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[Loke13]

The Night

LMAO I laughed way harder at this than I should.

Am I the only one who didn't have a problem with Darkstar's character? I mean we don't even know anything about the guy.

 

[Showaddy]

LMAO I laughed way harder at this than I should.

Am I the only one who didn't have a problem with Darkstar's character? I mean we don't even know anything about the guy.

Well that's the point, in like the 2 pages we got of him GRRM made him look like an incompetent joke. What are we supposed to think of him?

 

[Valhelm]

I think Darkstar being a laughable idiot is explanation enough. Probably thought killing an unarmed girl would make him better than Arthur Dayne somehow.

He isn't supposed to be a laughable idiot, though. In interviews GRRM makes clear that he wrote him as a straight "badass", not meant to be ironic in any way. He just wrote his actions (and introduction) quite poorly.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I really don't understand why Darkstar tried to kill Myrcella, though. "Instigating a war between Dorne and the Iron Throne" doesn't make much sense, as he has no motivation to do so. Was he working for someone?

How do we know? IIRC he was rather adamant that the best way to force war was to kill Myrcella, so the fact that he tried to kill her tells me he...wanted to force war. Who knows why. One of the better theories I've heard is that Darkstar is working with Doran Martell, and injuring Myrcella was a part of some plot.

 

[Snake]

Pretty shocked tbh that I've never seen a comprehensive fan theory stating that Darkstar is going to be the new Night's King. I will remedy this sometime soon.

 

[SamVimes]

Pretty shocked tbh that I've never seen a comprehensive fan theory stating that Darkstar is going to be the new Night's King. I will remedy this sometime soon.

Darkstar isn't just the best character in the series, he might just be the greatest character of all time. Just imaging him riding through the sands of Dorne, the wind in his hair, his mighty steed below him. As he rides through the red mountains, the ladies swoon at his very scent. They know how he smells, the essence of his smell is sold in Planky Town under the the name of "Greenblood Orgasm." The very nature of Darkstar is mystery. could he be playing a deeper game than even his creator realizes? The answer is yes, he has transcended such boundaries as the written world, and has free will to do whatever he sees fit. However, Darkstar is filled with such guile, such arcane craft that he does not even use these powers. Why, you might ask? You will never know, for the mind of the Darkstar is not one that is easily penetrated. Darkstar is such a force of nature in his realm that nothing can truly touch him, the only thing keeping him bound to the page at all is his will to exist within the preordained boundaries of his world. Darkstar is not only beyond the comprehension of us, he exists within a plane of true focus and beauty. Observe his playful smile, his gourgeous and rippling biceps, his gallant nose, and most importantly, his eyes. His eyes, like pools of saffron, provide the only glimpse into the true machinations of Darkstar. Do not stare into them. Many good men have gone mad in the attempt. Darkstar is not just a character, a formless collection of words and images, he is himself is the binding that holds the saga together. Without Darkstar, the entire series, the entire world of Westeros as we know it crumbles. The Trident would stop flowing without Darkstar, the Reach would become a desolate crater, and the Wall would melt without his frosty gaze.

Spoiler

i'm sorry

 

[PhoenixDark]

Martin has said that he gets letters from people who are hardcore fans of Tytos Blackwood and want to see more of him. At least Blackwood has done some shit (largely off camera), but it's still an interesting case of the Boba Fett Effect. I can understand why some might like Darkstar but the hate puzzles me. He hasn't done anything to garner any type of passionate response IMO.

During my first read of AFFC he didn't make an impression on. However in quite interested in seeing him in TWOW, since Swann is a rather formidable knight and Obara isn't a push over. And Hotah is tough of course.

 

[Showaddy]

I figure Gerold will steal Dawn thinking it'll make him the greatest warrior in the world before getting cut to ribbons. Not sure how his story will go down though with Hoah being the only POV left in Dorne.

 

[Valhelm]

Pretty shocked tbh that I've never seen a comprehensive fan theory stating that Darkstar is going to be the new Night's King. I will remedy this sometime soon.

Obviously only fan favorites can be the Night's King/Azor Ahai.

