Just finish A Song Of Fire And Ice first! Jeez!
We fully appreciate that George R. R. Martin is very in-demand right now.
But we all need to leave him alone now so he can finish the next book! He still has more to do after that, which means the TV series based on his books will actually be over YEARS before the books themselves are published.
He has already said that he’s put himself “in hiding” in order to finish the book, but he still seems to be out and about a lot for someone in self-imposed exile.
At the moment he is doing the press tour for his new sci-fi horror show Nightflyers (which isn’t doing well with the critics), he’s also been talking about The Long Night The Currently Untitled Game Of Thrones Prequel, not to mention his new book Fire & Blood, which is Game Of Thrones-related, but not the Game Of Thrones-related book we were all waiting for.
All of this, and he’s still discussing other projects which are also likely to prove to be major distractions from just writing the damned thing!
Talking to The New York Times, Martin revealed his idea for the sorta-sequel to the hit show:
“I wanted to do a show called Spear Carriers, which would actually be set during the events of Game of Thrones, but it wouldn’t be following Dany, Tyrion and Jaime. They would all be there in the background like Hamlet, and it would be more like, “Here’s a story about a guy in the City Watch; here’s a story about a prostitute at one of Littlefinger’s brothels; here’s a story about a mummer who’s in town to do juggling and tricks.” And they all get caught up in the events. I think that kind of show would be a lot of fun to do. Maybe I’ll be able to convince them to do it!”
So… it kind of sounds like Agents Of SHIELD? Or a dragon-y version of Rosencantz And Guildenstern Are Dead?
Either way, it doesn’t sound great. As much as we constantly complain that prequels are an entirely redundant exercise (“Remember those questions you never asked? Here are the answers to those questions!”), parallel stories about less-interesting, less-involved characters are even more pointless. (“Remember that really interesting event? Here it is again, but from the distant point of view of someone who had nothing to do with it!”)
No, George. No. Finish the book. Move on to something else. You’ve done dragons, and you’ve done space, so it is clear what you need to do next.
Space dragons.
LISTEN: You Must Be Jokin’ with Aideen McQueen – Faith healers, Coolock craic and Gigging as Gaeilge
