The original plan for A Song of Ice and FIre

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[@olivergiggins7931]

No wonder he's struggling with Winds of Winter. He's trying to fit one book's story in one book, a task which has traditionally taken him five books.

[@foragingadventures]

I am a time traveller from 2035 and Mr Martin wrote 17 more filler books and then died before finishing the last two.

[@slMagnvox]

how was life in America under the Kanye administration?

[@dough7612]

Did the prequel "we wuz Kangz"ever finally come to fruition?

[@BennyColyn]

Did he leave enough notes for Sanderson to finish the series?

[@FugueState1]

Who wins the next Superbowl? I need the money, man.

[@jebbush1547]

are any of the filler books worth reading?

[@jaqjynx]

I imagine the walls of his spare room is just red string now, so much of it he’s unable to see the pictures and pieces of paper beneath.

[@GGJiaJia]

Oh nooooo 😂

[@maleboy3165]

And the pictures and paper beneath are the real story he meant to tell long forgotten underneath countless distractions

[@PumpkinHoard]

His original plan was to finish his story. Unfortunately, he changed that plan.

[@archibaldfencepost7696]

Ha! George yuh burnt!

[@joshuadiaz2614]

😂

[@a.munroe]

😭

[@ianhorne2884]

Beat me to it

[@ItsFreeVRealEstate]

Probably more accurate to say that the story changed as he was writing it, and he doesn't know how to write a satisfactory ending.

[@freemantle85]

It's 2045, George R.R. Martin says he is still working on Winds of Winter despite being dead for 10 years

[@davidhopper6119]

@@freemantle85 11 years left? You're more optimistic than I am.

[@awesomehpt8938]

I’m sure the original plan is as half remembered as the long night or the origin of the Blackwood-Bracken feud.

[@D2attemp]

George identifies with Samwell Tarly, but he truly embodies Doran Martell. A bunch of half baked plans and missed opportunities.

[@justatinyhalfling]

That is a pretty severe burn, made more painful by its accuracy.😅

[@nont18411]

And also Tywin Lannister. A guy always b*tch and moan about legacy but chooses not to do one thing that will secure it. Funny that Martin embodies two characters who are both miserable grumpy old men, isn’t it?

[@JooDawg]

Damn roasted his ass 😂

[@Tom-mk7nd]

The entitlement of some fans is baffling. Even if he doesn't get to finish the series. Can you not just be thankful for the amazing things he already wrote?

[@antonioporras3029]

​@Tom-mk7nd to be honest if Martin just came outright and said I'm done with the story I don't wanna write it anymore and I don't really want people after me to write it either. more people would just respect his honesty and move on it's not the fact that the stories aren't finished it that Martin keeps saying he's almost done or making progress hut then never pulls through and delivers and people do deserve to be upset by being constantly told it's almost done then delayed for years on end with side projects taking front and center.

[@MycatTwinkie]

I would like to think GRRM saw how much fun we have theorising so he chose to just never end the story so we can theorise forever

[@CK-gt3yo]

@@MycatTwinkie bro they are unironically writing essays about renlys peach. Nobody is having fun, we are starving to death. The discourse around the books has grown as stale as a decade old bag of croutons.

[@inoshikachokonoyarobakayar2493]

​@@CK-gt3yo lol, not a bag of peaches?

[@lucasortiz8101]

Have we all accepted that we will never get a Dream of Spring?

[@nickim6571]

Many, many years ago.

[@sasukehyuuga755]

'Dream of Spring'!!????😮😊😂🤣🤣🤣🤣 You sweet summer child😢 We won't even see 'Winds of Winter'

[@GM_Lemmy]

At this point, I doubt we'll even see Winds of Winter, TBH... I lost any and all confidence in GRRM... And my respect for him is at an all-time low too. But that's alright... I don't really have any more enthusiasm or investment in the story anymore. The only entertainment it offers are the videos about the setting.

[@chadnorris8257]

We might, if a Ghostwriter picks it up. We got the Silmarillion via Tolkien's son, if I recall. George won't be the one to write it, though. Not unless he cranks it out within a year or two of finishing Winds, which would be a damn miracle.

