George R.R. Martin Thanks 粉丝 for Supporting Him 

Whether of not it upset you to read George R.R. Martin’s final post on New Year’s Day that

was not finished, nor would it be prior to the airing of Season 6, it was hard to miss how much the failure to make this deadline was distressing to the author himself. There were a lot of people counting on this, from editors and publishers, to producers at HBO and of course, all the fans. And though many of those in the final category were angry and upset, it seemed like on the whole, over at NotABlog, the comments were compassionate. Many outlets ran pieces on the order of

and on Twitter many rehashed Neil Gaiman’s arguments from years back, under the exact hashtag you would expect.

This. We are lucky to receive people's art, not entitled to it. #georgerrmartinisnotyourbitch https://t.co/vIVYKezthz

Last night Martin posted a thanks to his fans for the outpouring of support. He had clearly been bracing for the worst, and finding that not everyone was ready to start ringing the SHAME bell was heartening. He says he will be closing comments on the announcement post, but mostly because they are becoming too unwieldy, and with his minions on holiday, he still have dozens of screened ones to go through. But he was clearly touched.

I cannot tell you how much I appreciate all the kind words and good wishes.

Next: Small Council: What are you most looking forward to in Game of Thrones Season 6?

All day on New Year’s Day, George R.R. Martin posted updates to his Not A Blog that amounted...

It’s the start of a new year, and it’s time to look forward. HBO has ramped up...

Have you already read all the books and/or don\'t care about spoilers? You can reveal all the spoilers in the comments with the click of a link below.

Screw the publishers. I hope George will enjoy writing more from now on.

I believe he is doing everything in his power to deliver the best books as fast as he can. Besides that he also gives D&D everything they need to let them make the best possible show.

Well he may be working on the book, but you certainly can’t say he’s doing everything in his power to deliver as fast as he can. He can distribute his time better.

Yes you can say that. He has said that and I don’t think he is lying about his efforts.

Read the Neil Gaiman post that Felicia Day linked to in her tweet. Artists are not machines, creative work is not like any type of work, sometimes you want to create, you schedule for it, but the art does not come out. It takes whatever it takes.

I’m as disappointed as anyone to not read the next book anytime soon, but you really have to be an entitled baby to be pissed at GRRM.

I like to think more people are pissed at the situation and needed a day to scream into the void. All that garbage about fame and fortune going to George’s head and laziness is absolute rubbish. The truth is the show made him ultra famous for his writing and the consequences of that fame have eaten up nearly all of his time. Combine that with already writing a bit slower than most on books that are massive in length and you get your explanation. I mean, each of his books are so long that only like two companies are even equipped to glue all the pages together. You could fit most authors entire series into one of his books alone and still have room to spare. There’s no denying that this is a rare and unfortunate situation but what can go wrong will go wrong.

I wrote on WiC’s other thread about the people saying he hadn’t written a single page. I said that I thought it was an interesting and deliberate tactic to illicit a progress report from George. Apparently it worked insofar as to get him to make a statement. But, we still have no idea how far along he is and now everyone is pissed. It was kind of dirty pool and it backfired on fans.

He is human. It happens. My plan is to enjoy the show. I’ll turn my focus to the books when they are finished. I think a lot of the fans complaining need to walk this path.

The poor guy has obviously been stressed. It’s difficult to write when the mind is jumbled with thoughts of deadlines and angry fans.

ASOIAF is in good hands let R.R. Martin be at peace and do what he does best.

Considering a series like his basically funds an entire publishing empire, I think they’ll find it in their hearts to get over it. The vast majority of books published by even a major publishing firm don’t even turn a profit at all. It’s the few big boys that basically keep the whole thing rolling.

I’m encouraged by his status being given as ‘rejuvenated’ which is what I hoped. But I doubt lessons have been learned. And I would also caveat the screening that happens before NAB comments make it onto the board…

Here are the lessons that have been learned, most of the world and GRRM’s fans are compassionate human beings who put others welfare before their own selfish needs and don’t go bashing someone who has brought them this wonderful world and story to enjoy. They understand that creativity on this order cannot be scheduled or demanded and that the artists’ life is not one of being tied to a ball and chain to satisfy a small base of fans who are crying for blood if their fix is not given in a timely (only to them) manner.

