George R.R. Martin Admits The End Of The ‘Game Of Thrones’ Book Series Is Still Not Written
Fans of both the TV series and book versions of George R.R. Martin’s Game of Thrones series will be bemoaning this article. Sorry guys, but the man himself has recently admitted to the Observer that he still hasn’t finished writing the end of his Game of Thrones series. Considering he is still working on the upcoming The Winds of Winter and has yet another book to write after that, A Dream of Spring, this should come as no surprise. Although, this means that the fate of Jon Snow may still be undecided as well.
“I haven’t written the ending yet, so I don’t know, but no. That’s certainly not my intent. I’ve said before that the tone of the ending that I’m going for is bittersweet. I mean, it’s no secret that Tolkien has been a huge influence on me, and I love the way he ended Lord of the Rings. It ends with victory, but it’s a bittersweet victory. Frodo is never whole again, and he goes away to the Undying Lands, and the other people live their lives. And the scouring of the Shire—brilliant piece of work, which I didn’t understand when I was 13 years old: “Why is this here? The story’s over?” But every time I read it I understand the brilliance of that segment more and more. All I can say is that’s the kind of tone I will be aiming for. Whether I achieve it or not, that will be up to people like you and my readers to judge.”
However, the Observer suggests that the end of the Game of Thrones series may not be as brutal as he – and fans – were originally expecting. Although whether this is because he has mellowed towards his characters over the years or because, with being thrust into the limelight, he is more careful of what he says – or doesn’t say now.
Of course, how the book series ends may be entirely different to how the TV series ends with George R.R. Martin suggesting to Entertainment Weekly recently that surprising plot twists are still occurring as he writes his Game of Thrones series – ones that he never previously even thought about, and ones that can’t be considered now for the Game of Thrones TV series.
“This is going to drive your readers crazy, but I love it. I’m still weighing whether to go that direction or not. It’s a great twist. It’s easy to do things that are shocking or unexpected, but they have to grow out of characters. They have to grow out of situations. Otherwise, it’s just being shocking for being shocking. But this is something that seems very organic and natural, and I could see how it would happen. And with the various three, four characters involved… it all makes sense. But it’s nothing I’ve ever thought of before. And it’s nothing they can do in the show, because the show has already—on this particular character—made a couple decisions that will preclude it, where in my case I have not made those decisions.”
Are you eagerly anticipating the next George R.R. Martin Game of Thrones book installment, The Winds of Winter? Let us know by commenting below!
[Image credit: HBO / Game of Thrones]