[@DD-qo1tw]

We will likely get Winds of Winter and if we're lucky enough for George to live another 15 years he'll at some point during that finally admit he needs another book before Spring called "a time for wolves" or something. Depending on oour and George's luck we'll eventually get some percentage of that work released when he passes. At some point there will be published "Dreams of Spring" a collection that includes various outlines, summaries, or letters to his editors which give us some ideas if how he may have wrapped it up. It will also include some chapters he wrote for the series earlier but removed like Tyrion meeting the drowned god.

[@petercofrancesco9812]

The biggest surprise George could make would be if he actually finished the story before he died. Now that would truly be a shocker.

[@theguyfromsaturn]

"Can he fit what remains in just two more books". Ah, you sweet summer child. You still have faith that any of those will be published before we die. I have made my peace with the notion that I will be put to rest without having known how RR Martin meant his story to end.

[@carastone3473]

😢

[@CK-gt3yo]

thats what you get for being a nerd and reading

[@ThommyofThenn]

How old are u?

[@Prodigi50]

Shouldn’t you be worried about him dying first?

[@ThommyofThenn]

@@Prodigi50 eh all those remarks have been said a million times now and grew stale long ago it has to be said

[@ChinceMcMahon316]

Jaime as a dark-hearted and scheming Westerosi equivalent to Richard III of England would have been epic to see on screen.

[@ghostdreamer7272]

Now it’s Cersei. Just the wrong twin

[@charlesfisher-kh5sw]

now jaime is closer to the real Richard III

[@johnvogt5847]

A good gardener plans before planting

[@Alter_Ion]

If only George had had an absolutely ruthless editor at the begining then he may have ended up with a story he could actually finish

[@Scientist_Salarian]

No one is upset he changed his original plans- that happens almost always in writing. People are upset that he doesn’t seem to be making an effort to finish the series. For the last 13 years, his blog has demonstrated that he will take any and all excuses, no matter how minor, to avoid writing Ice and Fire.

[@petercofrancesco9812]

Reminds me a bit of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, who famously killed off Sherlock so the public would stop pestering him to write more books. Clearly he has lost the desire to finish writing it. Too bad he couldn't be up front about his decision. I get the feeling he altered his plan years ago when he allowed HBO to finish the story for him. The problem with his gardening approach is the difficulty to tying it all tie it all back together.

[@wyattcole5452]

The fact is he wrote too big of a story for him to complete and write the way he writes. There’s too much, he’s struggling. He’s not giving up, most likely, that’s not usually how writer’s block works.

[@notforwantoftrying1]

He recently blamed fascism for not finishing TWOW

[@MrBell-iq3sm]

@@petercofrancesco9812 To be fair to Doyle, during his times, communicating with the public was not as simple as it is today and regardless of how many Sherlock stories he wrote, and he wrote plenty, he was pressured to do another. His stories also allowed for a sudden stop without compromising the entire series. What did A Song of Ice and Fire ultimately amount to if the series suddenly stops? All these set-ups and plots with no pay off.

[@petercofrancesco9812]

​@@MrBell-iq3sm He's 75 years old and lacks the desire and energy to finish the series. He started GOT almost 35 years ago and he's no longer wants to write. He's not the Doyle but they both share something grew to this giant cultural phenomena.

[@seanpinkey2188]

Game of Thrones: " Winter is Coming" George: " And so is my book"

[@londomolari5715]

Here's a horror story-GRRM hires Brian HErbert and Kevin J. Anderson to finish the story after he dies.

[@SeanCMonahan]

GRRM hires D and D who ran the TV show once it ran ahead of the books. They print the screenplays for the final few seasons as the final two books. GRRM ends the story by killing off the book series.

[@holliegould3463]

​@SeanCMonahan i hope both sides of your pillow are warm, that you will always find a melted ice-cube when wearing socks, and that your belt loops get caught on every possible door handle

[@tomwantshelp]

David Benioff wrote a genuinely fantastic novel, City of Thieves. It’s very different to ASOIAF, but it’s clear he’s a talented novelist.

[@SeanCMonahan]

@@holliegould3463The future is dark and full of terrible writings 😅

[@pwelsh6501]

I believe he said it’s never to be finished by another else

[@chrisfraser5088]

I have hope we’ll get Winds of Winter. But there is absolutely no chance we ever get Dream of Spring. George has clearly lost his desire to finish his story. He’s literally published 2 books in 24 years. Even if he lives for another 24 years, we’ll never see Winter melt away into Spring 😢

[@Dianbler]

Yep, we will probably end in a eternal winter ending.

