A Song for Lya

A Song for Lya by George R.R. Martin
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

A story so heartfelt you can forgive the clumsy execution, not least the fact that the title gives away the ending. GRR Martin is suggesting here that the sense of belonging created by a grisly death cult is even stronger than the love between telepaths – that for some people the need to obliterate loneliness in the universe is more important even than their lives as individuals. Ultimately the ideal of love presented in the story is unachievable – real couples cannot read each other’s minds however well they know each other. In the story the cult fills the gap that remains between people, but the protagonist can’t take that step. He, and we, inevitably settle for less in order to retain our sense of self.

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