Heavy Is the Crown: George R.R. Martin on His Triumphs and Torments

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www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/george…

In 1975, Martin met Dune author Frank Herbert at a book convention and they shared a drink. The meeting was “near the end of Herbert’s life,” Martin says. Herbert had written many acclaimed novels, but all fans seemed to want was more Dune. Herbert’s publisher had just offered him a modest advance for a story he wanted to write, or six times that number for another Dune novel.

“He didn’t like Dune anymore and he didn’t want to write any more Dune books,” Martin says. “But he felt locked in by the success of Dune, so he kept writing them.”

Martin finishes … and waits.

I ask: Do you relate to how Herbert felt?

“I’m not necessarily tired of the world [of Ice and Fire],” he says. “I love the world and the world-building. But, yes, I do.”

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“I was going to have Sansa die, but she’s been so appealing in the show, maybe I’ll let her live …”

If anyone needs proof he’s just making this all up as he goes along and has no real plan…

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Pretty sure all authors are just making things up.

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Tbh it’s not like he’s been hiding it for the last 15 years at minimum. Called it “gardener” style of writing as opposed to “architect” style. (He evidently has a very messy garden.)

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He may just be saying shit at this point. He cannot believe he will finish the story and wants to have as many seeds out there so if someone else finishes it, their bases are covered saying it was all his plan from the start.

Also I remember reading all of these multiple times and my thought throughout was if anyone survives it all it was going to be Sansa.

Not because she was the most sinister or most coniving but because she was always going to be a pawn and would stab the last man/woman standing. It was going to be pure dumb luck she lived through it all.

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Lots of authors make it up as they go along. Don’t say that like it’s automatically a bad thing.

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In this particular case it’s still a bit extreme level of indecisiveness. He doesn’t know if central characters will live or die even after 20 years of writing the story, and can change his mind based on the character being appealing in the adaptation.

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He had to contractually hand over the plan to the show runners when they ran out of finished books, what you see in the final seasons is what he wanted. Granted it has almost certainly been hamfistedly handled by the show runners but it was his ending.

I am still a big believer that the vitriol of the ending by the fans has played its part into George not finishing the books, and how hes slowly started talking about changing the ending. Personally idgaf if he does change it, he probably does as he will have to admit to changing it as Benioff and Weiss will certainly call him on it if he doesn’t as it massively impacted their careers.

Couple this with his slow pace of writing, huge number of distractions available to him, I am not surprised if he isn’t just running the clock down.

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Lazy millionaire doesn’t want to finish what he started.

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I’m glad Sanderson is out there.

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Comments in Television@piefed.social

I’ve lost all faith in Martin after he’s refused to finish ASOIAF. There’s no point in taking authors seriously if they choose to let their sagas remain unfinished. There are plenty of other authors who are determined to conclude their work and deserve more attention.

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Someone else can take the reins, too. It happened with the Bourne series by Ludlum. Not saying the flavor doesn’t change, but it doesn’t have to wrap up under Martin’s pen.

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I honestly wish I could have the hours I spent reading those books back.

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There is, however, one potential problem for the show’s future. “The big issue is that I have only written three novellas, and I have a lot more stories about Dunk and Egg in my fucking head,” Martin says, looking a bit shamefaced. “I’ve got to get them down on paper. I began writing two at various points in the past year. One is set in Winterfell and one set in the Riverlands …”

There aren’t least two additional problems.

The first is actors ageing out of their roles. The actor who plays Egg is 11(ish?) and assuming the rumor is true and they shoot the next two novellas back to back, he’s still going to quickly age out of the role.

Maybe the later stories take place with an older Egg, certainly there are plenty of stories to tell about an older Dunk and Egg. We know the adventure ends at Summerhall, and while the details are missing, the general idea could be written by any competent writer. The only catch is if Martin has some specific magic he wants to add.

The second problem however, and it’s highlighted more by the later part of the interview, is that the Dunk and Egg stories aren’t the meat of the story. They’re an appetizer. They exist as a fun little series of tales between the main stories. The interview highlights that George isn’t confident in season 3 of House of the Dragon. Season 1 was excellent and Season 2 was mostly good, but ended abruptly. It gave similar vibes to Game of Thrones season 7. “It’s ok, I can forgive a lot as long as next season fixes it.”

If there is no main course “Game of Thrones” or “House of the Dragon” show… I don’t see Dunk and Egg getting the ability to continue. There is plenty of mythos to pull from, but they need to find someone who can actually turn it into a TV show.

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Bro got rich writing about incest, rape, murder of children, murder by children, etc

But couldn’t write a fucking ending

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