[@Lilitha11]

Yeah he didn't plan it out and it got away from him. It a nightmare book.

[@mancerayder8010]

Someone will pick it up and butcher the ending when he dies. Don't worry.

[@BigMikeMcBastard]

@@mancerayder8010 We've all seen season 8 of the show. If Gurm doesn't finish the series, that'll pretty much be the canon ending.

[@Andy7781]

really getting the feeling GRRM is afraid to finish WoW and DoS 😢

[@KnightOwl1881]

Has Robert ever spoken about why he doesn’t cover Brandon Sanderson ? Seems like the Cosmere would be right up his alley for channel content

George R.R. Martin was furious that they leaked that stuff, too. He said he felt betrayed because what he wrote was not intended for public consumption. Most people don't think it's a big deal, but for a writer it is. Writers don't like for people to see their unpolished works/ideas. This is why so many writers don't let anyone read their writings until they're finished. Exceptions are made for editors, publishers, and the like only because they must be. When they allow for these exceptions, writers are placing their trust in these people, and they rightfully expect their wishes to be respected. So, I totally get where he's coming from.

[@MrNicoJac]

I get his frustration. But I also think he causes far more than he suffered himself. So in this case, I think it's fair. (and it's nice they bleeped a paragraph to not tip his hand - arguably a kindness he lost any right to)

[@GenXLostInTx]

I’m in agreement with him. That should have been his choice, and his alone if people were to ever see that.

[@Void7.4.14]

​@@MrNicoJac He doesn't owe us anything. They do owe him privacy.

[@johnpauldriskill8737]

Nah that’s dumb asl

[@ulvetid.01]

​@@Void7.4.14 Writers owe their audience a conclusion. Shut up with that reddit blather.

[@peternakitch4167]

As a teenager I read his novel Fevre dream (published in the late ‘70’s or early ‘80s) and enjoyed it; as an adult I started reading Song of Fire and Ice and gave up - too much padding/filler and I found myself flipping through the books. There are parts I enjoyed and some good writing but most of it just rambled on and on. He really needed a ruthless editor. As for finishing it, I think he has moved on, is 75 years old, and I don’t think he is really that fussed. And perhaps, it having made him a ton of money and fame doesn’t need it anymore.

[@ghyslainabel]

To add to this, the story already has an ending in the TV show. I am guessing GRRM is not interested in writing a second ending that will be compared to the show.

[@wyattcole5452]

Have you seen him talk about it? It sounds like he racks his brain over it and still can’t get much more than a few pages in a week.

[@wyattcole5452]

@@ghyslainabelhe’s said his ending isn’t going to be changed because of the show

[@MikaelKKarlsson]

I wouldn't mind at least a short story of the life of old Nan. ☺️

[@jamessmithson-br7rm]

Don’t tempt GRRM, please don’t go giving him ideas until he finishes the main books

[@sargonixofur1234]

He would rather write about a kitchen boy in the Red Keep boiling an egg than finish the Asoiaf.

[@andredornelles8014]

Asking what was the original plan for ASOIAF is like asking what was Arya Stark’s original plan for her life. Let’s just say that some things happened to change them

[@peterdixon7734]

She originally wanted to do a gender studies and ballet foundation course.

[@bingobongo5455]

They call it a “dream of spring” cuz you have to be asleep to believe it’s coming.

[@sebastianholden4759]

Which plan? The Fat Man’s plan? The one that changes every time the moon turns? -ADWD The Lost Lord Grrm breaking the 4th Wall

[@emangination]

We will get Mad Queen, Bran the Broken and Night King stabbed by Arya in the books. And GRRM will reveal that he is indeed the Great Other. The End.

[@42crazyguy]

I guess George just isnt a very good gardener, forgot to water the characters, let them die, and is trying to distract us while we look for them.

[@FloridaManVal]

I firmly believe he was nearly done with winds of winter then he watched the fans reaction to the final season of GoT and realized he had to make some changes to distance from the series’ failure. At this rate his estate will be fighting over the rights before we ever read it.

[@Lilitha11]

From what I heard, he basically did finish it then rewrote the entire thing again. It is hard to say why though.

