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George R.R. Martin shades House of the Dragon again, says he’s working The Winds of Winter

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As a gamer who has spent countless hours immersed in George R.R. Martin’s intricate world of Westeros, it’s been a rollercoaster watching the events unfold beyond the page. I find myself empathizing with the maestro himself as he navigates the treacherous waters of TV adaptations and the weight of fan expectations.

As a devoted gamer, I can’t help but share my thoughts on a recent turn of events. Last week, George R.R. Martin, the mastermind behind A Song of Ice and Fire, openly voiced his criticism towards HBO’s Game of Thrones prequel show, House of the Dragon. He pointed out that they had trimmed an essential character from his book, Fire & Blood, and hinted at even more significant and potentially toxic changes yet to come. Given how drastically different season 2 of House of the Dragon appears to be from the book, such a claim is hardly surprising.

Martin, despite whatever motivated him to do so, continues to cast subtle criticism towards “House of the Dragon”. In a recent blog entry, he discusses the pressures he’s been facing lately, mentioning that much of the first half of 2024 was consumed by different television productions. “My multiple TV assignments devoured most of those months. Some of it was enjoyable (DARK WINDS, and THE HEDGE KNIGHT), but most of it wasn’t.

It appears that House of the Dragon does not belong in the positive category for him. Moreover, Martin’s current situation is far from tranquil; he has expressed difficulties coping with the recent demise of his friend Howard Waldrop, a science fiction writer who passed away in January. To put it mildly, Martin’s plate seems to be quite full. “The pressure just kept piling up,” he wrote, “with one bad news story after another, my emotions swung wildly between anger and despair, and at night I found myself unable to sleep when I should have been resting. Even when I did manage to fall asleep, my dreams were far from comforting.

He’s not painting a pretty picture of his mental health. One bright spot in Martin’s year was his trip to Europe in July and August; we actually got to interview him during his stop at the World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow! And it sounds like he enjoyed his visit to the set of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, which he calls The Hedge Knight. That show, which is coming to HBO next year, is based on Martin’s Dunk and Egg novellas. Hopefully it will be less stressful for Martin than House of the Dragon.

George R.R. Martin has written pages of The Winds of Winter this year, but “writing came hard”

Martin similarly discusses his continuous efforts on two works: “The Winds of Winter”, the awaited sixth novel in his “Song of Ice and Fire” series; and “Blood & Fire”, the follow-up to his Targaryen history book titled “Fire & Blood”. In his own words, “Writing proved challenging, and while I managed to generate some new pages for both THE WINDS OF WINTER (correct) and BLOOD & FIRE (the sequel to FIRE & BLOOD, the second part of my Targaryen history chronicles), I wished I could have written more.

For more than ten years now, fans have been eagerly anticipating the release of “The Winds of Winter”, the final book in the series. The last installment, “A Dance with Dragons”, was published in 2011, so it’s not surprising that progress has moved at a leisurely pace.

Martin seems overburdened with responsibilities, juggling numerous tasks simultaneously. I can only imagine how hard it must be for him, and I hope he manages to lighten his load somehow, perhaps by delegating some duties or stepping back from a few commitments.

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2024-09-10 00:41

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