 

[PhoenixDark]

I figure Gerold will steal Dawn thinking it'll make him the greatest warrior in the world before getting cut to ribbons. Not sure how his story will go down though with Hoah being the only POV left in Dorne.

Also it's worth noting that the the Darkstar story is so seemingly divorced from the rest of the Dorne arcs that something has to be important or noteworthy about it - be it a plot device or twist. The obvious way to connect the "quest to defeat Darkstar" with the Dornish arc would be for Darkstar to be revealed as an agent of Doran Martell's. How that could be done without sloppy exposition...that's the question, I suppose. Perhaps something like this:

Hotah, Swann, and Obara travel to Starfall to capture or kill Darkstar, and after a heated battle involving Dayne loyalists only Hotah remains alive. Injured, he stumbles to his horse and rides back to Dorne. However shortly after entering Dornish territory he's met by a band of soldiers from Sunspear who say they've been looking for him. After listening to his story and being presented with whatever evidence Hotah took from Starfall (perhaps a letter written in code), the soldiers apologize...and then kill him.

 

[Basileus777]

Darkstar working for Doran makes absolutely no sense considering everything he has done has been against Doran's interests and not in a Lyn Corbray fashion.

 

[foxtrot3d]

So, I've decided to really delve into the whole "What is Lightbringer?" As I seriously doubt it's an actual sword. I've now put those thoughts down in a lentghy Reddi post:

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2a2gpv/spoilers_all_lightbringer_and_the_bible_what_is/

What do you think? Do you actually believe Lightbringer to be a sword or something else?

 

[Brakke]

So, I've decided to really delve into the whole "What is Lightbringer?" As I seriously doubt it's an actual sword. I've now put those thoughts down in a lentghy Reddi post:

http://www.reddit.com/r/asoiaf/comments/2a2gpv/spoilers_all_lightbringer_and_the_bible_what_is/

What do you think? Do you actually believe Lightbringer to be a sword or something else?

I really liked this sentence:

Now, what is helpful in understanding this myth and prophecy is one of the greatest books of myth and prophecy, the Bible.

The Bible: maybe you've heard of it.

ASIDE

Spoiler

The Revelation is the thugginest thing ever written. "He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS...".

As to the post, I think you're definitely right that Lightbringer doesn't refer to a literal sword--or at least that it wasn't the sword that delivered the day. I like bringing the Drowned God into it, maybe even Lann (even though barely even in the books), but the Westeros thing is a bit of a stretch. Also the metaphor doesn't hold very well. If we're reading "tempering" as "beseeching for aid" then what dingus goes first to Dagon and then, finding That Deep Power wanting, goes next to A Pretty Clever Dude?

Also the connection to Revelation is totally unnecessary to any of this and doesn't reveal anything except that sometimes "sword" is a metaphor, which like: yeah.

 

[Showaddy]

Chuck me in with the Lightbringer = Night's Watch crowd.

"I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn"

Forged by killing wife/love = Vow of celibacy.

Wielded by AA = Commanded by AA.

 

[foxtrot3d]

I really liked this sentence:



The Bible: maybe you've heard of it.

ASIDE

Spoiler

The Revelation is the thugginest thing ever written. "He treads the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has this name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS...".

As to the post, I think you're definitely right that Lightbringer doesn't refer to a literal sword--or at least that it wasn't the sword that delivered the day. I like bringing the Drowned God into it, maybe even Lann (even though barely even in the books), but the Westeros thing is a bit of a stretch. Also the metaphor doesn't hold very well. If we're reading "tempering" as "beseeching for aid" then what dingus goes first to Dagon and then, finding That Deep Power wanting, goes next to A Pretty Clever Dude?

Also the connection to Revelation is totally unnecessary to any of this and doesn't reveal anything except that sometimes "sword" is a metaphor, which like: yeah.

Well, I brought the Bible in because pretty much every literary author riffs from it, hell even they way prophecies are usually worded and formatted comes straight from the Bible. And since AA has very Jesus like attributes I thought the comparison between their two swords was apt.