[@jovetj]

I really hope he doesn't let that affect how _he_ wants his story to go. The books are far richer and far better than the TV series. Fans of the show may feel short changed, but that does not mean the books will disappoint. No pressure, George.

[@luxintenebris1776]

We can only hope that Brandon Sanderson is willing to pick up the pieces and finish the story for us.

[@j-rey-]

I don't think so. People hated how the TV show ended because D&D wrote it terribly. The bullet points themselves were fine (also, D&D cut out most of the magic stuff, so the show watchers didn't even get to see 50% of the ending). One of Dany's dragons is stolen; another of her dragons dies, maybe 2 or all 3; Jon is resurrected and leaves the Night's Watch; Jon becomes a dragon rider; Jon is Rhaegar's son; Dany loses her mind and burns King's Landing; Jon kills her; Jojen dies for Bran, with Bran probably eating him; Bran messes up Hodor and sacrifices him; Bran beomes king; Shireen is sacrificed for a blood magic ritual; Sansa brings about Littlefinger's demise; Aegon didn't exist and thus he, and the upcoming Blackfyre rebellion, is likely a red herring and merely an obstacle for Dany in the books; Varys had less to do in the show given his main plan was cut; Barristan eventually dies fighting for Dany; Dany returns to Vaes Dothrak and unites all the Dothraki into her Kahlasar; Tyrion joins Dany as an advisor; Pod gets laid 🤣; Jaime fights in the Long Night and eventually dies with Cersei (though I argue he will kill her); Craster's sons are used as sacrifices to somehow benefit the Others; Ramsey kills Roose; Ramsey likely dies in the upcoming battles, possibly by a alliance of Stannis, Jon Snow, and the Manderlys; the entirety of the Frey house is either crippled or destroyed, maybe by Lady Stoneheart, the Brotherhood without Banners, and Arya; Cersei eventually takes out the Tyrells and High Sparrow; Theon sacrifices himself; etc. Aforementioned, that's not even including the magical elements, like the REAL resolution with the Others (no way Arya is just going to stab one and they all die); the Faceless Men and Arya; Euron's plans; Sam, Marwyn, Sarella, and the glass candle; Benerro, Moqorro, and the Red Priests; Melisandre; how Bran's powers actually affect the story; Quaithe; Lightbringer; maybe even Dawn, the ancestral sword of House Dayne. There is so much left out of the show that made its conclusion abysmal and incomplete.

[@GenXLostInTx]

I wasn’t surprised a bit by the ending of the show, it seemed like that could have very well happened in the end of the books.

[@crowemagnum1337]

I think it's cute that you think the final two books will come out. It's not going to happen. No Doors of Stone either.

[@emperorpalpatine4681]

To finish it

[@higginswalsan]

“How far from that has he drifted?” To not finishing it

[@ZeusMcCormick]

That ain’t happening

[@devschlong]

LMAO

[@brandonmunsen6035]

Jk

[@wyattcole5452]

@@ZeusMcCormickby him

[@camotophat]

The ending was totally what they had in the TV show. He saw how everyone hated it, and now he's trying to rewrite it before he eats himself to death.

[@wyattcole5452]

He said that’s not what happened but aight

[@camotophat]

@@wyattcole5452 Dude, I've seen the vid where he flat out says, "Yeah, what they made is pretty much what I had planned." ai isn't that good yet. I promise its real.

[@wyattcole5452]

@@camotophat dude I’ve literally seen the vid where he says he won’t be changing the ending based on the reaction to the show 🤭😘

[@MrBell-iq3sm]

Blaming the TV show is a cheap excuse, which not only ignores how the book series went, but also how bad the show was as a whole. Such a behavior suggests, that everything was fine until the ending, which isn't true.

[@camotophat]

@@MrBell-iq3sm Given that George's primary income through the 80's and 90's was being a tv show writer, how exactly is that a cheap excuse? Most film and tv writers have the beginning and the end of their story in mind from the start, and just fill in the middle as they go along.

[@ClockMonsterLA]

I seriously doubt Martin will live long enough to complete the series.

[@Dumbledore6969x]

The good news is that AI will soon be able to analyze the books he has written and then complete it fairly nicely.

[@s4m1r_65]

​@@Dumbledore6969xit already does that.

