His commitment to not finishing The Winds of Winter is genuinely impressive at this stage.
The hype machine continues to whirr and cough and splutter and make all kinds of noises as we await the final season of Game of Thrones.
We know what the first episode of season eight will be about, we know that cast members have shed tears while reading the scripts and we know that there are twists that seemingly nobody saw coming.
We also know that George RR Martin, the man behind the books, is involved with the Game of Thrones spin-off prequel series, which apparently isn’t called ‘The Long Night’ after all.
That’s a lot, and honestly that’s barely the height of it.
Though a hugely revered and beloved figure, Martin’s involvement in both that upcoming prequel effort and brand new sci-fi horror Nightflyers has been a bone of contention for book fans who just want him to finish the story, please?
Artful black and white shot of Martin not writing the thing
Once upon a time, Martin intended to finish his books before Game of Thrones wrapped up in television form.
The author originally hoped to complete The Winds of Winter – the planned sixth book in the saga – by the end of 2011, even releasing a Theon Greyjoy-focused chapter teaser around that time.
Alas, anyone who remembers being promised A Dance with Dragons in 2006 and then getting it five years later braced themselves for a long and harsh winter.
And then Martin said he’d probably do another one after The Winds of Winter which, just to remind you all, still isn’t here.
A new interview with The Guardian finds the writer confirming that he is indeed “struggling” with the aforementioned epic.
“I’ve been struggling with it for a few years,” he says.
“The Winds of Winter is not so much a novel as a dozen novels, each with a different protagonist, each having a different cast of supporting players and antagonists and allies and lovers around them, and all of these weaving together in an extremely complex fashion.
“So it’s very, very challenging. Fire and Blood by contrast was very simple. Not that it’s easy, it still took me years to put together, but it is easier.”
When you’re ready, George. Oh, what’s that? You’re committing to yet more new projects? Excellent.
In the same chat, Martin coyly reveals that he’s developing “a couple of other shows for HBO that I can’t talk about yet” and that “It’s all fun, but there are days when I feel a little dizzy.”
Hmm.
“It’s a good problem to have,” he adds.
Grand. Don’t worry fans, he’s having his fun, and that’s all that matters.
In all fairness, it’s his baby and he can do what he wants with it. Then again, that line about how he first thought A Song of Ice and Fire would be “a short story” is quite excellent trolling.
Write the thing, George. Write the thing.
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