Amen a57se. Couldn’t have said it better

Now, I’m sure you’d agree that, if only that world of compassion and sacrifice of ones own needs for another’s welfare could be transferred to the Syrian refugee crisis huh…?! 😘

Yeah, it sure would be nice if the Saudi’s and the UAE and the other rich Muslim nations would take care of their own.

So instead of getting to work on “The Winds of Winter” he spent all his time reading obsequious messages from the doormat fraction of his audience. Great.

To be clear, THIS is what GRRM has been doing all this time INSTEAD of writing “The Winds of Winter”:

And what kind of ground-breaking things did u do last year?

Yeah I’m pretty sure Henry Noh didn’t claim to have done anything groundbreaking last year….so that’s a really mature and articulate argument to be raising against him. Nice.

The point is that he has no friggin clue what it takes to do what George has done and that most of us would not even be able to contemplate doing something like ASOIAF…

Your choice of the word ‘doormats’ makes it clear that you view GRRM as being in this world to serve your needs. He is not. The more appropriate word for readers who show compassion, understanding and appreciation for what he has already given us via many years of hard work and creative genius is ‘adults.’

You fail to comprehend the fact that it’s GRRM’s life to live and GRRM’s time to use as GRRM sees fit. Seems like all of the whiners have been handicapped by their “sMothers” catering to their every whim, that they cannot fathom a world that doesn’t revolve around them.

And some fail to comprehend that when we bought his very first book, it came with a “promise” from him that we’d get an end to the story, which is where the expectation came from. If we’d know he wouldn’t be committed to the series, we might not have invested our time and money in it and he wouldn’t be living the life that he’s living. He made a “promise” to bring to conclusion a story that he started writing and sold us on that premise but he hasn’t delivered on that promise yet and has deceived us on multiple occasions. Fans have the right to be peeved about it, without necessarily being immature or awful human beings !

The howlers are going to say you are a brat with a sense of entitlement. Fwit I get what you’re saying.

Of course he sees the support if they delete every non-positive comment on there.

Let him read MY message to him. That will give him some pressure and deletes the “procrastinator-ness” in him.

I have been reading for forty years and Martin is by far the best author I have read Quality over quantity

He may have read Shakespeare or Tolkein and still came to the conclusion that he prefers GRRM

I hate to say this but I don’t think we can really compare George’s writings to other

works until aSoIaF is finished. The ending matters a great deal in assessing any work as a whole. Nothing will take away from how great his characters, story telling and world building skills are but the greater story he’s telling is still up for debate.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ll always love his books but before I go and say it’s better or worse than anything else I’ve read I’d like to know a great many things. Such as, how many unanswered questions will we be left with? Are Aegon and the Walkers a giant pair of Deus Ex’s on the way? Does “bittersweet ending” mean we will all walk away feeling informed but saddened? Reminiscent of so many endings of so many documentaries that help you to realize that life is brutally unfair? A weak ending can make you ask yourself why the hell did I bother reading this?

It reminds me of what happened to J.K. Rowling after Harry Potter ended, it was the most popular fantasy series out there but she’s not really debated as a “Tolkien” in fantasy. Her last two books having left lots of unanswered questions, clichés and other issues contributed to creating this feeling of “unfinished buisness” for lack of a better term. People may disagree and Rowling isn’t precisely the best example, but it should help to show that there’s a difference between the most popular or beloved and the greatest series written throughout the ages, imho.

Hopefully by George taking his time and making tWoW/aSoIaF the best material that he’s able to will make for one of the best

Doestoevski? Really John? I must say you disappoint me on that. Christian utopian society will fix all of societies woes and concerns. He was staunchly anti democracy and loathed things like a Bill of Rights or a constitution. He basically a Theocrat. Theocracies are anti liberty. I’m more of a Madison. Jefferson, and Thomas Paine guy myself. I would suggest people read Poor Folk and do everything the exact opposite of what he writes.