As for the rest, yeah as to what Lightbringer really was is just wild speculation. Which is hard since we have next to no context as to what the Age of Heros was like. I mean whose to say the Drowned God is even a real "god" he could have just been a very power and influential dude like Lann the Trickster. The hardest part is trying to figure out the metaphor of Nissa Nissa, why is it a woman sacrificed, specifically his "wife," and why must she expose her breast?

Once we can piece that out we would be closer to figuring out what Lightbringer was.

Chuck me in with the Lightbringer = Night's Watch crowd.

"I am the sword in the darkness. I am the watcher on the walls. I am the fire that burns against the cold, the light that brings the dawn"

Forged by killing wife/love = Vow of celibacy.

Wielded by AA = Commanded by AA.

This has been brought up before but it doesn't explain why it took him three times to forge the Night's Watch. Unless "water" refers to him trying to rally the Iron Born and failing and the lion referring to the Lannisters and their men in the west. But, why would those men be insufficiently capable of helping defeat the Others?

 

[Showaddy]

Maybe you're just taking the prophecy to literally? If the wife is just symbolic then the water & Lion could be as well.

 

[foxtrot3d]

Maybe you're just taking the prophecy to literally? If the wife is just symbolic then the water & Lion could be as well.

But, that's what I mean. If the Night's Watch is Lightbringer why did he fail in trying to create it through "water" and "capturing a lion?" What do they stand in for in helping create the Night's Watch?

 

[Brakke]

Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and the shattered blade of a sword smoldering in a lion's chest is just a badass image. Sometimes.

 

[Showaddy]

But, that's what I mean. If the Night's Watch is Lightbringer why did he fail in trying to create it through "water" and "capturing a lion?" What do they stand in for in helping create the Night's Watch?

Eh not really sure. Water & Lion could be symbols for Land & Glory I suppose?

I mean why the hell would you quench a molten sword in a Lion anyway? Or a woman's body? Wouldn't that just cook the flesh and not really quench the blade at all if you take the prophecy literally?

 

[Skilletor]

Is there an article or concrete info on the time skip that didn't happen? I'd love to read about it.

 

[Frank the Great]

Finished the Dunk & Egg novellas. There were really fun reads, although the last one ended quite abruptly.

I find the character of Brynden Rivers to be very interesting. Maybe it's because he reminds me of Kain from the Legacy of Kain games. Looking forward to see what he does in TWOW.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Is there an article or concrete info on the time skip that didn't happen? I'd love to read about it.

Q: I'm obsessed with the five-year gap you originally planned in the middle of the series. How would that have happened?

Martin: Originally, there was not supposed to be any gap. There was just supposed to be a passage of time as the book went forward. My original concept back in 1991 was, I would start with these characters as children, and they would get older. If you pick up Arya at eight, the second chapter would be a couple months later, and she would be eight and a half and [then] she'd be nine. [This would happen] all within the space of a book.

But when I actually got into writing them, the events have a certain momentum. So you write a chapter and then in your next chapter, it can't be six months later, because something's going to happen the next day. So you have to write what happens the next day, and then you have to write what happens the week after that. And the news gets to some other place.

And pretty soon, you've written hundreds of pages and a week has passed, instead of the six months, or the year that you wanted to pass. So you end a book, and you've had a tremendous amount of events — but they've taken place over a short time frame, and the eight-year-old kid is still eight years old.

So that really took hold of me for the first three books. When it became apparent that that had taken hold of me, I came up with the idea of the five year gap. "Time is not passing here as I want it to pass, so I will jump forward five years in time." And I will come back to these characters when they're a little more grown up. And that is what I tried to do when I started writing Feast for Crows. So [the gap] would have come after A Storm of Swords and before Feast for Crows.

But what I soon discovered — and I struggled with this for a year — [the gap] worked well with some characters like Arya — who at end the of Storm of Swords has taken off for Braavos. You can come back five years later, and she has had five years of training and all that. Or Bran, who was taken in by the Children of the Forest and the green ceremony, [so you could] come back to him five years later. That’s good. Works for him.

