two are a political thriller and a noir detective story that dovetail around the same events. After jumping publishers over the years, the series is now with Tor Books, so we can expect to see new Wild Cards books appearing regularly.

Fevre Dream, by George R.R. Martin
Martin’s vampiric period piece came out in 1982, a few years before Anne Rice’s popularity swelled with the publication of The Vampire Lestat. Fevre Dream is set on the Mississippi River in the years just before the Civil War, aboard the titular riverboat. A vampire named Joshua York uses the vessel as a base of operations, hunting an evil vampire while working on a cure for the vampiric need to drink human blood. There’s an odd air of wistfulness at play, as human lives feel ephemeral against the backdrop of immortal enemies stalking each other across the decades. The blend of mystery, action, and atmosphere make this one of Martin’s most highly-regarded novels.

George R.R. Martin’s Skin Trade, by George R.R. Martin and Daniel Abraham
“The Skin Trade” was first released as a short story in the 1989 anthology Dark Visions, which also included stories by Stephen King and Dan Simmons. As a short, it’s pretty great—a detective is working to solve animal attacks that might be murders, but are eerily similar to the attack that killed her father. Spoiler: it’s a werewolf (there’s literally a werewolf on the cover, so I think we’re ok to talk about it). What’s really cool, though, is that occasional Martin collaborator Daniel Abraham adapted it into a graphic novel, with art by Mike Wolfer. The only way it could be more perfect is if comics veteran Marv Wolfman handled the script, but we’ll forgive Abraham for his non-lupine name just this once. The story translates really well to a visual medium, filled with vivid blood and deep shadows hiding lurking predators.

Dangerous Women, by George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois
Martin and longtime Asimov’s Science Fiction editor Gardner Dozois have collaborated on quite a few themed anthologies over the years. Dangerous Women is both an exemplar (you can pick any of them really, depending on which theme appeals to you most), but also one of the best. The cachet of the editors tends to draw other big names to these anthologies, and in this case, the heavy hitters include Diana Gabaldon, Jim Butcher, and Lev Grossman, who give us stories set in their Outlander, Dresden Files and The Magicians worlds, respectively. You’ll find plenty of other great talent on tap, too. The stories are all focused on women as heroes in their own stories, and they span genres: there are fantasy swordswomen, female fighter pilots, queens and rebels, superheroes, starship captains, and more. Plus, there’s a novella by Martin that’s something of a prequel to A Song of Ice and Fire, if you’re into that sort of thing.

The Armageddon Rag, by George R.R. Martin
This dark supernatural novel wasn’t specially successful upon its 1983 release, but in retrospect, it’s really an excellent display of GRRM’s skill at world-building and constructing elaborate fictional histories. It concerns a fictional rock band called Nazgûl, and the gruesome murder of their manager. As they embark on a reunion tour, events seem to spiral toward some kind of supernatural culmination. While it could have been a maudlin dose of Baby Boomer nostalgia (and let’s indulge Martin for the handful of times it sort of is), this is a crackling mystery built on a foundation of fake concert posters and full track listings for albums that were never recorded by a band that doesn’t exist.
What’s your favorite non-ASoIaF GRRM?