I completely agree with Maester Feelgood ! After the first 3 books, I had the exact same opinion ! GRRM was the best author I had ever read …However, I’m starting to wonder now …because he can’t seem to be able to tie the knots that he created. The start of the series was absolutely formidable, but if he can’t maintain the story and can’t bring it to a conclusion, he can’t be considered one of the greatest author. His status, to me, is still up for debate. I need to know how he’s going to wrap this up without simply killing everyone that doesn’t fit in the final scenario before saying that he’s the best author.

Thanks Herbalizer, you definitely seem to get where I’m going with this. I’m not knocking GRRM’s (as you stated) “formidable” established works, who could? Yet, the real test is and remains the third act which has yet to come. A lot relies on how George handles the 2nd long night/White Walker invasion/who knows what he’s got in store. Thanks for the reinforcement Herbs, from one fan to another. It’s hard to level or lobby any sort of critique towards an author like George without incurring the “wrath of the nuncucks” so to speak. Even a criticism so benign as pointing out that you can judge an unfinished work. Your always subject to the comment “who the f are you and what have you done?” more or less. So thanks friend.

I wish there was an edit option on non-tablet mobile devices as I comment primarily off of my cell phone. I’ve seen how spelling and punctuation can give the trolls an easy out concerning critical responses.

From other comments he has made it sounds like his publishers have been great. I hope so, no need to rush him, it’s his story and only he knows when it will be finished

GRRM learned too late that all the show’s distractions were going to screw with his concentration on finishing the books. Well, sure, it’s disappointing, especially since the show will get to ruin the books’ storylines (please no one tell me you believe the show will diverge much; you KNOW the producers have worked from the unfinished manuscript). Still, I feel bad for him, all the pressure of millions waiting for, screaming for, TWoW. I’ll be there ready to download it to my Kindle, George.

Those fans are merely enablers of this man’s sloth. He deserves all the scorn and ridicule that comes his way. The sense of entitlement that this man has, that deadlines don’t apply to him, is ridiculous. His publishers should take a stand, put standards ahead of greed, and end their working relationship with the laziest author in history. That would be a true sign of respect to the rest of 99% of the population who has to show up to work on time and do their jobs and meet deadlines to earn their wages. Show the world that this lazy, arrogant, draft-dodging sloth is not the example we want others to follow.

If you hate him so much, surely you must have more appropriate places to hang out and vent your negativity than a GoT/ASoIaF fansite.

Well, 99% of the population is not that brilliant. I once went to tell my boss’ wife (after she ordered food from us) she’d have to stick to what was in the menu. I was fired on the spot.

@Ned’s Head, I bet, if any of the innumerable conventions/universities/awards ceremonies/football games/animal sanctuaries wanted to honor you and your impact on the world from here to China you’d call in sick. The guy isn’t lazy, the TV shows unexpected explosive popularity is to blame. If he made any mistake, it was allowing the show to be made mid-writing of the series.

As to draft dodging, it’s called conciencious objector. You really think George Martin sitting in a fox hole with a M1

Do you really think George Martin sitting in a foxhole with whichever military issue weapon he was given was going to make this world a better place or validate his or your opinions? Some people just don’t want to kill other people for reasons they can’t personally reconcile. You need to breathe out my friend, your clearly angry about something beyond tWoW release date. I’m sad about it too, very much so, but for your own benefit… it’s not the end of the world. Korea and Vietnam are over, don’t bring them up to prove some unrelated point about an authors non-existant self given deadlines with absolutely zero respect for the unexpected ramifications you clearly haven’t even considered.

I don’t judge people that I don’t know, and I don’t judge those that I do know because it’s ignorant to assume that you do.

I am fully supportive of George. As many others have already said, he is human, just like the rest of us. TWOW will be ready when it’s ready. I’d much rather purchase and read the best possible book that any author can write, not something that’s been rushed and isn’t a complete, fully rounded, well crafted product.