Other characters, it didn’t work at all. I'm writing the Cersei chapters in King's Landing, and saying, "Well yeah, in five years, six different guys have served as Hand and there was this conspiracy four years ago, and this thing happened three years ago." And I'm presenting all of this in flashbacks, and that wasn't working. The other alternative was [that] nothing happened in those six years, which seemed anticlimactic. The Jon Snow stuff was even worse, because at the end of Storm he gets elected Lord Commander. I'm picking up there, and writing 'Well five years ago, I was elected Lord Commander. Nothing much has happened since then, but now things are starting to happen again." I finally, after a year, said, "I can't make this work."

Was it going to be five years and then Winter was going to arrive or was it going to be during Winter?

Martin: No, it wasn’t going to be during Winter. The arrival of Winter which would have been on stage.

So, like another five years of Fall?

Martin: Yeah. There is plenty of precedent for that [in] the way I set up the series. Summer lasted ten years. A five-year Fall [is] nothing much.

http://io9.com/george-r-r-martin-answers-our-toughest-song-of-ice-and-886133300

That's one of Martin's most comprehensive interviews. He also goes into detail on why he chose to split the books, and his argument for why it was the right decision; he also acknowledges that some fans disagree/disliked AFFC and ADWD.

another:

Back at the Philadelphia Worldcon (which seems a million years ago), I announced the famous five-year gap: I was going to skip five years forward in the story, to allow some of the younger characters to grow older and the dragons to grow larger, and for various other reasons. I started out writing on that basis in 2001, and it worked very well for some of my myriad characters but not at all for others, because you can't just have nothing happen for five years. If things do happen you have to write flashbacks, a lot of internal retrospection, and that's not a good way to present it. I struggled with that essentially wrong direction for about a year before finally throwing it out, realizing there had to be another interim book. That became A Feast for Crows, where the action is pretty much continuous from the preceding book. Even so, that only accounts for one year. Why the four after that? I don't know, except that this was a very tough book to write -- and it remains so, because I've only finished half. Going in, I thought I could do something about the length of the second book in the series, A Clash of Kings, roughly 1,200 pages in manuscript. But I passed that and there was a lot more to write. Then I passed the length of the third book, A Storm of Swords, which was something like 1,500 pages in manuscript and gave my publishers all around the world lots of production problems. I didn't really want to make any cuts because I had this huge story to tell. We started thinking about dividing it in two and doing it as A Feast for Crows, Parts One and Two, but the more I thought about that the more I really did not like it. Part One would have had no resolution whatsoever for 18 viewpoint characters and their 18 stories. Of course this is all part of a huge megaseries so there is not a complete resolution yet in any of the volumes, but I try to give a certain sense of completion at the end of each volume -- that a movement of the symphony has wrapped up, so to speak.

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin

Spoilers for TWOW, if you haven't read the Mercy chapter:

Spoiler

That chapter was originally intended to be Arya's first post 5 Year Gap chapter. Martin changed it to reflect her current age, but originally that was a 15-16 year old Arya wrecking shit. I know some fans have said the chapter feels weird because Arya seems older than when we last saw her, but Martin has argued that it's because she's wearing the face of an older girl. I think another issue is that remnants of the original chapter's spirit/feel remain.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Finished the Dunk & Egg novellas. There were really fun reads, although the last one ended quite abruptly.

I find the character of Brynden Rivers to be very interesting. Maybe it's because he reminds me of Kain from the Legacy of Kain games. Looking forward to see what he does in TWOW.

Huge LoK fan, but I never made the connection between the two. Can you elaborate? Is it just the vampire appearance? Haha.

 

[Frank the Great]

Huge LoK fan, but I never made the connection between the two. Can you elaborate? Is it just the vampire appearance? Haha.

It's mainly the appearance (and the fact that they both are beyond human), but also the fact that they both rule through terror but are really intelligent and ultimately can be viewed as good guys as long as you are on their respective sides. Bloodraven is a nightmare for the rebels, but a hero for the Targs who takes care of his own very well (he is very loyal and he was pretty nice towards Dunk when disguised as Maynard Plumm). Kain is a tyrant to the humans but a real hero to the vampires who saves their kind from extinction.

