| Dying of the Light | |
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Cover of first edition (Hardcover) |
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| Author(s) | George R. R. Martin |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Science fiction novel |
| Publisher | Simon & Schuster |
| Publication date | 1977 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 365 pp |
| ISBN | ISBN 0-671-22861-7 (first edition, hardback) |
| OCLC Number | 3121162 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.5/4 |
| LC Classification | PZ4.M381145 Dy PS3563.A7239 |
Dying of the Light is a 1977 science fiction novel by George R. R. Martin, his first. Martin's original title for the novel was "After the Festival" but was later changed before its first hardcover publication.[1]; it was nominated for both the Hugo Award for Best Novel in 1978,[2] and the British Fantasy Award in 1979.[3]
Contents |
The book takes place on the planet of Worlorn, which is itself dying; it is a rogue planet whose erratic course is taking it irreversibly far from its neighboring stars into a region of cold and dark where no life will survive. Worlorn's 14 cities, built during the interval when it passed close enough to a red giant star to permit a brief window for life to thrive, are dying too. Built to celebrate the diverse cultures of 14 planetary systems, they have largely been abandoned. Their systems and maintenance are failing, and soon they will be cold, dead shells.
The cast of characters is also flirting with death. Dirk t'Larien, the protagonist, finds life empty and of little attraction after his girlfriend Gwen Delvano drops him. Most poignant of all, the Kavalar race, into which she has "married" (the relationship is complex) is itself dying in a cultural manner of speaking. Their home planet has survived numerous attacks in a planetary war, and in response they have evolved social institutions and human relationship patterns to cope with the depredation of the war. Yet now that the war is long past, they find themselves trapped between those who would recognise that the old ways need to be reviewed for the current day and those who believe that any dilution of the old ways spells the end of Kavalar culture.
The battles, then, of all these varying actors are played out beneath the dying light falling on Worlorn. At the end, many of the characters have indeed died (Martin leaves some endings deliberately ambiguous), but having faced their fears of death and of life.
The title is apparently drawn from Dylan Thomas' poem about death, Do Not Go Gentle into That Good Night which contains the lines :
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
The book mentions a race of beings called the githyanki, and the name was taken from it for use with a much different race in the Advanced Dungeons & Dragons game. See the Githyanki article for more details on both versions.
The book was also serialized under the title After the Festival in Analog Science Fact/Science Fiction in April through July, 1977. The title refers to the festival of 14 worlds that precedes the story.
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