[@Dumbledore6969x]

@@s4m1r_65 soon with more confidence

[@Lilitha11]

Everyone thinks that. And it isn't like people think he will die soon either. They all think he could live to 100 and still wouldn't finish it.

[@kennyjoseph1144]

@@Dumbledore6969x AI doesn’t have the mind of GRRM. An AI ASOIAF book wouldn’t even be half as good as George writing it. It would probably just be bad because AI probably can’t capture the meaning and symbolism that George conveys in his writing.

[@Ronfost89]

George is no gardener, a real gardener knows when you need to trim and pull weeds.

[@bfromm4936]

A garden is never actually finished, so...

[@Ronfost89]

@@bfromm4936 Except that's not true. You can finish making your garden by not expanding or adding things. What you are describing is tending to what you have, which is something GRRM also fails at.

[@ak-skeleton-7195]

Could you imagine how awkward the love triangle between Jon Arya and Tyrion would be if adapted into a show or even in the books

[@jovetj]

You _know_ some "adult actors" are going to play that out in at least one way...

[@jmace2424]

GRRM: I’m a gardener not an outliner. How’s that working out for you, George?

[@MrBell-iq3sm]

He is a gardener, who refused to cut the plants growing in his garden and now has trouble navigating through it.

[@pandawarriah]

we MIGHT MAYBE IF WE ARE LUCKY get winds of winter. but there wont be any spring.

[@steveywonder1990]

We will forever live in the land of always winter. ❄️☃️

[@wyattcole5452]

By him

[@tokyo_taxi7835]

George needs to start adding trellises and irrigation to his garden if he wants to be finished. Some structure and planning is important when you have a story to tell, especially as one as massive as this.

[@Marjoss1]

I will never lose faith in the old man. I understand why many have lost hope for the last books of the series, but I will hold onto hope.

[@judosailor610]

His style of writing (letting the story unveil itself to him as he writes) can make for some great stories. But it has an inherent flaw that we are now experiencing, which is that sometimes it can lead you down paths that are hard to recover from. And sometimes you're not sure where to go next.

[@pathutchison7688]

“Winds of Winter” may very well come out at some point. But “A Dream of Spring” will almost certainly never be written. At least, not by Martin, would would make in non-cannon in my mind.

[@TurquoiseStar17]

I've heard about this original outline from a few videos now. Yours is by far the best for laying it all out. Excellent work with the visuals.

[@Fishster]

11:00 not 3 decades of writing, a couple of decades writing and over a decade not writing.

[@basementsnaxx]

Might just get a one pager for the last two books, "Jon woke up, and it was all a dream".

[@marisaj2346]

He does not know how to wrap up Jon and Dany story very fast, imo. The original was clear and straightforward, as Dany was portrayed as mad/evil. But now it is difficult. Jon, being who he is, will never kill her if they get together and he finds out she is his only family from father’s side left. Dany would never harm him knowing who he is and if she falls in love with him. GRRM really needs to get her to “the mad queen” fast to finish the book, but it is not his stile. He likes to cultivate characters. I would advise him to swap Arya with Jon in Dany’s murder, Jon killing Night king. Jon will then never forgive Arya for killing Dany. Arya leaves Westeros. Jon kills himself before he gets mad Targaryen. Sansa is the Warden of the North. Bran the king. Tragedy in three acts.

[@robertfitzjohn4755]

As a contrast, consider Stephen R Donaldson's approach when he decided to write The Last Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. He set himself a schedule of three years per book, making a total of twelve years, and he stuck to it. He didn't involve himself in any TV shows (though I doubt he was asked anyway), nor did he write any other books (he even stopped his 'Gradual Interview' Q&A blog). To be honest, it's a pity he didn't allow time for an editor to read the books and slim them down, but he was worried he wouldn't get the series finished. He did leave notes for another author to complete the books if he couldn't. I look forward to reading the rest of A Song of Ice and FIre eventually ... assuming I live that long!

[@gottenm9106]

I think the problem is feast for Crows. The whole book (except Euron arc) feels so unnecessary and unrelated to the plot. Instead of continue with the story, he created a dozen more plotlines in this book which the vast majority of them are not important and honestly not interesting too. Jamie's arc on the riverlands, Brienne's arc (which I skipped completely) and also Danny's story in Mereen in DwD - he should have neglected those, and went straight to the main plot with Danny's invasion

[@FilmCram]

George really laid out his 3 book plan then got hit with Zeno's Dichotomy paradox as he tried to write it! XD

[@Higher_Mind_HM]

Serious question: If GRRM dies before finishing ASoIaF (he probably will), will it stay unfinished or will someone else wrap it up? Like Brandon Sanderson did with Wheel of Time?