Also the conversation between Dunk and Bloodraven at the end kind of reminded me of him as well, he was pretty snarky, confident and mysterious in a Kain-like way IMO.

Although it's been a long time since I played the LoK games so maybe just his appearance is driving this comparison.

 

[Valhelm]

Prediction: Patchface kills Shireen, thus ending the Baratheon right to the Iron Throne (Stannis will surely go at some point).

If this happens, the throne should pass by all rights to Aegon (if he is authentic), then Jon (if he is legitimate), and then Daenerys. I think the Targaryens might reclaim their kingdom through succession, not force.

 

[bone_and_sinew]

Yeah I just finished the Dunk and Eggs recently as well and Bloodraven is one of my favorite characters now. I didn't expect a guy with such a fearsome aura to be funny and sarcastic.

 

[jett]

http://io9.com/george-r-r-martin-answers-our-toughest-song-of-ice-and-886133300

That's one of Martin's most comprehensive interviews. He also goes into detail on why he chose to split the books, and his argument for why it was the right decision; he also acknowledges that some fans disagree/disliked AFFC and ADWD.

another:

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/George_R._R._Martin
]

That makes the five-year gap a more stupid idea than I thought. How can you spend a year on that without quickly realizing it's not going to work?

 

[q_q]

That makes the five-year gap a more stupid idea than I thought. How can you spend a year on that without quickly realizing it's not going to work?

Ever get the feeling it's all bullshit? That he is purposely writing slowly to drag out the series' fame and payday? How convenient that he had no problem with a book per year until it started to get famous and get TV and film offers. Then all of a sudden, he's a gardener, not an architect.

Maybe I'm just jaded.

 

[Basileus777]

That makes the five-year gap a more stupid idea than I thought. How can you spend a year on that without quickly realizing it's not going to work?

These are the dangers of discovery writing a multimillion word epic fantasy series. You might find out that the entire structure of the series doesn't work. I imagine he tried to work through it for that year before finally giving up. It's not exactly a small change.

Ever get the feeling it's all bullshit? That he is purposely writing slowly to drag out the series' fame and payday? How convenient that he had no problem with a book per year until it started to get famous and get TV and film offers. Then all of a sudden, he's a gardener, not an architect.

Maybe I'm just jaded.

He described his writing process the same way in the 90s, it's not something he just made up all of a sudden. There's nothing imaginary about his struggles these past 14 years. And he wasn't famous when this started. His books weren't even huge sellers until AFFC and it wasn't until ADWD and the TV show that he moved into the real top tier of fantasy sellers. He was hardly a celebrity in the early 2000s when this started.

 

[Incandenza]

If I were GRRM, watching my series become a mega-hit with a gratuitously expensive television adaptation that's now basically a pop culture touchstone, and seeing that adaptation gearing up to surpass my own progress, and then looking at my own story notes and seeing that everything's become far, far more complex than I ever thought it would be when I started this shit, and then seeing the millions of people that are counting on me to absolutely stick the landing on one of the most influential fantasy works since fucking Tolkien, I would be pissing myself six ways from Sunday.

 

[PhoenixDark]

That makes the five-year gap a more stupid idea than I thought. How can you spend a year on that without quickly realizing it's not going to work?

Because it worked for multiple characters? I'd imagine a lot of the work he completed was for characters like Arya, Bran, Sansa, etc. He also had a lot of Jon's stuff written; iirc he had Jon's "death" written in 2001, but the way things go to that point was different.

 

[Brakke]

If this happens, the throne should pass by all rights to Aegon (if he is authentic), then Jon (if he is legitimate), and then Daenerys. I think the Targaryens might reclaim their kingdom through succession, not force.

The Iron Throne hasn't given a mummer's dragon's fart about succession for like a decade. The Kingdom can only be claimed through conquest, that's the whole point of the non-magical parts of the book. Of course, the whole point of the magical parts of the book are "lol nobody cares about your mundane bullshit like territories and laws".

Maybe I'm just jaded.

Mostly this one.

