OFFICIAL Game of Thrones Thread

[Piobaire]



Just as long as we don't have a Robert Jordan situation I could care less about what happens w/ the HBO show.

I think the smart money is on this happening.

 

[scurvyfreedman]



I think the smart money is on this happening.

I know when I die. It is not today. - paraphrasing Jojen.

 

[HORNS]

If HBO catches up then they should threaten GRRM that they are going to give the dragons voices and use the voice of Larry David.

 

[Bhowie]



If HBO catches up then they should threaten GRRM that they are going to give the dragons voices and use the voice of Larry David.

or Jar Jar Binks

 

[in stitches]

i think barry white is really the best option for that.

 

[scurvyfreedman]



If HBO catches up then they should threaten GRRM that they are going to give the dragons voices and use the voice of Larry David.

Threats won't help. He's doing too many side projects. The new Dangerous Women anthology that's out this winter. Another Dunk and Egg story. Executive producing the show 4 months out of the year including writing an episode, probably another month. Developing another show for HBO. Going to all of the cons.

He's only got 3 years maximum until they've caught up with where he is now. He probably gets AWoW completed and to the publisher for final editing and publication in about 18 months, so it will be released in 24, around half way through AFfC/ADwD. Another year to finish where he is now. A year, maybe two on AWoW. He's not going to write and publish ADoS in 2-3 years. More like 3-4 if lucky. He's probably two years short.

 

[aravenel]



Threats won't help. He's doing too many side projects.

This. I mean, he should enjoy his success, but it seems like he's basically not writing anymore. Every time I turn around, he's in a different corner of the world doing press junkets or conventions.

 

[Connemara]

Isn't one of the theories that he just no longer wants to finish the series?

 

[JustChris]

Yeah, I don't see him finishing in time for the show, either. He's enjoying all of the other stuff way more than he's enjoying writing ASOIAF. I think he doesn't want to do it any more, and hasn't had his heart in it for some time. He started these books 20 years ago and I suspect if the show didn't turn into a runaway train of fame and money, he wouldn't crank out the next book for a decade, if ever.

I think what's going to disappoint me the most will be when the show picks up the lead in 2 years, before WoW is finished. Since Martin is so involved in the show, the books will reflect that perspective. We'll essentially get the novelization of a TV show. It's already started, to an extent; Martin mentioned in one of his many, many interviews that he was planning to put Ros in the next book as a throwaway character.

Of course, this is all based on the premise that Martin doesn't keel over of a heart attack at some point, leaving the books to be finished by some career ghost writer/assistant...



EDIT: Conne beat me to it.

 

[in stitches]

This is making me sad.

 

[dlm4114]



This. I mean, he should enjoy his success, but it seems like he's basically not writing anymore. Every time I turn around, he's in a different corner of the world doing press junkets or conventions.

Agreed here - I read that he put 250k manuscript words into The World of Ice and Fire that comes out next year. 250k! I'm excited as all hell for that book, but come on man...

Yeah, I don't see him finishing in time for the show, either. He's enjoying all of the other stuff way more than he's enjoying writing ASOIAF. I think he doesn't want to do it any more, and hasn't had his heart in it for some time. He started these books 20 years ago and I suspect if the show didn't turn into a runaway train of fame and money, he wouldn't crank out the next book for a decade, if ever.

I think what's going to disappoint me the most will be when the show picks up the lead in 2 years, before WoW is finished. Since Martin is so involved in the show, the books will reflect that perspective. We'll essentially get the novelization of a TV show. It's already started, to an extent; Martin mentioned in one of his many, many interviews that he was planning to put Ros in the next book as a throwaway character.

Of course, this is all based on the premise that Martin doesn't keel over of a heart attack at some point, leaving the books to be finished by some career ghost writer/assistant...



EDIT: Conne beat me to it.

I think this is a bit of a misconception. Everything I've read has had Martin reiterate how this is Benioff & Weiss's show and that, aside from an EP credit (which doesn't mean anything) and writing one episode per year, he doesn't do anything for the show. I don't think he's ever really on the set.

If you make a few favorable but not outlandish assumptions, you can still have the books finishing up the series, so I'll probably just do that until proven otherwise.

 

[in stitches]

i think mathematics and progress to date makes it highly unrealistic to think he will even come close to finishing the books in time for the show.

 

[JustChris]



I think this is a bit of a misconception. Everything I've read has had Martin reiterate how this is Benioff & Weiss's show and that, aside from an EP credit (which doesn't mean anything) and writing one episode per year, he doesn't do anything for the show. I don't think he's ever really on the set.

If you make a few favorable but not outlandish assumptions, you can still have the books finishing up the series, so I'll probably just do that until proven otherwise.

He watches, he follows casting, he talks with the producers, show runners, etc. And yes, he writes one episode per season, which requires him to coordinate (to some extent or another) with the other writers and the production crews to make sure that his episode fits in and flows with the rest of the season. All of that affects his thought process. How can it not? Once the show starts forging new ground, it will be even harder to write the books with a clear head.

As for the projections, I think Martin's track record is such that any timeline with him finishing two books in less than 5 years is outlandish at best. I was done with giving him the benefit of the doubt when Barnes & Noble returned my pre-order deposit for Storm of Swords because he blew at least three promised finish dates.

 

[dlm4114]



He watches, he follows casting, he talks with the producers, show runners, etc. And yes, he writes one episode per season, which requires him to coordinate (to some extent or another) with the other writers and the production crews to make sure that his episode fits in and flows with the rest of the season. All of that affects his thought process. How can it not? Once the show starts forging new ground, it will be even harder to write the books with a clear head.

As for the projections, I think Martin's track record is such that any timeline with him finishing two books in less than 5 years is outlandish at best. I was done with giving him the benefit of the doubt when Barnes & Noble returned my pre-order deposit for Storm of Swords because he blew at least three promised finish dates.

Yikes, did he really miss that many dates for Storm? According to Wikipedia it came out in the US 18 months after book 2.

I'm definitely being optimistic, but if he gets TWOW out by this time 2015, that would give him almost three years to finish ADOS, which would be more like 7 years for two books. Assuming he declines any more side projects, the narrowing of the story's focus could allow him to return to something resembling his earlier pace. It's not probable but I don't see why it isn't possible, especially if you consider the unique problems that set him back with books 4 and 5 (canning the 5 year gap, the Mereenese knot).

 

[JustChris]



Yikes, did he really miss that many dates for Storm? According to Wikipedia it came out in the US 18 months after book 2.

That was back in the dark ages of internet book selling, when Amazon, B&N, Borders and everyone else were climbing over each other's bodies to be the "first" to have each big title. So the truth may be that B&N put up pre-order info that had no relation to anything Martin or Bantam Spectra actually told them. Martin's website (again, back in the dark ages, when he had a sub page specifically to answer the "When is the next book going to be finished?" question) essentially said as much. That said, Martin's website was a constant cock tease for years- stuff like, "I'm about half finished, so I expect it to be out by the end of the year." Then in March, "Well, it's going slower than expected, but I'm mostly done, so it should be finished by fall." Then at Christmas, "I'm about three-quarters of the way there, so hopefully by spring." And so on...

It was marsupialed, it did nothing to endear him to readers, and it just ratcheted up the pressure on him, which clearly doesn't speed his writing process up any. I can't believe he hasn't learned by now to just tell people to screw off and that the book will get done whenever the hell he feels like it, if ever.