Short stories by George R. R. Martin
George R.R. Martin was born September 20, 1948, in Bayonne, New Jersey. His father was Raymond Collins Martin, a longshoreman, and his mother was Margaret Brady Martin. He has two sisters, Darleen Martin Lapinski and Janet Martin Patten.
Martin attended Mary Jane Donohoe School and Marist High School. He began writing very young, selling monster stories to other neighborhood children for pennies, dramatic readings included. Later he became a comic book fan and collector in high school and began to write fiction for comic fanzines (amateur fan magazines). Martin’s first professional sale was made in 1970 at age 21: “The Hero,” sold to Galaxy, published in February 1971 issue. Other sales followed.
In 1970 Martin received a B.S. in Journalism from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois, graduating summa cum laude. He went on to complete an M.S. in Journalism in 1971, also from Northwestern. As a conscientious objector, Martin did alternative service 1972-1974 with VISTA, attached to Cook County Legal Assistance Foundation. He also directed chess tournaments for the Continental Chess Association from 1973-to 1976 and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-to 1978. He wrote part-time throughout the 1970s while working as a VISTA Volunteer, chess director, and teacher. In 1975 he married Gale Burnick. They divorced in 1979, with no children. Martin became a full-time writer in 1979. He was a writer-in-residence at Clarke College from 1978-79.
Moving on to Hollywood, Martin signed on as a story editor for Twilight Zone at CBS Television in 1986. In 1987 Martin became an Executive Story Consultant for Beauty and the Beast at CBS. In 1988 he became a Producer for Beauty and the Beast, then in 1989 moved up to Co-Supervising Producer. He was Executive Producer for Doorways, a pilot which he wrote for Columbia Pictures Television, which was filmed during 1992-93.
Martin’s present home is Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Listing 3 stories.
In an alien world, a human city with fanatic religious beliefs expands by destroying a peaceful alien people’s religious pyramids, disbanding them. However, relics of this human god begin appearing in these alien clans, convincing the human leadership that a miracle is occurring.
A man adopts a cage full of insects that engage in ritual war against each other and soon comes to be their god. When he begins to act cruelly against them as a corrupt exploration of his own power, the insects escape and begin a killing spree.
In a futuristic world, a human fights heresy on behalf of the Christian church and goes to challenge a new church on a different planet, only to find out from its creators is a giant lie. Though he does his job and destroys the heresy, it destroys his already wavering faith.