Many die-hard fans of Game of Thrones have read the novels by George R.R. Martin, A Song of Ice and Fire, but have not checked out the author’s earlier work. Now is the perfect time to dive deeper into Martin’s catalog as an adaptation of his short story “In the Lost Lands” hits theaters on March 7th, 2025. The story is available in the book Dreamsongs: A RRetrospective, which has been published in print, digital, and audiobook formats. Checking out this story and this whole book will give you a head start on In the Lost Lands and will give you a deeper insight into Martin’s work in general. Read on for all you need to know on In the Lost Lands, Dreamsongs, and how they relate to Westeros.
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“In the Lost Lands” is not directly connected to A Song of Ice and Fire, and the two are very different, so don’t go looking for secret continuity here. You could probably see the disconnect in the trailer as well — the film adaptation In the Lost Lands emphasizes the post-apocalyptic setting, with a combination of modern technology and fantasy tropes. It has much more of an action-adventure feel, which is one of the strengths of Martin’s short-form writing.
The movie is written by Constantine Werner and directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, and it stars Milla Jovovich as Gray Alys and Dave Bautista as Boyce. Alys is known as a powerful sorceress in this fantasy world, and she can be hired for her talents, but the price is always too high. In this story, Alys is hired by the queen, and must venture into the Lost Lands to make the monarch’s wish come true. She is accompanied by the monster hunter Boyce, who comes to understand that Alys’ gifts are never what they seem.
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It looks like the movie will take plenty of liberties in adapting Martin’s story, and for many fans, that’s reason enough to give the story a read ahead of time. It’s not that all changes in adaptation are bad — having context and points of comparison is simply fun, and it can enrich both versions of the story.
History of Gray Alys
Speaking of context, it’s helpful to have an idea of this story’s place in Martin’s career and bibliography. He gave us quite a bit of background himself in Dreamsongs. The book includes 34 stories, all but one of which were published before A Game of Thrones. There are also nine interludes between the stories that essentially comprise Martin’s memoir. He reflects on each section of his career and explains his mindset while writing and publishing. In the audiobook version, Martin reads these interludes himself.
In these sections, Martin explains his conception of sci-fi and fantasy, noting that he never drew much of a distinction between the two when he was growing up. However, in the 1970s and 1980s there was a much greater market for science fiction than for fantasy, and Martin focused on space-faring stories because he was able to support himself by selling short stories and novelettes in the genre. He even developed his own sci-fi setting which he called “The Thousand Worlds,” and most of his early published work takes place there.
Martin identifies “In the Lost Lands” as one of his first ever “pure fantasy” stories, meaning it is not set in The Thousand Worlds and has no overt sci-fi elements — only magic. This section of the book includes two other stories published a few years ahead of “In the Lost Lands,” which came out in 1982. It was first published in the anthology Amazons II alongside stories by other authors, then later included in Martin’s 1986 short story collection Portraits of His Children.
What sets “In the Lost Lands” apart from other stories of this era is that it was Martin’s first attempt at a long-running fantasy series. He reflected on this in a 2021 blog post when the film adaptation was first announced. “No, truth to tell, I mean to write a whole series of Gray Alys stories, I really did, I even began a second and planned a few of the opening pages,” he wrote. “But one day I put it aside and I never got back to it.”
“And who knows?” Martin went on later in the post. “If the movie is a big hit, maybe there will be sequels, and Gray Alys will finally get her series after all.”
Short-form Writing & Adaptation
In the blog post mentioned above, Martin poked fun at himself for failing to write more Gray Alys stories just as he has fallen behind in finishing his A Song of Ice and Fire series. For those interested in understanding why The Winds of Winter have not blown yet, checking out “In the Lost Lands” and other short form work could be enlightening.
Today, Martin is best known for A Song of Ice and Fire, and it has a very distinct long-form style. Each novel has several point-of-view characters spread out all over the Seven Kingdoms and the Free Cities, and it jumps back and forth between them from chapter to chapter so that each character’s individual story is also contributing to a broader view of life in Westeros. Presumably, these viewpoints will eventually converge on the war against the Others.
It’s a very ambitious writing style, and it’s shocking to realize how different it is from most of Martin’s other work. The scale is intimidating compared to short stories and novellas, and the shifting perspectives can have a great impact on the reader’s sense of immersion. Martin is a dedicated craftsman, always taking the time to bring us back into each POV character’s mindset, which goes a long way in explaining how A Song of Ice and Fire has ballooned from a trilogy to stalled seven-book series.
Many of the fans impatient for The Winds of Winter have never actually read a finished work by Martin. There are stories within A Song of Ice and Fire that feel complete, but reading a story like “In the Lost Lands” can be much more instructive. Meanwhile, those frustrated by the ending of Game of Thrones will get to see a completely different style of adapting Martin’s work, which could be cathartic if nothing else.
Connections to A Song of Ice and Fire
As mentioned above, “In the Lost Lands” does not share a setting with any of Martin’s other work, including Westeros and The Thousand Worlds. That said, it is an interesting glimpse into how Martin sets up these kinds of worlds, which questions he likes to answer, and which mysteries he chooses to leave hanging. All of this can be extremely useful insight when predicting The Winds of Winter, or just gaining a deeper appreciation for Westeros.
If you choose to pick up Dreamsongs, you’ll be able to make these extrapolations from Martin’s other fantasy stories as well. Notably, the book includes his story “The Ice Dragon,” which is referenced very often in the ASoIaF fandom. Martin has confirmed that it is not set in Westeros, but it does include a dragon-riding military in a medieval, monarchical setting. It also introduces us to a fantasy creature of Martin’s own design — an “ice dragon,” which is larger and more fearsome than a fire-breathing dragon, but which melts easily when exposed to too much heat or sunlight. His book The World of Ice and Fire hints that ice dragons also exist in the far north of Westeros, so many fans speculate that we will see them when the Others march south in force.
Meanwhile, a lot of fan theories also lean on the characterization of Gray Alys herself. She has a lot in common with characters like Melisandre, showing that there is a certain sorceress archetype Martin comes back to again and again. Martin re-used the name Alys several times in ASoIaF, most notably for the character Alys Rivers, who plays a big part in House of the Dragon. Based on how important she seems to be in the Dance of the Dragons, any deeper understanding of Alys could be useful in following that show going forward.
In the Lost Lands hits theaters on Friday, March 7th, leaving plenty of time to seek out the original short story beforehand. You can find the story in Martin’s book Dreamsongs, which is available in print, digital, and audiobook formats, or in the book Portraits of his Children, which is only available in print.