I’ve read all the posts…still grieving the news. My overall view is……”How humiliating”

While I am willing to wait for the books, I’m not confident they will ever get done…it could take 10 years before Dreams of Spring, George seems to have lost his enthusiasm for The Song of Fire and Ice, which I find very sad on one hand, and disappointed on the other, as this is the series that has given Mr. Martin so many of these other opportunities…….I see now it is down the priority list for him due to the other opportunities and the pressure to do it right. I will wait for the books, but very disappointed I cannot read before I watch the show and hope at least some of his wonderful text makes it into the show with the help of the writers.

I say take your time, weave in historical research and develop characters the way you see fit. We have a society full of “non-creatives” complaining about getting movies, books, music, tv programs, etc. faster and faster. The bottom line is it takes time to create anything and we don’t get to dictate how long it should take, when to erase, edit and restart or when “it’s finished”!

It takes the time it takes to obtain greatness and we owe it to the “creatives” to wait; if we can’t wait and we think we can do it better or faster; then maybe we need to go off on our own and start our own thing! Otherwise, we need to shut up & wait for excellence!

Placating the masses has always been a problem…in modern narcissistic society it is even worse.

The greater part of the human race feel pressure every single day.

From finding food, to running from war, to finding a job to earn money to feed the children.

Finish the damn books, so you can earn the rest of your millions of dollars.

How hard can it be. Without pressure, people turn into procrastinators.

“winning the lottery and then start complaining about the taxes”

It is quite bizarre to hear some fans say they’re happy to wait for the best possible book, when George’s history reflects the opposite. The books he worked the longest on are the worst in the series, while A Storm of Swords, the second longest and best of the novels, was written in less than 2 years. Deadlines force decisiveness, and help focus the story. In the absence of deadlines or any professional standards from his publisher, George’s story has spun out of control into a meandering mess. If only his publishers had been professionals instead of slobbering greed-mongers, this collapsing story could’ve been salvaged. The great irony is the Winds will ultimately disappoint, much as Feast and Dance did after the absurd waiting period.

And to think this man was once considered the new Tolkien. That thought has become an absurdity that no longer warrants debate.

I was in the comment section on his post about to write that the Mercy and Alayne chapters were my favorite ones for their respective characters and not to let the show rush him. I wish I could have posted it in time.

I am beginning to wonder what those who feel he is under great pressure would make of the life of a surgeon, police officer, or member of the armed forces. In the grand scheme of things he’s writing a book, that’s all. Lives don’t hang in the balance with GRRM, and those professions aren’t as well-rewarded or feted as he is. His life’s pretty sweet.

Likewise those hurling personal abuse could do with dwelling on the fact that it’s just a book. Grand scheme of things, doesn’t really matter. Not as if the show, for all it’s faults, won’t give you some closure on the series. Admittedly without Martin’s dialogue, the show will suffer in quality and it has a tendency to make up for that with shock value and boobs, but it’s still reasonably close and an entertaining series.

he’s tripping if he thinks that comments from the ball-hangers on his blog are representative of asoiaf fans in general.

Lol. Liking your eloquence there buddy!

im still a big fan of grrm, but sometimes things need to be said.

I’m with you on this. See his response to a commenter though? Something along the lines of : you say sycophant I say supportive.

I bet D&D as well as HBO profit of this unfinished story because now, every episode/season will be new for everyone.

I think back in 2007 GRRM never ever thought of being overtaken by HBO, no way. He was overconfident.

yep, selling the series to TV when he hadnt finished it was risky, but he had plenty of time back then… then he lunched it for years and now here we are.

he knows he’s messed up, most objective fans know he’s messed up, a few are still in denial.

luckily for me i like the show, and except for selmy’s death i think they’ve adapted it very well, getting rid of a lot of pointless meandering stuff from the more recent novels.

GRRM is becoming more and more delusional. The man NEEDS a deadline or else nothing good will come of writing and finishing the story.

