As flies to wanton boys are we to th’ gods.
They kill us for their sport.
— Shakespeare’s King Lear
Sandkings is chock full of potent symbolism that has been reappropriated for A Song of Ice and Fire. First published in Omni in 1979, it tells a rather morbid tale that one would expect to find in a volume of Edgar Allan Poe’s stories: a tale of a man with a strange creature that grows beyond his control whilst driving him to inhuman behaviors.
There are a tremendous number of important elements that Sandkings and ASOIAF share, which provides us great insights into what they might mean for readers. Continue reading