 

[flyover]

If I were GRRM... seeing the millions of people that are counting on me to absolutely stick the landing on one of the most influential fantasy works since fucking Tolkien, I would be pissing myself six ways from Sunday.

Totally. No wonder he doesn't care how long it takes to write the books, or whether the show will pass him. He knows full well this is his legacy.

I'm sure he'd love to make current fans happy. But he's way more burdened with worrying how (or even if) everything will be viewed long after he's done. I don't remember another writer in recent times who's had the same external pressures as Martin * -- not to mention that he's got to be happy with the final product, too. He only gets one shot to, as you said, "stick the landing."

* - Except maybe the showrunners for Lost, who are still apologizing to this day for its finale, despite trying their best at the time. Yeah, I wish it'd been better too, but they tried. Unfortunately, people are assholes. Fans are the worst assholes of all. And now, thanks to technology, it's almost impossible not to hear what those assholes think of you. With all the vitriol that's come his way, I almost wouldn't blame Martin if he finished the books, locked the manuscripts in a safe, and just kept saying, "I'm still working on them between Giants games, Comic-Cons, and miniature painting sessions," until he dies (when they'd finally be released), just as a big screw you to everyone who gave him crap.

 

[Deleted member 30609]

Spoilers for TWOW, if you haven't read the Mercy chapter:

Spoiler

That chapter was originally intended to be Arya's first post 5 Year Gap chapter. Martin changed it to reflect her current age, but originally that was a 15-16 year old Arya wrecking shit. I know some fans have said the chapter feels weird because Arya seems older than when we last saw her, but Martin has argued that it's because she's wearing the face of an older girl. I think another issue is that remnants of the original chapter's spirit/feel remain.

Oh, jeez. Here I was thinking he'd written a super interesting chapter post-DWD. :|

 

[badcrumble]

Still think it's reasonably likely that the publisher's pushing for Book 6 to get released between Seasons 5 and 6 of the show (so it'll basically arrive right as TV viewers have caught up with the books). So, sometime between June 2015 and February 2016. That'd basically lead to pretty gangbuster sales, I think.

 

[PhoenixDark]

Oh, jeez. Here I was thinking he'd written a super interesting chapter post-DWD. :|

Here's Martin explaining it

(Spoilers, avoid if you don't want any TWOW sample chapter discussion/news)
http://grrm.livejournal.com/362384.html

 

[Purple Cheeto]

Ever get the feeling it's all bullshit? That he is purposely writing slowly to drag out the series' fame and payday? How convenient that he had no problem with a book per year until it started to get famous and get TV and film offers. Then all of a sudden, he's a gardener, not an architect.

Maybe I'm just jaded.

Welcome to detractorland. We have meetings every Tuesday. There's a website too.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

It's mainly the appearance (and the fact that they both are beyond human), but also the fact that they both rule through terror but are really intelligent and ultimately can be viewed as good guys as long as you are on their respective sides. Bloodraven is a nightmare for the rebels, but a hero for the Targs who takes care of his own very well (he is very loyal and he was pretty nice towards Dunk when disguised as Maynard Plumm). Kain is a tyrant to the humans but a real hero to the vampires who saves their kind from extinction.

Also the conversation between Dunk and Bloodraven at the end kind of reminded me of him as well, he was pretty snarky, confident and mysterious in a Kain-like way IMO.

Although it's been a long time since I played the LoK games so maybe just his appearance is driving this comparison.

Interesting comparison. I'll have to re-read The Mystery Knight now.
Kain is pretty much my all-time favourite. <3

 

[CassSept]

Plus, it would make sense for a period of some stability for the realm following a major war like that. The war was rather short (which is often a problem in fiction), but it was brutal on Westeros and snuffed out several major dynasties. Even if the entire conflict is far from over it wouldn't feel off if major conflicts were to subside for a couple of years.

King's Landing plotline was a huge problem though and I can see that. Most others could still benefit from the timeskip to make the future plot more believable in my opinion.

 

[Cornballer]

- Warming Glow: GRRM's Response To Those Who Think He Won’t Finish ‘A Song Of Ice And Fire'

Video here.