Put the man in a locked room for as long as needed and i am sure GRRM will get the necessary inspiration.

The first three books ca two years each book and now five or six years????

At the time of the first three books GRRM didn’t had the distractions he has nowadays.

Right on George. Take your time big man.

And to this website and other disrespectful fans: STOP RUSHING HIM!

trying to put anything, a person, a god, a regime above all criticism is a really bad idea.

give me an example of when that has ended well…

Why are people still pushing that line by Mr Amanda Palmer even after Martin himself issued a mea culpa and said he’d let everyone down?

Disappointed that I won’t be reading TWOW any time soon, but not overly surprised or crushed.

His update basically confirmed what he’s been saying all along – that he’s a very slow writer who needs to be in the right frame of mind to unlock his creativity. He’s been very upfront about that for years; for us to expect that to change now just because we’re getting impatient is pretty unrealistic.

As for the ‘letdown’ many fans are feeling over this ‘missed deadline’, it’s important to remember that it’s a letdown entirely of our own making. GRRM didn’t hype the end of the year as the date for the big announcement – WE did, and for no other reason than that it would have been a cool time to do so.

We’ve fed the hype-dragon all year long, desperately looking at every remotely significant date on the calendar, inventing some tenuous connection to ASOIAF, hyping that date as a ‘natural’ or logical time for GRRM to drop the announcement bomb (Happy Cinco de Mya Stone, everyone!), and then acting betrayed when it (gasp!) doesn’t come to pass…

Sadly, we’ll probably continue to do it in 2016 as well…around the end of January, I’m fairly certain that rumors will start circulating about GRRM having a ‘special Valentine’s Day gift’ in store for fans, which will blow up in our faces on February 14 and leave everyone feeling jilted, disillusioned and dejected (ummmm, so not really all that different from regular Valentine’s Day, I suppose…)

Look, the point is this – like a lot of other people, I’ve lobbed some tongue-in-cheek shots at GRRM over the past year on this site, chiding him for his slow writing pace. But at the end of the day, all I really want is for TWOW to be the best book it can be when it finally does come out.

We’ve all waited a long time – surely we can wait another 6-8 months (or more) if that’s what it takes to ensure that the book that we get is worthy of that wait…

I do like the fact that he finally admitted that the delay was nobody’s fault but his own.

I also like, no, strike that, LOVE the fact that the purist book readers are now gonna be spoiled (on the major plotlines, at least) by the tv show.

The main losers here are Elio and Linda and the Westeros crowd…

Yeah that’s just nasty Mike. A really pricky thing to say. What personal reason could you possibly have for wanting the story ruined for ALL book readers via the show being released before the book?

Some of us book readers did not ruin the show for show only consumers.

This is the type of divisive attitude that is counter productive and causes tension and animosity between the two groups.

It was a very general statement, and clearly I offended more than I meant to.

Read LoTR Decades before the movies came out, for example.

Have been on the internet since there was an internet. Think “usenet”.

I attended the LoTR movies with those that hadn’t read (or in some cases, hadn’t even heard of, the books.

And I’ve also watched “The Shining” and “Blade Runner” on film and thought that they were Outstanding regardless of their source material.

I tried to get a dialogue going on westeros.org about this, but I found that Elio, Linda and their following simply has their tongues too far up GRRM’s ass to be objective about it.

That’s the problem (well one of!). The pompous irrationality of Elio & Linda have shut down all debate so that any hint of preferring the books instantly gets you slammed into the same box as them. I hate their attitude but that doesn’t mean I’m without some criticism of my own re the adaptation.

Talking of shutting down all debate, I had a peek in Westeros to see how it was being handled and found the silence deafening (was going to amuse myself counting the BANNED tags). Maybe I wasn’t looking in the right place for a thread but either way I expect had I found it I would see lil more than a grand GRRM bukkake circle anyway 😵😷.

Wonder if they’ll opt out totally or will still run their episode by episode brutalisation. Be interesting/amusing to see how they handle all this going forward.

They will brutalize each episode. Trust me.