[@ToothlessWizard]

As far as I know he has asked several writers who have already said they will finish it. No idea who though.

[@TheHookemhornman]

I’m confused at all of the people giving him a hard time. Imagine trying to finish this story in a way that satisfyingly ends every character arc, major and minor plots, prophecies, theories, all the while being forced to use some of the foreshadowing in other books while still giving us surprises. I can’t even comprehend how hard that must be.

[@barbarabenoit3667]

I find it interesting, that the outline had no mention of religion in westeros. The worship in front of the weirwoods, the beliefs of the northernes, the drowned god, the followers of Rollor, the worship of the many faced god, the fanaticism of the sparrows and the decadence of the sevens official representatives, the belief in logic of the masters of the citadel and their fight against magic. - Beliefs and spiritual practises and experiences influence the characters and change the story a lot.

[@JoseCinnamon]

If it is ever released it will be like a dark joke. Having a 15 year gap from the last book is surreal.

[@jamesfallahi]

Homie there’s two books left 😭

[@JoseCinnamon]

​@@jamesfallahi We've been two books away from finishing the series since book 1

[@jamesfallahi]

@@JoseCinnamonyeaaah I realize now that I misread your comment. Thought you meant the next book is the last. 😅 My b

[@JoseCinnamon]

@@jamesfallahi my English sure hasn't helped

[@MONROE711]

When I read the first one as a kid, my paperback copy had the next 2 books in the then intended trilogy (and supposedly whole series) listed on the back cover. I also remember him doing an interview saying he wouldn't be one of those authors that dragged series out for decades, I assumed he was taking a jab at Robert Jordan. I do not mean this in a cruel way, but I now do not expect him to finish the series before he dies, which is hopefully many many years from now. He has so many projects he's working on and he's 75 now. Realistically winds of winter is not coming out any time soon, and there'll be at least one more book after that.

[@richardhollis3783]

There are a few... relics in the first books as well. Jamie is cold and gets his minions to cripple Ed Stark. The direwolves seem to hate Tyrion when he visits Winterfell (presumably a holdover from when the plan was that Tyrion would capture and burn Winterfell). There are also a couple of inconsistencies from when there was a plan to put in a five year gaps between books 3 and 4 which got scrapped eventually.

[@sofaking1627]

We've all collectively begun to bargain. "Just give us WoW even if we never get A dream of spring" Bargaining is the stage of grief we're one 🤣

[@JakeSezz]

11:16 Let’s face it, Robert: you coulda just stopped at “he’s not finishing the story” 😬😂

[@abavariannormiepleb9470]

At this point feeding everything existing and major upcoming planned plot points into a Large-Language Model should at least produce something significantly better than season 8 of GoT.

[@Wolfeson28]

Unfortunately, I think there's another wrinkle/wrench that's been thrown into GRRM's (non-)plans at a much later stage. I've speculated that GRRM's ending (to whatever degree it had coalesced) was much closer to what we saw on the show than he's willing to admit. So when the show's ending got so much backlash, I think GRRM felt compelled to change his book ending to move further away from what the show did, which I believe accounts for a lot of the last five years' worth of delays for TWoW (holy shit, has it really been five years?). With as interconnected as his events and plotlines are, any one change he wants to make probably requires at least 5-6 other changes to other plotlines that are impacted by it.

[@N0madic71]

Unfortuantely, at this point, I think this living thing, The Winds of Winter, will out live the author before publication

[@daithiocoinnigh]

He would want to throw a little fertiliser on that garden to speed up the process a little.

[@robertfitzjohn4755]

Fertiliser? I thought David Benioff and D. B. Weiss had already sh@t all over it.

[@Moriningland]

See his recent blog post. He hasn’t written much all year. It’s over. He’s never finishing

[@kineticstar]

I will be reincarnated and in a retirement home before GRR Martin completes The Game of Thrones books.

[@jovetj]

How about when the sun rises in the west?

