George R.R. Martin shares which fictional characters he’d want on his Small Council (Exclusive)

As a die-hard fan who’s spent countless hours immersed in George R.R. Martin’s captivating world of Westeros, I must confess that this latest interview with the master storyteller himself was an absolute dream come true! The chance to pick his brain about his thoughts on everything from AI in book publishing to his hopes for Guillermo del Toro’s adaptation of Fevre Dream left me utterly spellbound.

Here at Winter Is Coming, it feels like I’m immersed in “A Song of Ice and Fire” all day long, and today, I’m thrilled to share some exclusive insights! Recently, I had the incredible opportunity to chat with George R.R. Martin himself during his visit to Glasgow for the 82nd World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon). Over the past week, we’ve been revealing snippets of our conversation – from Martin’s dreams of Guillermo del Toro bringing “Fevre Dream” to life on the big screen to his perspectives on AI in the publishing world. This weekend, we’ll be releasing the full interview…but for now, let me give you a little taste of what’s to come!

In the imaginative realm created by Martin, known as Westeros, the monarchs of the Seven Kingdoms usually govern with a council called the Small Council to provide wise counsel. However, in practice, this concept seldom unfolds as intended, as fans of Martin’s novels or their adaptations on television, such as ‘Game of Thrones’ and ‘House of the Dragon’, might attest.

In our conversation, Martin discussed a variety of subjects, some quite serious. However, it’s important to add a bit of fun and whimsy to these situations, so I posed an unusual question to Martin. If he were ruling his own fantasy kingdom, who from other creators’ stories would he choose to be part of his Small Council, excluding any characters from Westeros, Essos, or the Thousand Worlds?

Who would George R.R. Martin want on his Small Council?

Martin seemed to have already pondered the questions I had prepared for our interview, suggesting he found them amusing. “Ah,” he replied, interlacing his fingers, “Now that’s an interesting dilemma you’ve presented – would I prefer ruling the realm effectively or having fun? [Laughs] You see, if we follow Tolkien’s account, Aragorn was a wise and just king for a century. So yes, one might argue for Aragorn on that front, and certainly Gandalf too, given he’s a wizard, a Maia, and in a sense, divine.

You’ve gotta go with some of Tolkien’s people. If you want an Elf on the council, you can get Galadriel representing the Elf people. I suppose you could put a dwarf on the council, too, just to balance it.

If you’re looking for a council filled with more intrigue and entertainment, I’d suggest something along the lines of Jack Vance’s character, Cugel the Clever. He’d be like Littlefinger on steroids, but his schemes always backfire, creating a lot of comedic chaos. It would make for quite an engaging read!

Similar to how Tolkien’s work impacted Martin’s writing, Jack Vance also left a significant mark on him. One of Vance’s characters, Cugel, appears in his science fiction series called The Dying Earth. Martin admired this work so much that he and his longtime friend, the renowned science-fiction editor Gardner Dozois, collaborated on a tribute anthology titled Songs of the Dying Earth, which was published before Vance’s passing in 2013. This anthology won the Locus Award for Best Anthology in 2010. Martin expressed his excitement about this project on his blog, stating, “Needless to say, Gardner and I are delighted by the news. It’s a great honor for us, and for Jack Vance, without whose groundbreaking work modern fantasy would be significantly different.

Martin was yet to find the right individuals for a few positions on his Small Council, and it wasn’t an effortless task. He pondered, “Who would be similar to our military commander…the one in charge of armies?” He questioned, “Who would you want to protect? Who is an exceptional fighter? If you were to look for someone like King Arthur…I’m not sure…

Raya Golden, the creator of Martin’s “Voyaging” graphic novel and art director at his Fevre River Packet Company, was also present during this conversation and proposed Lancelot as an alternative to Arthur. Martin showed some reservation. “Ah, Lancelot is indeed a noble knight, but…

“Not necessarily a leader,” Golden said.

Martin chimed in with a chuckle, saying, “He might just end up taking your queen, if you know what I mean. There are plenty of intriguing personalities to work with. One of them is a character from Ursula K. LeGuin’s writings.

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2024-09-13 17:41