No dramas mike, I just wanted to get my head around what you meant.

I meant that the book purists should simply chill the fuck out.

Yeah, kind of an unnecessarily vindictive attitude. I don’t really know what to make of a mindset that operates on the premise that (a) for every event there has to be a clear ‘winner’ and a ‘loser’, and (b), that seeing something ‘ruined’ for others is cause for joy…petty, puerile and pointless…

…I also think that he underestimates most fans’ ability to enjoy the books and TV series separately and on their own unique merits.

Sure, in a perfect world I’d prefer to read about certain events in the books first, because I’ve invested a lot of time in reading and re-reading the books and that’s how I’ve become accustomed to finding about the major events, plot twists and betrayals in the ASOIAF universe…but at the same time I also understand that the journey to get to certain outcomes will be much different in the show vs the series and my enjoyment of one doesn’t negate my ability to enjoy the other.

For every ‘spoiler’ I see on GoT, I’m looking forward to having a different and richer experience when I read the book version of the event in TWOW; a different path with more back story, more buildup, more emotional depth and complexity, a larger cast of characters and more dialogue.

All I know is that I’ll watch GoT season 6 and enjoy it immensely, and when I finally get a copy of book 6 in my hands and lay my eyes on that long-awaited first word of the prologue chapter, I’ll enjoy that immensely too – I won’t consider myself a ‘loser’ or ‘cheated’ in the least…

“The book purist should chill out” in what sense Mike? I sorta feel that at the moment all book fans are being tarnished with the same brush, and that’s a massive generalisation.

The show is gonna reveal GRRM’s vision before the books do.

Shocker ! Mass hysteria ! Dog and cats living together, etc…

I like this – Sycophant: a self seeking, servile flatterer; fawning parasite, leech, or toady. 😇

Lol. The only Europeans I’ve had much to do with are predominantly Italian or Greek. They’ve tended to be pretty robust characters.

Europeans have pretty much been able to count on Americans to defend them from dictatorships while they spend their money on social programs.

Europe could argue it needs those social programs to feed, house, and clothe all those traumatised refugees from the Middle East that the US has had a hand in creating.

Not to discuss politics to in depth, and I’m nowhere near this problem. BUT my 2 cents worth is that the wealthier Arabic states that are in a position to help with that refugee issue should probably be a little more forthcoming with assistance for their brothers and sisters. Just a thought.

Take a look at GRRM’s neck in the pic here. Obviously an old one compared to current pics where he doesn’t even have a neck.

Considering his unhealthy lifestyle, there’s no way he’s gonna finish the books before he buys the farm.

Geesh that’s pretty macabre. Do you want him to get healthier just to finish a book for your reading pleasure?

I would hope he’d stop being so self-indulgent for the sake of his fanboys/girls.

Is ASOIAF a labor of love for George at this point or just a labor? Hopefully now that he made a statement and got that out of his system a spark of creativity will allow him to finish and write a wonderful book.

Hopefully his fat ass (and arteries) can finish the series for the fanboys and girls…

As someone who adores the intricacy of a series as asoiaf…. grrm work is not so incredibly deep and philosophical

that it warrants half a decade to write. He isn’t doing all he can. I’m not saying he needs a slave master at his back, but it’s dissapointing, to say the least. He, as always, comes across as a bit whiny. He states that no one, not even the fans, can be nearly as disappointed as he is…. but I just doubt that he has diligently worked sooooo hard to bring it. Let’s remember that this guy’s job is to write. I have the utmost respect for a writers tactics, routine, etc… but 5 years to complete a fictional episode in a series? Cmon man.

The very idea of getting poon was a mere dream to a young, fat, unattractive GRRM.

You people are only telling him its okay to slack on you’re job. Its his work and he has been incompetent.

Only the fan boys and girls with their hands down their pants are saying that it’s ok.

Just playing devils advocate here. GRRM is how old? Mid 60’s? A lot of people his age are retired already. He has the money and potentially the motivation to retire.

