Hippoi Athanatoi

Dying of the Light, a work clearly influenced by Jack Vance’s Dying Earth tales, is set primarily on the planet of Worlorn, which flourished to life as it passed near to the life-giving heat of a star but is now wandering further away into the grip of eternal cold. Turned into a cultural fairground, populated by human cultures from across the galaxy, Worlorn is now abandoned as it dies. Or almost so, in any case, as Dirk t’Larien arrives at the summons of his former lover Gwen. Yet whatever hopes he had about her summons, it turns out that she is bonded—practically married—to two fierce warriors who are themselves joined in a life-long union.

Full of ruminations about loss and the passing of things, Dying of the Light is often achingly beautiful. The conflict that develops on Worlorn is filled with a certain pathos as it ranges across a landscape already feeling the bite of the gold, cultures colliding in what is, in the end, meaningless bloodshed rooted in the willful ignorance that people can accrue along with the way of life they’re raised to. The ending, as poignant as everything else that followed before, is a classic one, posing larger questions which seem to be at the root of Martin’s other writings in this universe (such as Tuf Voyaging).

For a fan of his most recent work, Dying of the Light should prove interesting because one or two of the characters from the A Song of Ice and Fire series share certain similarities to one of the characters featuring in this novel.