Unsound Variations

by George R.R. Martin

"Unsound Variations" is George R.R. Martin's chess story.

This story was also published in Portraits of His Children (1987) and The Heart in Conflict segment of Dreamsongs: Volume II (2012).

This novella was nominated for the Hugo Award for Best Novella and the Nebula Award for Best Novella.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Short Stories, Time Travel

54 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1982

About the author

George Raymond Richard "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 a 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 1973-1976, and was a Journalism instructor at Clarke College, Dubuque, Iowa, from 1976-1978. 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 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. He is a member of Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America (he was South-Central Regional Director 1977-1979, and Vice President 1996-1998), and of Writers' Guild of America, West.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...

Reviews

[Tatiana · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was recommended as something along the same premise of “Bête Noire” on Black Mirror (which if you haven’t seen it yet and want to, beware of mild spoilers below.) I have always been intrigued by the idea of variant timelines and any media that dives into the possibility of splits in time or alternate realities. The episode did a great job in building palpable tension and ideating the perfect revenge plot until the last second. I went in to this short story (took about 1.5 hrs to complete) with high expectations and hopes of getting the same vibe, especially being a big GRRM fan. The story was very good, but I felt like there was a real lack of building tension to justify investment in getting to the end, or pulling one over on the antagonist. I also felt like the antagonist was just a little bit underwhelming and relied on too much dialogue about what he did and how he did it in long drawn out villain speeches. Much of the plot was more of the same uninteresting exposition which I can imagine would be exciting to see played out, but when written comes across with the same level of enthusiasm as having a game of golf being covered live on the radio. Someone who is more familiar with chess might have a totally different take on that. All in all, underwhelming but okay.

[Toms Gaļinauskis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once again Martin shows that he is a master of creating characters that feel very real and unique. All of the secondary characters also have a life of their own.

In "Run To Starlight" and "The Last Super Bowl Game" Martin showed his knowledge and love of American Football and intertwined that with alien races and space travel and a political/technological subplot.

Here in "Unsound Variations", Martin shows his time as a chess player and coach paid off. The story has living, breathing characters. The characteristic strained relationship between a female deuteragonist and the protagonist and a seemingly undefeatable antagonist who can only be beat in an unexpected, out-of-the-box way, if it all.

Chess. Characters. Time travel. Infinite possibilities. Sorrow and pain. House on the hill.
Recipe for a good story.

[Siobhan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Unsound Variations was a story I wanted to enjoy, one I can see why many people did enjoy it, yet I found myself unable to become invested in it. There were lots of interesting elements throughout, details I wanted more of, but I found myself annoyed by the characters instead of invested in the story.

All in all, I see the appeal, yet this one was not for me.

[chvang · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting tale of revenge. The set up was a bit clumsy, with exposition vomit, but I was willing to go along with it. But I lost interest once G.R.R.M. started describing a chess game. And then he did it again. So glad when it was over. I liked how it ended. But

[Nolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love GRRM's writing style and tone in his novellas and short stories, and Unsound Variations shines bright among that crop. I think there's a nostalgic sort of feeling, a distant connection to a time when chess mattered more to me, much like the characters of the story, which made it grip me just a bit more.

[Lara Lawson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story begins like it's going to be a murder mystery, but it turns out that revenge requires several lifetimes. This story centers around chess and touches on a form of time travel along the way.

[Erik · Rating 5 out of 5]

A pinch of Blake Crouch’s Recursion and a dash of Bobby Fischer’s chess madness led to a satisfying yet short read.

[Karlie · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5

[Divia · Rating 3 out of 5]

I know nothing about chess so that was a disadvantage. I did appreciate the game and think that people who usually excel at chess are quite intelligent. However, it's not necessary to know chess in order to like this story. GRRM managed to hold my interest and attention as he explores the men's relationships and their pasts. It is really the meat of the story, not the chess itself. The chess game is a plot device and a metaphor for life.

I wondered why Kathy was there. What's her purpose? She was quite annoying but she ended up saving the day.

For some time I wondered if Bunnish screwed everyone over because of his wealth and the time travel was not real but in the end it seems to have been real.

That leads me to the overall point of this story. All of the variations, not just in the chess game but in real life, are unsound. Nothing is perfect and you just have to keep trying and keep living as best you can. Never get yourself down. Start over fresh in the present if you must. Looking to the past and thinking "What if..." "This would have been better..." is pointless. It is unsound as well. This is shown in Bunnish. He's obsessed with the past and keeps on focusing on it and trying to ruin his colleagues. He's consumed with hate. He wastes his time on a time machine trying to win this game and ruin other people. He has a time machine and does this!? Revenge consumed him. It haunted him throughout his life and he ultimately wasted his life on revenge. Everyone leaves to live their lives except Bunnish who goes to another timeline to try to ruin his friends again.