Obviously I sincerely hope we get the book/s out of him before he retires. However, if he where to have an outline for the remainder of the series and hand it over to a hand picked writer to finish the series I’d be fine with that too.

All you book fans must celebrate that GRRM was a virgin when he wrote the books.

Seriously, how else would he have such a twisted view of human sexuality ?

Seems like he is pretty close to done based on what GRRM wrote. Shouldn’t be too much longer. Maybe after Season 6 ends.

Which would still be to late for those who wished to read the book before the series comes out. So as to not have the book ruined/spoiled by the series.

He said a lot done, a lot still to go, plus rewrites, etc. And this is if he actually knuckles down and writes.

No-where does he say that’s in fact what he will do. Just that now he won’t feel burdened by a deadline. The contents of TWOW are already guaranteed to be spoiled, so he has even less motivation now than he did last year.

I should add I’m not one of the “Damn you Martin!” crowd, but world wars have been fought and won in the time it’s taken him to get reasonably far in writing a book, the skeleton of which he has known for decades. That he is taking so very long does seem odd.

Seems like GRRM is pretty close to done based on what he wrote. Shouldn’t be too much longer. Maybe after Season 6 ends.

I can understand it to a high degree; the delays could bring on anxiety and depression that can be paralyzing. He probably needs help but isn’t asking for it, thinking he can do it and yet he can’t.

Aside from the fact that Felicia for a while now would love to land herself a role in GoT (and sadly a lot of Felicia fans probably hope GoT is the portal to a first time ever Felicia nude scene), she’s right about art being a privilege. Art goes wrong when rushed, or when an artist stops making art for her/himself and starts to tailor it to the wishes of the fans.

I think most people agree with this also, but have an ungrounded fear of

“grey beard + overweight = dead before the sun can set”

and worry they’ll not see a book. They should worry less, there’s no track record of health issues surrounding George as far as I know.

I really understand all the posts, saying GRRM is not your bitch, creativity can not be forced and so on. Yes, that’s one side of the story.

But there are other sides of the story: He wrote himself in a corner with books 4 and 5. At that point of the story he should have concentrated on the main characters and the main plots and started the endgame. Instead he invented a lot new characters and plotlines and bloated the whole world up with mediocre sub plots and sub characters. It would cost a lot of motivation, effort and time to finish all these plotlines satisfying.

Combine this situation with being a typical procrastinator and you get the result as it is. Personally I do not think that the series will ever be finished. Maybe we will get The Winds of Winter in some years, but I even doubt that.

Do not misunderstand me,I am perfectly fine with him not finishing the books, as he can do whatever he wants and as I already anticipated that before I started the books. I read the books only because I knew that the show producers know the end of the series and the main plot lines. I also knew that it took him a lot of time to finish books 4 and 5 and that might be also happening with the last books.

I loved books 1-3, do not like book 4+5 as much as the first three books as I got really annoyed by all the bloated stuff and already knew that all this bloating would put him in a very difficult position to finish the series. These books were also very badly edited. And I also do not think that he is the best writer in the universe or his books are the best books in the universe. As I said, I loved books 1-3 but there are other books of other authors which I love as much or even more as ASOIF.

And I love the show, so I am perfectly fine that they will tell me the end and the main plots and the fate of the main characters. If the books will ever be finished, I will read them. But if not, it is also ok.

I’m more than happy to wait for TWOW. Better an outstanding novel by a relaxed author than a substandard one by a pressured/rushed author. You never know, if all goes well, we’ll have read it or at least have it wrapped under the tree, this Christmas. Unfortunately, poor George will have the impatient, entitled comments along the lines of “come on George, we are waiting for ADOS…get a move on and WRITE” just weeks after TWOW is released…

Remember, when the story is finished, it’s *finished*. Forever. The anticipation just adds to the excitement, and keeps it from being over too quickly.

Jessica on The Winds of Winter is still unfinished business

SexyStannis on George R.R. Martin Thanks Fans for Supporting Him

Jessica on George R.R. Martin Thanks Fans for Supporting Him

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