Are you happy now? George R.R. Martin feels your pressure to finish the A Song of Ice and Fire fantasy novel series on which the HBO series Game of Thrones is based. He really, truly does. And now, thanks to a lengthy interview (Posted below! Because who loves ya more than Nerdist, you guys? No one.) with New Mexico’s PBS channel program “New Mexico In Focus,” we see, candidly, just how real that pressure is for the prolific author.
Finally tackling the question of how that fan-love and expectancy affects him? “It’s pressure,” Martin admitted. “The obligation is to the work itself. It’s one story, much as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings is one story. But when the writing is going well, it doesn’t matter. I forget the world, I forget deadlines, I forget the TV show.â€
But thankfully, the author doesn’t worry himself with feeling obligated to the fans who can, at times, harangue the author with their desire for more. “Obligation is an odd word. I don’t know if I would go with that word, but I certainly feel a desire to finish the book — and it must be said that I do get a lot of emails and mail-mails of the type you’re describing — … but I’ve actually given up answering the question ‘When will it be done, when will it be done,'” the author remarked at one point.
“In the early days, particularly after the third book [A Storm of Swords], the fourth book took a long time and I kept being wrong. I would give an answer and then it would not be done by then. … Once you give a date and you miss that date, there’s an element of the audience that thinks you’re doing it deliberately.”
Watch the whole interview in full — it’s a good one!
What do you think of Martin’s outlook on ASOIAF? Let us know in the comments.
He’s a slacker. Look at everything else he has written between 3&4 and 4&5. He gets fans involved and then leaves them hanging. That’s poor stewardship of your books and poor treatment of your fans. Obligation? Yes. You started it now you finish it.
And GRRM, u ain’t a paragon of health. I really want to see 7 in print before you drop dead. And if you think u won’t take take a look at Jordan dying before Wheel of Time’s 12th or, my personal favorite writer, David Gemmell dying half way thru the 3rd book of his Troy trilogy.
You ain’t immortal, buddy!
Get over yourself. He’s not your bitch.
fuck you…basically
he owes you nothing. Let him life his life and fuck off you piece of shit
I think he’s probably mostly done and is just waiting for the show to catch up a little before releasing them. Therefore, keeping the anticipation of the series alive. As if any of us would stop watching.
It’s the same crap Patrick Rothfuss gets for the 3rd Kingkiller Chronicles book. Let the guys write at their own pace. They don’t owe us readers anything.
So wait… what y’all are trying to tell me is that GRRMartin’s not my b!tch?
I started reading the series a little before A Storm of Swords came out and I used to eagerly await the next book in the series. now though I’ve lost a lot of the excitement. I anxiously awaited A Feast for Crow’s but by the time A Dance With Dragons came out much of the emotion I had had tempered tremendously. I’m still a fan of course and ASOIAF is still among my favorites stories but there is many other great authors and tales out there that him finishing it doesn’t occupy my mind anymore. It will come when it comes.
This is an excellent interview – loved how much the interviewer allowed him to just talk – bravo
the books will be done when they will be done. ‘Nuff Said.
As someone who got into the series from book two, I am quite used to waiting for the books by now. Like it has been stated before, there are a lot of other great books out there to read. As long as he puts in the same effort into the stories, he can take as long as he wants. I think the only “obligation” he has is put out a quality product.
No pressure from me! I have about 800 books for other series to catch up on (as soon as I can afford to buy them).
Stop pressuring him or he’ll kill Tyrion!