 

[Paganmoon]

- Warming Glow: GRRM's Response To Those Who Think He Won’t Finish ‘A Song Of Ice And Fire'

Video here.

. He’s sold the rights to HBO, he says, and while he consults (and even writes an occasional episode), he technically has no say in what HBO does with the series going forward.

Imokwiththis.jpg

 

[Trojita]

- Warming Glow: GRRM's Response To Those Who Think He Won’t Finish ‘A Song Of Ice And Fire'

Video here.

In an interview with Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger this week, George R. R. Martin — who is 65 years old — displayed some anger at those who express doubt that he’ll be able to finish the Song of Fire and Ice series due to his age and health. “I find that question pretty offensive,” he said. “So f**k you to those people,” Martin retorted, throwing up a middle finger.

In the interview, Martin also took umbrage with fans who complain that he attends events, like football games, or screenings, or travels instead of writing, though he also notes that he only writes at home. He will not write in hotels. Or on trains. Or in planes. So, anytime he’s away from home, he’s not writing (and because of publicity commitments to the HBO series, he is often away from home).

No. He still doesn’t know when the next book will be ready, though he also admitted in the interview that he writes slower these days. Some of that is age, while part of it is because he has to deal with merchandizing, the show, the video game, and speaking to journalists all the damn time.

However, as he’s noted before, he knows how the book series will end. David Benioff and Dan Weiss (showrunners of the HBO series) also know how it will end, although they do not necessarily need to follow Martin’s conclusion. He’s sold the rights to HBO, he says, and while he consults (and even writes an occasional episode), he technically has no say in what HBO does with the series going forward.

I would have required having a degree of control over the adaption of my work in the contract.

 

[Basileus777]

I would have required having a degree of control over the adaption of my work in the contract.

And HBO would have laughed at you. They would never have invested hundreds of millions in a risky project that they wouldn't have complete creative control over.

 

[Joni]

So we can finally drop the ridicolous idea that the books and the show need to have the same ending because Martin shouldn't screw HBO like that when they aren't even forced to keep his ending.

 

[Morrigan Stark]

Anyone watched this GRRM interview in France? It's pretty cool. Some of the usual answers, but he seemed more energetic than usual somehow. I really liked how he said he doesn't like predictable stories and one reason he chose to write ASoIaF as fantasy rather than historical fiction is that he doesn't want people to know how it ends, and doesn't want his story to be predictable. Makes all those people expecting Jon to marry Dany and her getting the Iron Throne yadda yadda all the more comical.

Sorry non-French speakers, the questions are not subtitled, but I think the answers give enough context. I can translate the questions if anyone is really interested.

 

[DrForester]

Good news, everyone.

 

[Cornballer]

- WiCnet: George R.R. Martin reveals major battles, dragon action, and White Walkers are to come in Game of Thrones during NIFFF Masterclass

George R.R. Martin recently appeared at the Neuchâtel International Fantastic Film Festival in Switzerland, where he held a masterclass to discuss his work. The event was livestreamed, and is now available for replay. During the conversation, Martin talks at length about science fiction, developing one’s writing skills, heroes, love, feminism, and much more. The end of the session included a Q&A with the audience, and some fans were eager to ask questions about Game of Thrones.

The session begins about 24 minutes into the video, and the Q&A begins at 1 hour and 8 minutes:

 

[Hammer24]

OK guys, what's the consensus here:
A) The magic came back into the world because the dragons came back
or
B) The dragons came back because the magic came back into the world.

I´m thinking of the scene in Quarth with the fire mage and the cutpurses, where GRRM describes how the magic is getting stronger by the day, and I wonder why that is.

 

[Loke13]

OK guys, what's the consensus here:
A) The magic came back into the world because the dragons came back
or
B) The dragons came back because the magic came back into the world.

I´m thinking of the scene in Quarth with the fire mage and the cutpurses, where GRRM describes how the magic is getting stronger by the day, and I wonder why that is.

I'm going to have to go with option B.

 

[Hammer24]

I'm going to have to go with option B.

OK, so why is the magic coming back/getting stronger?