George R.R. Martin Raves Over ‘House of the Dragon,’ Says Writers Made ‘Some Improvements’ to His Story

Christian Zilko
·2 min read
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HBO’s upcoming “Game of Thrones” spinoff “House of the Dragon” is still months away from premiering, but it will almost certainly be one of the most scrutinized TV shows of the year. Any follow-up to the fantasy blockbuster would have sky high expectations to contend with, and the original show’s polarizing ending left many fans particularly wary about future Westeros projects.

One person who is not concerned about the series? “Game of Thrones” author George R.R. Martin, who once again took to his blog this week to praise the spinoff.

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“I’ve now watched rough cuts of nine of the ten episodes, and I continue to be impressed,” Martin wrote. “I cannot speak to the SFX, many of which are not in yet, but the look of it is great, and the acting, the directing, and writing are first rate. And yes, for all you book fans, it IS my story. Sure, there are some changes from ‘Fire & Blood’ — we could not present three alternative versions of every major event, not and keep our sanity — but I think Ryan Condal and his writers made good choices. Even some improvements. (Heresy, I know, but being the author, I am allowed to say so).”

He singled out Paddy Considine’s performance as particularly impressive, but he had praise for the entire cast and predicted that “Game of Thrones” fans would eventually fall in love with the ensemble.

“For years, as some of you may recall, I have been saying the TV version of Shae, as portrayed by Sibel Kekilli, was a deeper, richer, and more nuanced characters than the Shae in my novels,” he wrote. “In a similar vein, I am vastly impressed by the show’s version of King Viserys, played by Paddy Considine, who gives the character a tragic majesty that my book Viserys never quite achieved. Kudos to Paddy, Ryan and his writers, and Miguel and the other directors. (There are a lot of great performances in ‘House of the Dragon’ — or ‘HOT D,’ as I hear some are calling it. You may never have heard of some of our actors, but I think you will learn to love them, just as you did with the cast of ‘Game of Thrones’).”

“House of the Dragon” premieres on Sunday, August 21 on HBO.

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