A Game of Thrones
George RR Martin is a writer with a long, if less than best-selling, list of hits. His previous work includes science fiction like Tuf Voyaging, the tale of a solitary "eco-engineer" with the resources of an intersteller bioweapons facility at his command, or editing the Wild Cards collection, which featured short stories about the real problems faced by comic-book superheroes. He was established as publishable -- but there was absolutely no hint of what would come.
When he released A Game of Thrones, the first volume of his epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, it took the world of fantasy by storm. The same field which Dianna Wynne Jones had lambasted for lack of originality, failure to characterize, and predictable plotting in A Tough Guide to Fantasylandhad suddenly produced something entirely different.
When he released A Game of Thrones, the first volume of his epic fantasy A Song of Ice and Fire, it took the world of fantasy by storm. The same field which Dianna Wynne Jones had lambasted for lack of originality, failure to characterize, and predictable plotting in A Tough Guide to Fantasylandhad suddenly produced something entirely different.