George R. R. Martin Says His 'Game of Thrones' Ending Will Be Different From the Show
• George R. R. Martin revealed whether or not his A Song of Ice and Fire books would have the same ending as HBO's Game of Thrones.
• The most recent book in Martin's series was A Dance With Dragons, which came out in 2011.
• Martin has not announced a release date for either of the final two books.
With many fans still reeling from the conclusion of Game of Thrones, it might come as a relief to know that an alternate ending-in some capacity-is on the way. Author George R. R. Martin, who wrote the original A Song of Ice and Fire series on which the series is based, wrote to fans that the final two volumes of his books will not quite have the same ending that David Benioff and D.B. Weiss brought to HBO.
Martin answered the fans' pleas in a post called "An Ending" on his own blog, facetiously titled Not a Blog: "How will it all end? I hear people asking. The same ending as the show? Different?"
The 70-year-old author made his intent clear in his next line. "Well… yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes. And no. And yes," he said, before delving deep into the fact that he, as a writer, is working with a very different medium than the six-hour window that Benioff and Weiss had to close the show out.
As he says completely:
"I am working in a very different medium than David and Dan, never forget. They had six hours for this final season. I expect these last two books of mine will fill 3000 manuscript pages between them before I’m done… and if more pages and chapters and scenes are needed, I’ll add them. And of course the butterfly effect will be at work as well; those of you who follow this Not A Blog will know that I’ve been talking about that since season one. There are characters who never made it onto the screen at all, and others who died in the show but still live in the books… so if nothing else, the readers will learn what happened to Jeyne Poole, Lady Stoneheart, Penny and her pig, Skahaz Shavepate, Arianne Martell, Darkstar, Victarion Greyjoy, Ser Garlan the Gallant, Aegon VI, and a myriad of other characters both great and small that viewers of the show never had the chance to meet. And yes, there will be unicorns… of a sort…"
In a way, that sounds like he knows that by and large, the major events of the ending will remain the same, but he's luring people in with the chance to find out the raisons d'être for the characters and storylines that never even made their ways into the show.
At the same time, Martin clearly respects the work that Benioff, Weiss, and the rest of HBO's Thrones cast and crew put in, and has no interest in choosing one ending as more legitimate than the other.
"Book or show, which will be the 'real' ending? It’s a silly question. How many children did Scarlett O’Hara have?" he asked. "How about this? I’ll write it. You read it. Then everyone can make up their own mind, and argue about it on the internet."
Martin, who debunked an internet rumor that he'd finished writing the final two books, and said he won't even start with book seven until book six is concluded, has not announced a release date for either book.
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