George R.R. Martin Ruins ‘Game Of Thrones’? ASOIAF Spoilers Now Inevitable [Video]
Author George R.R. Martin may not need to pen the rest of the “A Song Of Fire And Ice” series after all! Why bother? I mean if you follow Game of Thrones religiously, you’ll likely know the events of the series well before George gets around to releasing his books.
It’s a frustrating turn of events for a loyal fandom that sensed all along that a situation like this was destined to happen. Martin delivered the devastating news via a lengthy post on his personal blog.
“You wanted an update. Here’s the update. You won’t like it.
“The Winds of Winter is not finished.
“Believe me, it gave me no pleasure to type those words. You’re disappointed, and you’re not alone. My editors and publishers are disappointed, HBO is disappointed, my agents and foreign publishers and translators are disappointed… but no one could possibly be more disappointed than me.”
There are some that would disagree with that sentiment by Martin since from this season forward, Game of Thrones will begin to answer questions about the direction of the series that should come from Martin himself. This is highly problematic when one considers how heavily the series has already deviated from books.
The treatment of favorite characters has been a sore point, and now it seems that by failing to meet his deadlines and get Winds of Winter published, George R.R. Martin has practically rendered his efforts to finish the last two books a moot point. Game of Thrones will very likely spoil the remainder of the books for fans of the series. Or, the series will deviate so far from the source material, when the books are finally available, they won’t make sense to those who watch the show.
Those who prefer the books, but watch Game of Thrones, may have to abstain from watching the series for months just to avoid having key events and explanations spoiled. And given the speed at which the HBO series is being shot and produced, there may even be implications for the final book and later seasons.
‘Game of Thrones’ creator George R.R. Martin too busy to finish book: https://t.co/xPaZ6D2Lzj pic.twitter.com/NDFkvLpymo
— Mashable (@mashable) January 3, 2016
NPR quotes George R.R. Martin as saying that the act of creating deadlines “just stresses [him] out.” Martin also admits he cannot guarantee fans that he wouldn’t miss a new one, and that’s why he’s avoiding setting a new deadline outright. Does George have any idea when Winds of Winter will be ready?
No.
“Yes, there’s a lot written. Hundreds of pages. Dozens of chapters. [b]ut there’s also a lot still left to write. I am months away still… and that’s if the writing goes well.”
If the writing goes well for George R.R. Martin, the next season of Game of Thrones may be well under way before we get an inkling of a completed Winds of Winter. If it doesn’t? Well, fans may have to decide between passing on the series until the book is published, or simply throwing their hands in the air and getting the latest from the books solely from a T.V. show.
The only mildly optimistic aspect of this outcome is that Martin has suggested the show won’t spoil too much from the latest book. Of course, if you’re a big fan of the “A Song Of Ice And Fire” collection, then any spoiler is a catastrophe — no matter how small. Also, there’s no way of knowing how true this claim by George will be beyond Season 6.
USA Today stepped up with some helpful tips for Martin to help him get that manuscript out as quickly as possible.
“But having read the first five installments of his Song of Ice and Fire series, we have a few ideas about what he could cut in order to get those pages in our hot little hands sooner than later. (And he wouldn’t even have to upgrade from his 1980s word-processing program.”
There’s no telling what will happen from this point forward, but it’s possible that fans may feel extremely let down by Martin. Do you think George R.R. Martin ultimately ruined the series for his fans or will they understand the delay?
[Photo by Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP, File]