[@lakrids-pibe]

May he live to be 145 years old

[@xninja83x67]

Then he'd nearly be done with the winds of winter

[@crabbit101]

I think we can safely say that he will never finish ASOIAF, and he knows it.

[@jovetj]

I can't blame him. So much pressure, so much to keep track of, so much detail in the story... it must be positively overwhelming.

[@Ripper069]

I really love this channel. Always interesting to hear your thoughts on my favorite stories!

[@JD-qq8fz]

It would be so funny if he finally releases the last books and they are simply a strict novelization of the end of the HBO series, womp woooomp

[@Brighton24601]

9:25 huh, is that what Robert Frost looked like? I always imagined he looked more like Hemingway.

[@gregcampwriter]

What to expect from the last two books: We might get the sixth book, finished by Brandon Sanderson--or Stephen King, since King and Martin seem to like each other. Book Seven will likely require someone willing to write the book from Martin's notes.

[@barbarabenoit3667]

Of course I hope the Song gets an ending. At the same time, G.R.R. Martin does not owe us anything. He is allowed to enjoy his life. Every Person that is sad, that they cannot read the complete story can decide for themselves to grieve and move on or - to continue to hope. To hate on Martin and make fun of him is not a fair approach. Even if he cannot finish the story, he has build a beautiful, scary, captivating world.

[@PrincessToyNerd]

This man just lives in the river of all our tears 😢

[@_whatsername1911]

Turns out, our tears are the magic that fuels the storm of the Night King. Without our tears he doesn't exist and George can't finish the story. It's a snake eating its own tail

[@lyannatargaryen3223]

In some of the early chapters of GOT, characters have certain characteristics/stories that are abandoned. Tyrion is an acrobat. In Dany's first chapter, her brother and Illyrio keep talking about how she looks like a princess. They say it several times as if she's not really a princess, but later she hatched dragons and she has the Targaryen features. Was there a possible pseudo-dany plot similar to Faegon? I'd love to hear people's thoughts on this. Thanks.

[@TrashcanGarage]

Disclaimer: I'm just here for the dragons. I dabble with CGI and really appreciate how dragons have been brought to life via computer. Saying that, we have bent the knee for Hovse Targaryen.

[@claire2088]

I really wish that he was able to finish his stories, I don't mind if I don't get a conclusion for a series that is just following a character, but when the series is building up to something it's very frustrating to never get the final conclusion. I don't restrict myself to finished series (because that's rough on authors, and I want to reach bookhalla iykyk) but once an author's done something like this I generally don't trust them to finish a series so I wouldn't start a series until it's complete. (I'd understand not finishing a series if it's not performing well enough/health or life issues show up etc, but if an author gives up on a series where the whole thing is building towards something I'm avoiding everything else like the plague)

[@slMagnvox]

An interesting case study is Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time. After sprawling his story a bit after book 7 or 8, he passed away before it could be finished. He did however leave extensive notes and his widow Harriet & estate hired Brandon Sanderson to complete it. And with a decent result to my mind

[@claire2088]

@@slMagnvox Yeah I read that! It was so kind of him to finish it for us even if he couldn't complete it personally 😭 I'd have totally understood if he'd said to fans 'sorry it's not happening', but that we got a finished series means so much

[@slMagnvox]

@@claire2088 yeah, all things considered it was a very satisfying conclusion ;P

[@jspotter89]

He doesn't have a plan, but he does have the concepts of a plan.

[@OO-mk1xf]

Home before Christmas boys...

[@watcherofthewest8597]

Such a surprise the man who was a conscientious objector felt no obligation to finish his story for his fans.

[@wyattcole5452]

He feels the obligation probably every day, idk what you’re talking about

[@watcherofthewest8597]

@@wyattcole5452 I'm saying George has a history of not fulfilling obligations.

[@wyattcole5452]

@@watcherofthewest8597 what’s that history?

[@watcherofthewest8597]

@@wyattcole5452 George was a contentious objector during he Vietnam war.

[@wyattcole5452]

@@watcherofthewest8597 that’s it? I’m guessing you’re not voting Harris/Walz then so that’s good at least

[@blackshard641]

This, ladies and gentlemen, is what we call the twin evils of scope creep and burnout.

[@duswil3934]

LOTR and Narnia still reign supreme.

