On May 19, 2019, the eighth season of Game Of Thrones. A series with undeniable popularity but whose end has divided. Strong criticisms which bring down the soufflé, hitherto presented as a real exquisite dish. And in the face of these criticisms, George RR Martin may well have found the solution: to turn away from the series.
a teaser by george rr martin
Before being a series with undeniable success, Game Of Thrones is a series of fantasy novels known as the Iron Throne with us. And while, since its debut in 1996, five volumes have appeared, the most recent of which A Dance with Dragons, was released in 2011, fans are now waiting for the sequel. Two volumes are still missing: The Winds of Winter and A Dream of Spring. The writing of the sixth is more or less in full swing, with a George RR Martin who explains that the writing is progressing on one side and that the release is intended to be close, while multiplying the various and varied projects on the other.
Regularly, George RR Martin expresses himself via his blog, baptized with humor “Not a blog”, via which he communicates on the progress of his novel and his current projects, but also on the news of the moment. The last post dates from July 8 and is titled “A Winter Garden“, hinting at new information for the sixth volume of its flagship series. The American novelist did not disappoint, with crisp information that announces an interesting turn for the end of the Iron Throne.
Another question I get asked often, especially since GAME OF THRONES ended on HBO, is whether A SONG OF ICE & FIRE will end the same way. An architect would be able to give a short, concise and simple answer to this question, but I am much more of a gardener. My stories grow, evolve and change as I write them. I usually know where I’m going, of course…the final destinations, the big pieces of the puzzle, I’ve had them in my head for years…for decades, in the case of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. But there are many devils in the details, and sometimes the ground changes under my feet as the words flow.
An appetizer quickly confirmed by the novelist: “What I’ve noticed more and more recently, however, is that my gardening is taking me further and further away from the TV series. Yes, some of the things you saw on HBO in GAME OF THRONES, you’ll also see in THE WINDS OF WINTER (but maybe not in the same way)… but the rest will be very different.”
changes between the series and the books
Note that events that occurred in the series will not be found in the books:
And really, when you think about it, it was inevitable. The novels are much larger and much more complex than the series. Some things that happened on HBO won’t happen in the books. And vice versa. I have point of view characters in the books that have never been seen in the series: Victarion Greyjoy, Arianne Martell, Areo Hotah, Jon Connington, Aeron Damphair. They will all have chapters, and what they do and say will impact the story and the main characters of the series. I have legions of supporting characters, who won’t share their points of view to the story but are important to the plot nonetheless, and who also feature in the story: Lady Stoneheart, young Griff, the Prince in Shreds, Penny, Brown Ben Plumm, the Shavepate, Marwyn the Mage, Darkstar, Jeyne Westerling. Some characters you’ve seen on the show are quite different from the versions in the novels. Yarra Greyjoy is not Asha Greyjoy, and HBO’s Euron Greyjoy is very, very, very, very different from mine. Quaithe still has a role to play. Just like Rickon Stark. And poor Jeyne Poole. And… well, the list goes on. (And all of that is part of why WINDS is taking so long. It’s hard, guys).
The novelist also takes the opportunity to reveal that new characters will make their appearance, while letting shimmer the deaths of some of the series’ survivors.
Oh, and there will also be new characters. No new viewpoints, I promise, but with all the travel, battles, and plots to come, it’s inevitable that our main cast will meet new people in lands near and far.
One thing I can say, in terms general enough not to spoil anything: all characters who survived until the end of GAME OF THRONES will not survive until the end of A SONG OF ICE & FIRE, and all characters who died in GAME OF THRONES will not die in A SONG OF ICE & FIRE. (Some will, sure. Sure. Maybe most. But definitely not all) ((Of course, I might still change my mind next week, in the next chapter I write. gardening)).
a different END of the series?
Of course, the question that George RR Martin must receive the most concerns the end of his novels. After the end of the series, observed on HBO in 2019, which is far from having convinced all the spectators, the fans wonder if that of the novels will be different. And according to George RR Martin, the last two volumes of the saga will be worth their weight in gold:
And the end? You’ll have to wait for me to get there. Some things will be the same. Many will not.
Many differences between the end of the novels and that of the series, enough to give fans the desire to know more. Only, you will have to be patient, The Winds of Winter no release date yet. As for A Dream of Springdifficult to see even the beginnings of it, as the novelist has fallen behind the saga.