Head of the Throne(a)|奇幻的权力游戏

Head of the Throne

by William Ryan

Have you indulged in any high fantasy books or TV shows recently?

　　American novelist George RR Martin has found enormous success with his best-selling series of high fantasy novels, A Song of Ice and Fire. This series has resulted in the hugely popular HBO show Game of Thrones, three prequel novellas, a comic book adaptation, and several card, board, and video games. In 2011, Martin was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential people in the world.

　　Born one of three children to a longshoreman, Martin came from a poor family. The young boy had a highly creative imagination, along with an early entrepreneurial spirit. He wrote and sold monster stories to neighborhood kids, and his tales included ones about a mythical kingdom where his pet turtles were the main characters. During high school, Martin became a fan of the superheroes created by Marvel Comics. Before long, Martin was writing fiction for fanzines, non-official publications created by genre fans. Martin found early commercial success selling science fiction short stories and then as a story consultant and producer in the television industry.

　　The first volume in A Song of Ice and Fire is entitled A Game of Thrones and was published in 1996. Originally conceived as a trilogy, the series has been extended to seven volumes. The fourth and fifth books went straight to the top of The New York Times Best Seller list. Presently, the sixth installment, The Winds of Winter, is in the works. The first five books in the series have sold more than 15 million copies around the world and have been translated into at least 20 languages. As a result, the name George RR Martin has become synonymous with the high fantasy genre.

 

 

奇幻的权力游戏

你最近沉溺于奇幻史诗的书籍或是电视剧吗？

 

　　美国小说家乔治．RR．马汀因其畅销奇幻史诗小说系列《冰与火之歌》获得热烈的回响。这个系列催生了广受欢迎的 HBO 影集《权力的游戏》、三篇前传中篇小说、还改编成一本漫画以及数种纸牌、桌上游戏和电动游戏。2011 年，马汀被《时代杂志》评为世上最具影响力的人物之一。

　　马汀身为码头搬运工人的三个孩子之一，出身于贫苦家庭。这个小男孩有着极富创意的想象力，同时也展现出初期创业精神。他销售所写的怪物故事给邻家的孩子们，而所写的故事中有几则与神秘国度有关，其中还以马汀的宠物龟为主要角色。高中时期，马汀深深迷上了惊奇漫画公司所创造的超级英雄。不久后，马汀为爱好者杂志撰写小说，这是由此类文学的爱好者所创作的一些非官方刊物。马汀因销售科幻短篇故事而初尝商业上的成功滋味，接着他成了电视产业的剧情顾问及制作人。

　　《冰与火之歌》的第一集于 1996 年出版，命名为《权力的游戏》。该系列最初的构想为三部曲，后来扩展成七集。第四、五集直接登上《纽约时报》的畅销排行榜的首位。目前第六集《寒冬冽风》正在筹划写作中。该系列的前五集全球一共售出一千五百多万本，而且被翻译成至少二十种语言版本。乔治．RR．马汀这个名字俨然已经成了奇幻史诗风格的代名词。