[@patarachada]

What are the odds that "a song of ice and fire" is actually "a son of ice and fire" and Sam Tarly is gonna find out in the citadel similarly to what happens in the tv show when he discovers jon's true identity.

[@miguelsandoval7558]

It’s time to start harvesting the garden George. If Winds of Winter and Dream of Spring ever come out. I hope it’s just a clash of stories coming together 100mph. But probably not.

[@thatfatman6978]

So through the entire series hair color is passed predominately from the paternal line. Jon did not get the targaryen silver blond hair. idk but I think this says way more than anyone knows about Jon's parents.

[@Cosper79]

Being a garden writer has caused him a great deal of grief, both for himself and his fans.

[@michaeljw3602]

Absolutely cannot see him finishing the series

[@tizza963]

Your voice is so rich. I don’t even care about ASOIAF but I could listen to this for hours 😂

[@MrBell-iq3sm]

2:52 No he hasn't. There is exactly one POV character, which died in the books, without either coming back. This is one of Martin's biggest problems, because he keeps adding new characters, without removing the old, which lead to a story too big to handle comfortably.

[@MakingSpiritualityReal]

“I want the reader to feel like no one is ever completely safe” well even the TV show succeeded in that

[@g_rec_attempt6782]

I couldn't imagine myself accepting the legacy, that I was the guy who never finished the most 2nd most successful fantasy series. Despite the fact, that I had plenty of time to do so.b

[@BanjoSick]

Denaerys is obviously based on Kriemhild/Gudrun of the Nibelung tale.

[@Shocked-Face]

I am impressed I managed to guess 4/5, with not enough time to guess Arya, though she would have been my next guess.

[@istari0]

At the rate things are going, Brandon Sanderson will likely end up finishing the series.

[@theophrastusbombastus1359]

That's a specific example he's cited that will never happen He's left explicit instructions to burn all his notes upon his death because he didn't like, for example, among other examples, what BS did to/for WoT

[@istari0]

@@theophrastusbombastus1359 Perhaps. People have been known to change their minds and if he dislikes what Sanderson did, he might find someone else to do it. Or perhaps not. It's been 13 years since A Dance with Dragons was published and even if The Winds of Winter were to be announced now to be available in time for the holidays, he would have to get the remaining books written at a much faster pace given his current age. He might decide that leaving his best known work unfinished is not the legacy he wants.

[@Vmac1394]

​@@theophrastusbombastus1359 1.) He said that like 25 years ago. 2.) Virgil said the same thing, Augustus discarded his wish and published the Aeneid, which Virgil considered unfinished.

[@mandowarrior123]

130 more books ending the series all out in 6 months!

[@Scientist_Salarian]

Sanderson has probably finished the series already as a weekend writing exercise.

[@carlbradley4872]

I'm curious to see - once Winds comes out, how quickly might the next one, even if not the final, simply because in writing WofW, the story build out a great deal of what would follow anyway?

[@getnohappy]

I think his original plan was to have finished the damn thing by now 😅

[@arttheclown1163]

I remember this guy but I've forgotten his works.

[@ians7184]

A Song of Ice and Fire is the best book series without a beginning or an ending

[@mandowarrior123]

It's meant to be inspired by historical fiction and the war of the roses, it certainly was the intent to not really have a beginning or end. However he's had a lot of pressure on him to make one, and nobody liked his first attempt.

[@spawnofmelkor]

I wonder what the final book will look like when Brandon Sanderson finishes it.

[@Godzilla00X]

Sansa going all in betraying the starks for the lannisters is interesting idea

[@freemantle85]

Wasn't the Wheel of Time originally envisioned as a trilogy but it ended up expanding to 14 novels and a prequel book?

[@scajl]

It seems obvious that the story has gotten away from Martin. He may have an idea on how it will end, but I firmly believe he no longer knows how to get there… or even has the desire to finish it anymore. I have long given up hope, not to mention interest, in seeing the end.

[@richardmethot7195]

GRR Martin will be dead in the coming year, if not then the next, his health and his age account for that sadly, I dont see the two books being done and published. IT was an amusing wait, but sadly this is where we are at.

[@carastone3473]

I’m praying! I’m halfway through A Dance with Dragons! Come on, George…please finish! I’m obsessed with Westeros!

[@jezkerjamez7110]

I still think the Jon and Arya romance is a real possibility given how much they think about one another.